local-business
Banks to remain open on Thursday, Friday to facilitate payment of RMG workers’ salary, bonus
Bangladesh Bank (BB) has directed keeping the scheduled banks open on April 19-21 (Wednesday to Friday) to facilitate payment of garment workers' salary, Eid bonus and allowances.
The central bank has asked the banks to keep open the branches before Eid-ul-Fitr in the industrial areas including Dhaka metropolitan, Ashulia, Tongi, Gazipur, Savar, Bhaluka, and the industry related branches of banks located in Narayanganj and Chittagong ensuring adequate security.
Read more: Gazette published fixing Tk 8,000 as minimum wage for RMG workers
The Department of Off-site Supervision of Bangladesh Bank on Monday issued a circular in this regard
Bangabazar fire: MCCI donates 1 lakh each for 142 most affected traders
The Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) on Wednesday handed over cheques of Tk 1 lakh each to 142 victims of Bangabazar fire.
The organization provided the assistance at a cheque handing over ceremony at their Motijheel office.
Chamber members, president of Bangladesh Shop Owners Association and affected traders were present on the occasion.
On the occasion, MCCI President Md. Saiful Islam expressed sympathy to the affected businessmen and their families and stressed the importance of supporting the business community in difficult times.
"We are determined to work to the best of our ability to get you back to where you were,” he said.
The 142 affected businessmen were selected by the Society for National Charity that conducted on-spot inspections and identified 142 of the worst-hit people.
Unilever Bangladesh employees donate their salary for Eid fundraising
The employees of Unilever Bangladesh Limited (UBL), the country’s leading Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) company, have voluntarily donated a portion of their salary to support underprivileged families to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr this year.
The donation drive was part of Unilever’s employee volunteering programme that allows employees to be associated with community development, sustainability projects and live their life purpose. Through contribution 230 families will receive essential food items.
During the Eid season, many families struggle to buy necessary food products and miss out on the joy of the holy occasion. This year, due to rising inflation many families are facing additional challenges. To distribute food for the underprivileged families, the UBL has partnered with two non-profit organisations, Utsho Bangladesh and Spreeha. UBL employees will also volunteer their time to distribute the products before the Eid day.
Shamima Akhter, director at corporate affairs of partnerships and communications in the UBL, said, “Unilever Bangladesh has been part of the country’s journey since its inception, and we believe what is good for the country is good for Unilever. As Unilever thrives on building an equitable and inclusive society, our company, brands and people always take bold and required steps in every situation. The spirit of Eid is of caring for the members of our society, and hence we collaborated with Utsho Bangladesh and Spreeha to share the joy of Eid with the less fortunate members of our society.”
Ramadan donation campaign aims for a healthy society that will help UBL grow as well,” she added.
UBL will continue taking initiatives that gives back to the community to foster empathy, innovation, and growth.
Nagad introduces add-money thru’ Agrani Bank’s smart banking app
In an effort to make digital transactions more convenient and affordable, Nagad introduced add-money thru’ Agrani Bank’s smart banking app.
From now, people can transfer money to their Nagad wallets using Agrani Bank’s ‘Smart Banking’ app, said a press release issued on Tuesday.
An agreement has recently been signed between Nagad Limited and Agrani Bank at the latter’s office in the capital’s Motijheel area.
On behalf of Nagad, its Executive Director Maruful Islam Jhalak, Head of Business Mohammad Mahbub Sobhan, and Deputy General Manager Md Bayzid were present during the signing ceremony.
On the other hand, Md Murshedul Kabir, managing director and chief executive officer of Agrani Bank, Wahida Begum, deputy managing director of Agrani Bank, Shyamal Krishna Saha, deputy managing director of Agrani Bank, Rezina Parveen, deputy managing director of Agrani Bank, and Md Shahinur Rahman, general Manager of Agrani Bank, attended the event.
Talking about the agreement, Executive Director Maruful Islam Jhalak said, “We are working on making digital transactions more seamless and convenient. In continuation of it, Nagad has signed this agreement with Agrani Bank.”
From now on, customers of Agrani Bank can easily add money to Nagad wallets, he added.
Currently, 31 banks allow their customers to add money to Nagad wallets. These include Trust Bank, the City Bank, Community Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Mutual Trust Bank, Premier Bank, AB Bank, NRBC Bank, Dhaka Bank, Social Islami Bank, IFIC Bank, National Bank, Exim Bank, Midland Bank, Standard Bank Limited, Union Bank, Shahajalal Islami Bank, NRBC Bank, Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank, Meghna Bank Limited, Bangladesh Development Bank Limited, Bengal Commercial Bank Limited, South Bangla Agriculture Bank, Islami Bank Bangladesh, Southeast Bank, Mercantile Bank, Padma Bank, Citizens Bank, and Bangladesh Commerce Bank Limited.
Benapole Port to remain shut for 5 days
Trade with India through the Benapole Land Port will remain suspended from April 19 to April 23 for the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays, the biggest festival of the Muslims.
Customs and other activities will continue during this period and the officials concerned at the immigration were kept on standby for this, said Abul Kalam Azad, officer-in-charge of Benapole Check Post Police Immigration.
The trade activities will resume on April 24.
Besides, loading and unloading of goods from trucks and covered vans will remain suspended from three days before and after Eid, he said.
Stringent security measures have been taken in the port area to avoid any kind of untoward incident, said deputy director of Benapole port Abdul Jalil.
Finance Ministry releases Tk 1000 crore incentives for knitwear sector ahead of Eid
The Ministry of Finance has released cash incentives of Tk1,000 crore for Bangladesh's export-oriented knitwear sector.
The ministry took the decision 11 days after receiving an application of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association's (BKMEA) for financial support for payment of salary and Eid bonus ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr.
Read: Bangladesh Bank has revolutionised digitalisation of financial sector: Dr Atiur
The request for cash assistance was made to the government on March 30 in a letter signed by the BKMEA president AKM Salim Osman.
The letter stated that if the financial assistance is not given, the export sector may be in extreme trouble over the payment of salary and bonus to the workers before Eid.
Bangladesh Bank has been instructed by the Ministry of Finance and the Comptroller General of Accounts to clear the amount of cash assistance.
Read More: Dip in US market fails to dent apparel sector's growth momentum.
Bangladesh-India relation historic: Pranay Verma
Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma has said Bangladesh-India relation is historic and the two counties will move forward if the existing tie is maintained.
“It has been going on since the great war of independence. The bond of the citizens of the two countries is personal. If such tie is maintained as it is now, both countries will move forward in various sectors,” he said.He said this while exchanging views at a meeting at the conference room of the Sonamasjid Land Port at Shibganj with leaders of Chamber of Commerce and Industry, local public representatives, importers and exporters of land ports, C&F agents and revenue officials on Monday.“We are moving forward according to our expectation to improve the relations between the two countries. The prime ministers of the two countries have pledged to continue this. The governments of Bangladesh and India are working to ensure that the two countries can progress futher ,” said the Indian High Commissioner.Chapainawabganj-1 (Shibganj) constituency lawmaker Dr Abul Kalam Azad, among others, was present on the occasion.
Nagad Islamic makes zakat donation easier
Nagad Islamic, a Shariah-compliant mobile financial service, has offered its customers an option to easily donate zakat to low-income groups and those in need through different Islamic and humanitarian organisations.
Using the Nagad Islamic app or its website, customers can easily calculate the exact amount of zakat using the zakat calculator by giving information, such as yearly income, investment, gold, debt, and assets.
Once the zakat amount is calculated, they will have access to the "donation" option in the app and pay the amount to any of the 59 organisations associated with this shariah-compliant platform.
The organisations to which Zakat can be donated include Al-Markazul Islami, Anjuman Mufidul Islam, Center for Zakat Management, As-Sunnah Foundation, Centre for Zakat Management, Tasauf Foundation, Bangladesh Thalassemia Foundation, KK Foundation, MASTUL Foundation, Quantum Foundation, SAJIDA Foundation, Obhizatrik Foundation, Mymensingh Medical College Zakat Fund, Kurmitola General Hospital Kalyan Samity Zakat Fund, and Muslim Aid UK Bangladesh Country Office.
Apart from donating zakat, Nagad Islamic users can also make donations to different charitable foundations throughout the year. They include the Jaago Foundation, Human Aid Bangladesh Foundation, Child Foundation, Amar Bangladesh Foundation, Bangladesh Cancer Aid Trust, Mission Save Bangladesh, Embassy of the State of Palestine in Bangladesh, and It's Humanity Foundation.
Mohammad Aminul Haque, executive director of Nagad and member of Nagad Islamic Shariah Supervisory Committee, said: "We see many people cannot donate zakat and other financial assistance owing to a lack of time and opportunity. That is why Nagad Islamic has come up with a solution for donors, distributors, and beneficiaries."
PRAN-RFL bags 5 nat’l export trophies
Five companies of PRAN-RFL Group have received national export trophies for outstanding contributions in the export segment for FY 2019-20.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi handed over the trophies to PRAN-RFL Group at hotel intercontinental in Dhaka on Sunday.
The country’s leading conglomerate earned trophies for exporting agro-processing and plastic goods.
Now, the Government of Bangladesh awarded ‘National Export Trophy’ to PRAN-RFL Group as the highest exporter for the last 19 consecutive years.
PRAN got all awards in agro processing sector. PRAN Dairy Ltd. PRAN Agro Ltd. and Habiganj agro Ltd. obtained gold, silver and bronze trophies, respectively.
Durable Plastic Ltd. and Banga Plastic International Ltd. of RFL Group got silver and bronze trophies respectively in plastic goods sector.
Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of PRAN-RFL Group received the gold trophy on behalf of PRAN Dairy while AKM Moinul Islam Moin, Executive Director and Animesh Saha, Executive Director of the group received the award on behalf of PRAN Agro and Habiganj Agro, respectively.
Toukirul Islam, Executive Director of Durable Plastic and Mohammad Kazi Abdul Quiyum, Executive Director of Banga Plastic International received the award on behalf their organizations.
US-Bangla will be the first international flight to use new terminal of Chennai Airport
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is going to launch operations by handling US-Bangla Airlines flights from April 20 as part of a trial run of the newly inaugurated new terminal at Chennai Airport.
The AAI will operate an international flight through the new terminal as part of the trial before shifting full operations.
Local US-Bangla Authority expressed their gratefulness to AAI for choosing US-Bangla Airlines, according to a US-Bangla media release signed by Md Kamrul Islam, general manager (PR) of the organisation.
US-Bangla Airlines has been operating flights from Dhaka to Chennai continuously every week since 2018.
"This will be a trial to find out if all the systems are working properly as everything is new. It will also help us to find out if passengers are facing any inconvenience," Sharad Kumar, director at Chennai Airport, said.
Currently, the US-Bangla Airlines is operating flights from Dhaka to Chennai route with Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
Also, it operates daily flights to Kolkata from Dhaka and Chittagong.