local-business
BAT Bangladesh scoops up ‘ICMAB Best Corporate Award’ for sixth time
BAT Bangladesh secured the ICMAB Best Corporate Award-2021 (gold) under MNC Manufacturing Category for the sixth consecutive time.
The Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB) awarded the prize for their outstanding performance at a function at InterContinental Dhaka in the capital on Thursday (December 01, 2022).
Minister for Commerce Tipu Munshi handed over the award to its Chairperson Golam Mainuddin and Managing Director Shehzad Munim at the programme where Senior Secretary to the ministry of Commerce Tapan Kanti Ghosh was also present.
Read more: BAT wins Bangladesh Innovation Award for SDG Inclusion
Professor Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam, chairman of Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) and Md Jashim Uddin, president of FBCCI were also present as special guests there.
Along with the government officials, many entrepreneurs, business elites of the country and top executives of different companies were present in the ceremony as honourable guests.
The ICMAB National Award is given every year to recognize the invaluable contribution made by the corporate entities in different sectors of the national economy and to encourage increased competitiveness for efficiency.
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Bangladesh received $1.59 billion in remittance in November
Bangladesh received $1.59 billion inward remittance in November, showing a slight increase in expatriate income flow, according to a Bangladesh Bank source.
Though the central bank is expecting a sharp rise in inward remittance flow after announcing half a dozen facilities including cash incentives and free-of-cost remittance-sending opportunities, the response is not satisfactory yet.
Expatriate income or remittances have been steadily declining amid the foreign exchange crisis.
The expatriates sent $1.52 billion in October. In July and August, Bangladesh received $2.09 billion and $2.03 billion respectively.
Read more: Bangladesh Bank allows export income, remittance through MFS
Since September the flow of inward remittance has been declining. A rumor spread among the expatriates that sending money to Bangladesh through banking channel is not secure, which has apparently impacted the remittance flow.
According to Bangladesh Bank (BB) data, the country received inward remittance of $8.78 billion in July-November of FY 23 while the figure was $8.60 billion in the same time of FY 22. It shows that expatriates sent more than $180 million in remittances compared to the previous fiscal year.
BB spokesperson Md Abul Kalam Azad told UNB that in order to increase remittance inflow, the central bank has increased the exchange rate of US dollars for remittance.
In addition to 2.5 percent hassle-free incentive for remittance, several banks also provide additional incentives to attract foreign exchange, he said.
Read more: Bangladesh received $769.88mn remittance in 2 weeks of Oct
Banks will not charge any fee for sending remittances through the legal channel, he said.
Research by Bangladesh Bank found that more than 40 percent of remittance is sent through illegal hundi.
BGMEA, Recover discuss collaboration to turn Bangladesh into global recycling hub
Recover, a global producer of low-impact, high-quality recycled cotton fibre and fibre blends, and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) have discussed a possible collaboration to enhance the capacity of recycling the textile waste in Bangladesh to make the country a global hub of recycling.
They expressed high optimism about developing the recycling industry in Bangladesh as 75 percent of apparel products are cotton-based and nearly 400,000 tons of recyclable pre-consumer waste is produced in Bangladesh every year, of which only 5 percent is locally recycled.
Benjamin Joseph Malka, executive chairman of Recover, met with BGMEA President Faruque in Dhaka Wednesday.
Alejandro Raña, chief business development officer, at Recover, was also present at the meeting.
Read more: Bangladesh's RMG bracing for next phase of growth: BGMEA
"We see a huge prospect in developing the recycling industry in Bangladesh. By capturing and reusing textile waste, we can reduce our cotton import and export clothing, made of recycled fibres, worth around USD 3 billion," Faruque said.
Bangladesh's apparel industry has turned its focus on a shift from the linear economic model to circular as a circular fashion system could bring not only environmental but financial benefits for Bangladesh, he added.
BGMEA has already entered into a partnership with Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), Reverse Resources, and P4G in an initiative "Circular Fashion Partnership" which aims to achieve a long-term, scalable transition to a circular fashion system.
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Ben said Recover had already made a huge investment in the recycling industry of Bangladesh and was keen to invest more to develop the recycling capacity in the country.
NBR extends income tax returns submission date to Dec 31
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has extended the income tax returns submission date to December 31, considering application of trade bodies.
NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md. Rahmatul Muneem today officially announced the time extension while speaking at a seminar, on the occasion of National Income Tax Day 2022, held at the conference hall of Revenue Bhaban in Dhaka’s Segunbagicha.
READ: Tax lawyers seek 2 months more for filing income tax returns
Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury, Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh, was present at the function as the chief guest.
The NBR chairman said that around 22 lakh income tax returns were submitted till November 29.
Many new taxpayers are willingly submitting returns this year and a good number of taxpayers sought time extension. Considering these, the time has been extended, he said.
READ: NBR counting losses for rampant tax evasion
He also said, submitting income tax returns is being simplified so that people can complete the process in a hassle-free environment.
Anyone with taxable income must submit returns, the NBR chairman said.
Read More: How to file your Tax Returns in Bangladesh
Habibur Rahman joins BDBL as new MD
Md. Habibur Rahman Gazi has joined Bangladesh Development Bank Limited (BDBL) as Managing Director and chief executive officer (CEO).
The Financial Institutions Division of the Ministry of Finance has appointed him recently. Prior to this Habibur Rahman served as Deputy Managing Director (DMD) at the Agrani Bank Limited. He started his banking career as a senior officer at Janata Bank Limited in 1988, a press release said.
During his service at Janata Bank Limited, he worked at different branches, zones, and divisions of the bank.
Habibur obtained an MSc degree in Geography from the University of Dhaka. Prior to this he also took part in various professional training and workshops in the country and abroad.
New Tk 2 and Tk 5 notes to be released tomorrow
New notes of Tk 2 and Tk 5 are coming to the market tomorrow, in order to meet the ongoing shortage of such notes, finance ministry sources said.
The newly printed notes signed by Senior Finance Secretary Fatima Yasmin will be released from Bangladesh Bank on Tuesday.
The financial institution division, a wing of the ministry of finance, has completed the official formalities to release these notes.
These notes are ready and will be issued from Bangladesh Bank's Motijheel office on Tuesday.
Later, the new notes will be issued periodically from other offices of Bangladesh Bank and scheduled banks.
The colours, dimension, watermark, designs, and other security features of the new notes will remain the same as the current notes. Along with the newly printed notes, paper notes of two and five taka denominations and metal coins will also be in use.
Beximco to distribute eight popular Disney Star channels across cable, IPTV, OTT
Beximco Digital Distribution has signed a deal with Disney Star to distribute eight of their popular entertainment television channels across Bangladesh via paid television service through cable, IPTV, and OTT.
The collaboration will see Beximco Digital distribute Disney Star's channels in the original languages of programming (Bangla, Hindi, and English) spanning three content genres – general entertainment, movies and factual or infotainment.
READ: Binimoy says it can put an end to illegal digital transactions
The channel portfolio will include Star Jalsha, Jalsha Movies, Star Plus, Star Gold, Star Bharat, National Geographic Channel, National Geographic Wild and Fox Life.
"Bangladesh has a strong affinity for our content, especially the Bangla series and format shows on our class-leading Bangla general entertainment channel – Star Jalsha. We constantly explore opportunities to connect with our audiences and this latest collaboration with Beximco Digital is a step to further reach out to the viewers in Bangladesh," Sudhir Nagpal, head of international business at Disney Star, said.
READ: US-Bangla adds one more Boeing 737-800 to its fleet
Tariq Alam, executive director of Beximco Digital Distribution, said: "The government's mandate to digitise cable networks will bring a significant transformation to the TV industry. This will enable more secure ways of distribution of content, ensure a best-in-class experience to audiences across the country, contribute to economic growth and benefit the National Board of Revenue."
Through this collaboration, Beximco Digital will be the first distributor in Bangladesh to take broadcasting services from Bangabandhu Satellite-1 for the uplink of foreign television channels.
US-Bangla adds one more Boeing 737-800 to its fleet
Private carrier US-Bangla Airlines has added one more Boeing 737-800 aircraft to its fleet.
With the addition of one Boeing 737-800, the number of US-Bangla Airlines aircraft now stands at 17, highest among the private airlines of Bangladesh, Md Kamrul Islam, general manager (public relations) of the US-Bangla, said Sunday.
Read: US-Bangla Airlines wins Best Domestic Airlines award
The new Boeing 737-800 landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka Saturday at 5:50pm directly from Kuwait. Captain Lutfor Rahman, chief executive officer of US-Bangla, officially received the aircraft.
The aircraft has 189 economy class seats, Kamrul said.
Apart from operating flights on all domestic routes, US-Bangla now runs flights to Kolkata, Chennai, Male, Muscat, Doha, Dubai, Sharjah, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Guangzhou.
Nagad wins Mastercard Excellence Award 2022 in two categories
Mobile financial services (MFS) provider Nagad has won the Mastercard Excellence Award 2022 for its contribution to digital innovation in Bangladesh's financial sector.
The MFS provider has also won the award in the online category for its contribution to merchant business.
The distribution ceremony of the Mastercard Excellence Award 2022 under the title "Towards a Smart Transformation" was organized at Dhaka hotel recently.
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Mastercard, a global technology company in the payments industry, said this award is given to different financial institutions that contribute to the implementation of the Smart Bangladesh vision.
The company awarded 23 such organisations in 15 categories this year, the fourth of such an arrangement.
In one category, Nagad won the Excellence in Digital Innovation recognition in the fiscal year 2021-22 for Mastercard bill payment. The MFS also won an award in the Excellence in Mastercard Business (Merchant) online 2021-22 category.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi joined the award-giving ceremony as the chief guest, which was attended by Bangladesh Bank Executive Director Md Khurshid Alam as the guest of honour.
Mastercard South Asia Chief Operating Officer Bikash Verma and its Bangladesh Country Manager Syed Mohammad Kamal were also present.
Read: Daraz hosts Bangladesh Media Innovation Awards 2022
Bikash said they are glad to recognise the organisations that come up with necessary and innovative digital payment solutions and thus contribute to Bangladesh's growth.
Nagad Founder and Managing Director Tanvir A Mishuk said the awards from Mastercard have added a new feather to the MFS provider which is trying to include the unbanked people into the financial system.
Nagad has earlier won the Best Innovation Digital Financial Service Award for the first KYC Innovation in Bangladesh, Inclusive Fintech Fifty Award, Best Digital Financial Service Provider Award, WITSA Global Excellence
Award, Digital Bangladesh Award, E-Commerce Mover Award, Best Marketing Communication Award and more.
Tax lawyers seek 2 months more for filing income tax returns
Sixty-seven tax lawyers' associations in the country have applied for an extension of two months for filing income tax returns due to the delay in receiving circulars of the tax year 2022-2023, Bangladesh Tax Lawyers Association (BTLA) has said.
They also demanded to take into account the unfavorable situation in the economy due to the global economic recession. The central organization of tax lawyers, BTLA, has agreed to the demands of the associations.
Read more: Govt struggles to lift tax-GDP ratio to double digits
BTLA Secretary Advocate Khorshed Alam said that a separate application has been submitted to the NBR chairman in this regard.
The tax lawyers’ organizations say that apart from the economic downturn, there is a huge shortfall in the National Board of Revenue (NBR) campaign this year. Due to this, there are more than 80 lakh e-TIN holders, but the number of return filings is few so far.
Read more: NBR counting losses for rampant tax evasion
Considering the circumstances, an extension of two months has been requested to allow taxpayers an opportunity to file their returns.