Business
TCB to procure 2.25 litres of soybean oil, 15,000 mts of lentil for OMS
State-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will procure 2.25 crore (22.5 million) litres of soybean oil and 15,000 metric tonnes of lentils from local private firms through direct procurement method (DPM) for its open market sale (OMS) programme .
Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) approved a number of separate proposals placed by the Commerce Ministry in this regard as the TCB, the state marketing agency under the ministry, will buy the commodities under different lots.
Read:TIB’s report on TCB products not based on proper information: Commerce Minister
As per the proposals, some 30,00,000 litres of soybean oil will be procured from Basundhara Multi Food Products Ltd at a cost of Tk 54.90 crore while 55,00,000 litres from City Edible Oil Ltd at Tk 101.75 crore, 85,00,000 litres from Meghna Edible Oil Refinery Limited at 156.63 crore, and 55,00,00 litres from Super Oil Refinery Ltd at a cost of Tk 101.75 crore.
Each litre of soybean oil will cost between Tk 183 and Tk 185. All the quantities of soybean oil will be procured through direct procurement method sidelining the open tender procedure.
The TCB will procure 5,000 mts of lentil each from Blue Sky Enterprises Dhaka, Masud & Brothers of Chattogram Masud & Brothers, Chattogram and Ruby Food Products Ltd., of Chattogram
Each kg of lentil will cost Tk 110, the same price from all firms, while the entire 15,000 mts will cost Tk 165 crore.
The Cabinet body also approved two separate proposals of the Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) under the Agriculture Ministry to procure a total of 90,000 metric tons of fertilizer.
Read: TCB to procure 125 lakh litres soybean oil, 5000 kg lentil from 7 local suppliers
Of the bulk agro-inputs, some 50,000 MT of Muriate of potash (MOP) fertiliser will be imported from Canadian Commercial Corporation at a cost of Tk 386.19 crore with each metric ton costing $812.62 while previous price was $914.
Some 40,000 mt of DAP fertilizer will be imported by BADC from OCP, SA of Morocco at cost of Tk 296.93 crore with each metric ton costing $781 against an earlier price of $914.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs at a meeting approved in principle two separate proposals on rice import.
As per a proposal, the Directorate General of Food will import 400,000 metric tons of rice through direct purchase method (DMP) from rice exporting countries.
Under another proposal, the Directorate General of Food was allowed to curtail the 42 days obligation to 15 days for submission of tender proposal by suppliers to procure rice from the international market to facilitate emergency import of rice.
All closed jute mills under BJMC to be reopened within this year: Minister
All closed jute mills under the Bangladesh Jute Mill Corporation (BJMC) will be reopened in phases within this year, said Textiles and Jute Minister Golam Dastagir Gazi on Wednesday.
The minister revealed this information while talking to reporters after visiting Amin Jute Mill in Chattogram.
Jute production and export of jute products from leased out mills have started that created some employment opportunities, he said.
The government has already leased out three jute mills -Bangladesh Jute Mill, Narsingdi, KFD Jute Mill, Chattogram and National Jute Mill, Sirajganj and the process to lease out three more jute mills is underway, said the minister.
Read: Jute growers paying for drought that resulted in discoloured fibre
He also expects that the workers of the closed mills will get the scope to work in the rent-based leased mills.
On July 1, 2020, the government announced closure of 25 state-owned jute mills under BJMC.
The government has so far paid Tk 3,563 crore dues of the permanent workers of these mills.
Like Singapore, Bangladeshi traders can now buy goods and export directly to third countries
Bangladesh Bank has announced a ‘Merchandise Trade’ policy to diversify exports.
From now on, like Hong Kong and Singapore, traders can buy goods or services from another country and export them to third countries.
Foreign Exchange Policy Department of Bangladesh Bank issued a circular in this regard and sent it to the authorized dealers for immediate execution on Wednesday.
Read MCCI-PRI for raising EDF to $10 billion to achieve $80 billion export target
The central bank circular stated, “In accordance with export policy in force, a trade for which goods or services procured from a country, are shipped or delivered directly to a third country is defined as ‘merchandising trade’. To facilitate transactional services by ADs to their ‘merchandising, trade’ customers, it has been decided to formulate a set of operational guidelines.”
This type of business is gaining popularity worldwide. Specific policies in this regard were necessary for Bangladesh. Due to the new policy, export trade will expand. Now traders from countries like Hong Kong, and Singapore can do business. It will earn a lot of foreign currency.
According to the policy, ‘merchandising, trade’ is defined as ‘procurement of goods and services, from another country and shipment of goods and services from that country directly to buyers in a third country’.
Read Bangladesh’s apparel export to cross $100 bn by 2030: experts
According to the circular, the EXP form will not be required for export activities under merchandising trade. Similarly, the IMP form applicable to imports will not be required in the case of procurement of goods from different countries.
Import expenses can be met with income from foreign sources. At the same time, the possibility of meeting import expenses under buyers' credit received from abroad has been kept in the circular. However, in this case, the bank cannot guarantee payment.
The circular directed that there should be a sufficient margin for local expenditure and profit after meeting liabilities from export earnings.
Read All export-oriented industries should get equal facilities: Salman F Rahman
300,000 VAT collecting machines to be installed in Dhaka, Ctg by pvt firm
A private firm, Genex Infosys Limited, will provide and install 300,000 VAT collecting machines in Dhaka city, adjoining areas and Chattogram city in the next three years.
Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) at a meeting on Wednesday approved a proposal of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to select Genex Infosys as a vendor to collect value added tax (VAT) on behalf of the government.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal presided over the virtual meeting while members of the committee attended it.
Read Black money whitening got little response in FY 22: NBR data
Genex Infosys was selected through an open tender, said additional secretary of the Cabinet Division Abdul Barik while briefing on the decisions of the committee.
He said the Genex as a lowest bidder won the contract in three lots to supply and install Electronic Fiscal Device (EFD) and Sales Data Controller (SDC) or VAT collecting machines at different types of retail shops.
Earlier, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its nod in-principle to this decision of NBR on August 31.
Read NBR supports Made in Bangladesh brand: Chairman
Barik said the vendor will supply and install the machines at its own cost and in return it will get 0.52-0.538 percent of the collected money as service charge while depositing it to the government.
It will also carry out the operation and maintenance work as well, he added.
According to NBR officials, it’s not possible for the government to operate so many machines across the country, that’s why service outsourcing is being done.
Read NBR dreams to cross revenue Tk3.0 lakh crore in FY 22
However, installation of EFD machines started two years ago but there is not much speed in its operation.
Market-based foreign exchange rate may be introduced soon: Finance Minister
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has said that the government is considering introducing market-based foreign currency exchange rates.
“We’re contemplating going for market-based foreign exchange rates. Today or tomorrow, we’ll have to go for market-based trading of foreign currency,” he told reporters while briefing on the outcomes of two consecutive meetings of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) and Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) on Wednesday.
Read: No IMF proposal received to raise power, petroleum prices: Finance Minister
The finance minister’s remarks came against the backdrop of the recent instability in the foreign currency market where the US dollar’s exchange rate recently went up to Tk 119 from Tk 85.
Bangladesh Bank recently fixed exchange rate at Tk 95 while in private banks dollar was being traded at TK 108.
Responding to a question on re-fixing the bank lending rates, he dismissed the possibility of any upward or downward change in lending rates against the existing rates of 6-9 percent interest on deposits and bank loans.
Read: Nothing wrong in economy as Bangladesh seeks IMF loan: Finance Minister
“The current interest rates between 6-9 percent are working well,” he said.
He said many countries pursue the path of increasing interest rates to contain inflation.
“But it is very tough in countries like Bangladesh to contain inflation by increasing or decreasing interest rate,” he said, adding, the central bank here does the job in two ways – by taking fiscal measures and monitoring the market.
About foreign exchange reserve, he said the foreign currency reserve is in good state.
Read Chinese ambassador meets Bangladesh finance minister
“Our remittance is increasing while export is rising and import is decreasing”, he said, claiming that there is no crisis in the foreign currency market. The foreign exchange reserve will again go up to $48 billion soon.
Responding to another question on import of Russian fuel in roubles, the finance minister said work is in progress in this regard.
“But in such a case, Bangladesh will have to do it through currency swap. Russia has to accept our currency first,” he said.
Read No IMF proposal received to raise power, petroleum prices: Finance Minister
Job Circular in Polli Bidyut: Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board will recruit 94 people
Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) published a job circular for the recruitment of manpower. This job circular has been published for the recruitment of 18 posts in the revenue sector. Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board will take a total of 94 people in these positions.
According to the circular, you can also join the posts subject to fulfilling the qualifications. Online application for the posts will start on September 15. Application can be made till October 6.
Eligibility of Application in BREB
Qualification, experience and age limit for applying for each post is different. Post-wise application eligibility, experience and age limit conditions will be known in the notification.
Read: Government Job Circular 2022: Multiple job opportunities in Ministry of Lands
Age of application
Candidates age should be between 18 to 30 years as on 6th October 2021. However, in case of children of veer mukti joddha/martyr veer mukti joddha, the age is 32 years.
Application Rules
Interested candidates can fill the application form from this website link http://brebr.teletalk.com.bd/admitcard/index.php
Application fee
The application fee for some posts is Tk 223, and for some posts Tk 112.
BB web portal shows US dollar exchange rate Tk106, though BB rate Tk96
Bangladesh Bank (BB) suddenly changed the US dollar rate at the interbank exchange rate on Tuesday.
The central bank says that the selling price of the dollar in interbank transactions on Tuesday was Tk106.15. And in the interbank transaction, the purchase price of the dollar is Tk101.67.
But it is not the central bank rate, it is the dollar trading rate between the banks themselves. The price at which banks trade dollars is called the interbank rate.
Read: Uniform rate: Tk 108/dollar max for remittance, Tk 99/dollar for export income from tomorrow
Recently, the price at which the central bank used to buy and sell dollars was referred to as the interbank rate. The BB has been publishing that price on the website.
But today (Tuesday) the central bank suddenly changed the price. Last Sunday, the selling price of the dollar was shown at Tk95 on the website. Yesterday (Monday), the price of the dollar was increased by Tk1 to Tk 96.
Today (Tuesday) the selling price of the dollar is shown on BB’s website as more than Tk106. And the purchase price is showing around Tk102.
However, even today, the BB has sold $4.5 crore from forex reserves at the rate of Tk96.
Read: Illegal dollar trade: BB summons account details of 28 exchanges
The central bank officials say that the price at which banks will buy and sell dollars will be the interbank rate. That will be published on the website. But the central bank will not sell at this rate.
The BB Executive Director and Spokesperson Md Sirajul Islam told UNB, "The price of the dollar was increased to Tk 96 yesterday. Even today the central bank sold dollars at this price.”
He is not aware why the price of dollars is being shown so high on the website.
Shakib’s company involved in share manipulation, DSE investigation finds
Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) has found evidence of share manipulation by a company whose chairman is cricketer Shakib Al Hasan.
An investigation report of DSE has highlighted how the manipulation happened. The investigation shows that Kazi Sadia Hasan, Managing Director of Monarch Holdings, was involved in share market manipulation. Shakib is the chairman of the company.
During this incident, the capital market regulatory body Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) fined Abul Khair Hero and others of the group Tk 3.55 crore. Orders have also been issued by BSEC for recovery of the penalty amount. Of this, Tk 3 crore was fined for One Bank share manipulation and the remaining was fined for BDcom share manipulation.
Read: Shakib cancels contract with Betwinner News after BCB warning
A DSE report has revealed that 11 individuals and institutions were involved in trading significant amount of One Bank shares during the major rise in the bank's share price.
Those involved include Abul Khair Hero, his wife Kazi Sadia Hasan, father Abul Kalam Matbar, and sister Kanika Afroz. Its beneficiary firms are Candlestone Investments Partners and star cricketer Shakib Al Hasan. Three listed companies in the stock market are Genex Infosys, Fortune Shoes, and Sonali Paper and Board Mills.
Hero reportedly supervised trading shares in the names of Shakib Al Hasan, Genex Infosys, Fortune Shoes, and Sonali Paper.
According to the investigation report of DSE, from November 15 to 30 last year, the share price of One Bank increased from Tk 12.60 to Tk 20.10, a percentage increase of 59.62 percent.
DSE investigations revealed that Kazi Sadia Hassan, wife of Abul Khair Hero (client code # 3898 of the UCB Stock Brokerage Limited) was the top buyer of One Bank shares during the period.
Bangladesh-Sweden further cooperation can yield more mutual benefits: BGMEA
Bangladesh and Sweden have considerable scope for deriving mutual benefits by strengthening and expanding collaboration in various potential areas of trade and investment, BGMEA said on Tuesday.
Ambassador of Sweden to Bangladesh Alex Berg von Linde met BGMEA President Faruque Hassan at his office and discussed possible avenues of boosting bilateral trade.
They also discussed how Sweden could support the sustainable development of Bangladesh’s RMG industry which aims to amplify its efforts to pursue growth in a sustainable manner to have positive impacts on the people and the planet.
Read: BGMEA, OCAIB willing to collaborate on supply chain management training
At the meeting, BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said the RMG industry aspires to enhance its competitiveness through diversifying products, upgrading technologies, adopting innovative production solutions and developing skills of workforce.
He said, “While we are placing utmost importance to building our capacities, we are also equally giving priority to the issue of sustainability in the RMG industry. The industry’s growth vision is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.
Sweden could support the industry in the areas of renewable energy, innovation, technology transfer and green growth, he opined.
Faruque Hassan invited the envoy to the “Made in Bangladesh Week” which will be organized by BGMEA on 12-18 November this year to showcase the prospects and strengths of the RMG industry.
Read:Bangladesh can be front-runner in adopting circularity in RMG: BGMEA
Ambassador Alex Berg von Linde applauded the leadership role of Bangladesh’s RMG industry in environmental sustainability and expressed high optimism about extending cooperation of Sweden to the industry to pursue further strides in sustainability.
BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim, Vice President Md. Nasir Uddin, Directors Haroon Ar Rashid, Rajiv Chowdhury, Mijanur Rahman, Chair of BGMEA Standing Committee on Foreign Mission Cell Shams Mahmud, Chair of BGMEA Standing Committee on Cash Incentive Humayun Kabir Salim, and Chair of BGMEA Standing Committee on Schedule Bank Md. Israfil Atique were also present at the meeting.
Bangladesh exports its “largest ever” container ship to UK
Bangladesh today (September 13, 2022) exported a locally built 6100-ton load capacity high-speed multipurpose container ship to the UK.
This is the largest container ship built in the country that has been exported, according to the ship’s builder.
Ananda Shipyard, a Bangladeshi shipbuilding company, has built the ship as per the requirements of UK-based Enzian Shipping Company Ltd.
Read:Foreign investors urged to expand businesses in Bangladesh
The vessel was officially handed over today through a ceremony held at InterContinental Dhaka. State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury was present as the chief guest at the function.
The National Board of Revenue’s Member (Customs Policy) Hossain Ahmed; Director General of Shipping Directorate, Commodore Nizamul Haque; Islami Bank Managing Director and CEO Monirul Mawla; Chairman of Ananda Shipyard, Dr Abdullahel Bari, and Managing Director Afroza Bari also spoke in the function.