A three-day long first-ever Bangladesh International Travel and Tourism Expo (BITTE) will be held in the city from December 1 with a view to improving the quality of the country's tourism services to earn foreign currency. Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB) will organise the expo at Bangabandhu International Conference Center, said the organisation’s President SM Manzur Murshed Mahbub at a press briefing on Tuesday. Read more: ATAB to host tourism expo Dec 1-3; deal with “Air Astra” signed The Expo will run till December 3 from 10 am to 7 pm and seminars will be held on three topics over these days. Some of the activities are related to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism such as product branding promotion of the tourism industry, traditional food exhibitions, embassies of different countries and the high commissions. Airlines, hospitals, tourism boards, Travel agencies, tour operators, hotels, resorts, cruise liners, destination management companies and other travel and tourism sector service providers in more than 15 countries including India, Malaysia, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Oman, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Azerbaijan, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, United Arab Emirates have already confirmed their participation as exhibitor Air Astra BITTE. Read more: Master plan for tourism in Bangladesh to be formulated in Dec: State Minister By participating in the Expo, business connections and relationships will be created between travel agents and tour operators and the country's public will get to know about global travel information, packages and air tickets, said ATAB President. General Manager Mozammel Haque on behalf of title sponsor Air Astra and General Manager Public Relations Kamrul Islam of sponsor US Bangla Airlines attended the press conference along with other invited guests.

Bangladesh Bank has allowed mobile financial service (MSF) providers to bring inward remittance, in order to increase remittance inflow. The foreign exchange policy department of Bangladesh Bank issued a circular in this regard on Tuesday. According to the circular, authorized dealers can make drawing arrangements directly with exchange houses abroad without prior permission from Bangladesh Bank. Read more: Bangladesh Bank allows export income, remittance through MFS Authorized dealers are also allowed to go for drawing arrangements without letters of reference or certificates from the Bangladesh embassy or high commission of the respective country. In order to bring wider flexibility, MFS providers will be allowed to repatriate wage earners’ remittance in association with internationally recognized online payment gateway service providers, banks, digital wallets, card schemes, and aggregators abroad, said the Bangladesh Bank notification. In this context, MFS providers must have standing arrangements with foreign PSPs to receive foreign currency in their account, and equivalent taka value will be credited to the wage earners’ MFS accounts. Subsequently, foreign PSPs will provide credit to the designated dealer’s Nostro account (an account that a bank holds in a foreign currency in another bank). After receiving the amount in taka, wage earners’ can use the MFS account from abroad to do all transactions in Taka. Read more: BFIU suspends cash out from 230 MFS accounts over transactions through hundi Mobile financial services who want to provide repatriation services have to apply to Foreign Exchange  Policy Department by December 31, 2022, with details of proposed arrangements in accordance with the framework outlined above or similar conducive procedures. Bangladesh Bank will primarily accord permissions, to review arrangements for piloting the initiative. Bangladesh rolled out MFS in 2011. Since then, the service has seen a boom in the country. At present, 13 MFS operators are providing services to more than 18 crore account holders who are transferring nearly Tk 3,000 crore daily.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has urged the Customs Bond Commissionerate (CBC) to provide faster and more simplified services to the RMG industry.  The trade association also called for removing complexities in the process of including description of raw materials and other related materials with their HS code in bond licences. Read more: BGMEA urges BEZA to speed up garment village construction at Mirsarai BGMEA President Faruque Hassan made the request during his meeting with CBC Commissioner (Dhaka South) Mohammad Ahsanul Haque, and CBC Commissioner (Dhaka North) Md. Azizur Rahman at the CBC office in Dhaka on Monday.  BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim was also present at the meeting.  The BGMEA leaders apprised the CBC commissioners of the problems being faced by the RMG factories with regard to customs bond related services.  They sought cooperation of CBC to remove all obstacles in the customs bond related issues.  Faruque Hassan said the RMG industry aims to increase its global market share in the coming days.  The sector needs faster services to reduce lead time and the cost incurred due to delayed services, he said.  Read more: BGMEA wants increased police vigilance to stop RMG goods theft during transportation In order to seize the opportunities that lie ahead of the RMG industry, business procedures, especially customs and bond related ones should be made more simplified and quicker, Faruque Hassan added.  The two commissioners listened to the BGMEA leaders and assured of their cooperation address the issues raised in the meeting.

TAD Logistic has launched direct cargo flights between Dhaka to Incheon (South Korea). The third flight was operated last Saturday, said a media release on Monday. Read more: NOVOAIR to operate Jashore-Cox’s Bazar direct flights from Nov 30 According to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), this fiscal year, Korea will export a diverse range of garments such as underwear, denim, shirts, jackets and pullovers worth $1 billion. Bangladeshi entrepreneurs now have an opportunity to capture the Korean market as garment manufacturing is increasingly moving out of China due to continued cost increases, business people say. Korea currently sources 34% of its apparel demand from Beijing. Tad Group Managing Director, Md. Ashikur Rahman Tuhin said, " This direct flight will operate twice a week. Based on demand, we want to increase the number of flights to five per week. This will increase the export of perishable products from Bangladesh. The major exports from Bangladesh to South Korea are leather, leather products, crab, RMG, fish and human hair." Read more: Bangladesh-Vietnam direct flights may begin this year-end He also said that now entrepreneurs are looking for reliable options to import and export products to keep pace with market demand and maintain business continuity. This service will save time and ensure the arrival of any urgent product within one day. According to a data released by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh's share of the Korean apparel market has been increasing since 2017, albeit at a slower pace, and in fiscal year 2022 it earned $440 million in export revenue, which is more than 4%.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has urged Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) to speed up construction of the garment village at Bangabandhu Shilpa Nagar in Mirsarai, Chattogram to make it operational for industries in the shortest possible time. If the industrial plots get ready, apparel factories would be able to go into operation and create employment opportunities for a huge number of people while bringing foreign exchange as export earnings, BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said during a meeting with BEZA at its office in Dhaka Monday (November 28, 2022). Read more: BGMEA wants increased police vigilance to stop RMG goods theft during transportation Prime Minister's Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman were present as chief guest at the meeting chaired by BEZA Executive Chairman Shaikh Yusuf Harun. Former BGMEA president Md Siddiqur Rahman; BGMEA vice-presidents Khandoker Rafiqul Islam, Md Nasir Uddin, and Director Md M Mohiuddin Chowdhury were also present at the meeting. Faruque said completion of the industrial site would help RMG exporters to set up factories and thus contribute to propelling the industrial growth in Bangladesh. Read More: BGMEA for ensuring workers' health, well-being for improving productivity

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has urged the Customs Bond Commissionerate (CBC) to provide faster and more simplified services to the apparel industry. The trade association also called for removing complexities in the inclusion of descriptions of raw materials and other related materials with their harmonised system codes in bond licences. BGMEA President Faruque Hassan made the request during his meeting with CBC Commissioner (Dhaka South) Mohammad Ahsanul Haque, and CBC Commissioner (Dhaka North) Md Azizur Rahman in Dhaka Monday. BGMEA Vice-President Shahidullah Azim was also present at the meeting. The BGMEA leaders informed the CBC commissioners about the problems faced by the readymade garments (RMG) factories regarding customs bond-related services. Read more: Can’t control global economy, but want to boost exports: BGMEA president They sought cooperation from CBC to remove all obstacles in the customs bond-related issues. Faruque said the RMG industry aims to increase its global market share in the coming days. "The sector needs faster services to reduce lead time and the cost incurred due to delayed services." To seize the opportunities that lie ahead of the RMG industry, business procedures, especially customs and bond-related ones, should be made more simplified and quicker, he added. The two commissioners assured the BGMEA leaders of their cooperation. Read more: BGMEA wants increased police vigilance to stop RMG goods theft during transportation

RFL's toy brand Playtime has brought the Mini Cooper Car toy for children. RN Paul, managing director of RFL Group, unveiled the Mini Cooper Car in Dhaka recently. Read more: PRAN-RFL group wins six trophies for its export prowess. Kazi Rashedul Islam, executive director of Playtime Toy, said: "Currently, the trend of using different types of electric toy cars has increased among children. That is why we have launched this product." "This car can be used through remote control and be operated through an app. It can be used for more than four hours with a single charge. The maximum retail price of RFL Mini Cooper Car toy is Tk16,000," he added. Read More: Safe Toys for Children: Tips to avoid harmful playing objects

Law enforcement agencies need to increase vigilance on the highways to prevent the theft of RMG export goods, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has said. BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said: "The RMG industry of Bangladesh has earned a global reputation as the safest and greenest industry in the world, and it's an achievement that we all have to retain." Read: Bangladesh RMG industry emphasizes technologies to enhance competitiveness, transparency: BGMEA chief Leaders of BGMEA and the Bangladesh Truck Covered Van Owners Association have underscored the need for concerted efforts of exporters, transport owners, police administration and other parties to prevent theft of apparel goods during transportation. The call came from a meeting held between the two associations in Dhaka Monday. BGMEA President Faruque Hassan, Vice-President Md Shahidullah Azim; Bangladesh Truck Covered Van Owners Association President Tofazzal Hossain Majumder, Executive President Syed Md Bakhtiar, and General Secretary Rustom Ali Khan were present at the meeting. They sat together to discuss measures and ways to stop readymade garments (RMG) export goods theft on the Dhaka-Chattagram highway. Read: BGMEA chief stresses nutritious diet for workers’ health, productivity Apart from financial losses, stealing incidents put exporters in an embarrassing situation when such cases are detected after products reach buyers, the associations said. Also, they urged all garment factories to keep the photos of drivers, helpers and travel documents, including licences of trucks and covered vans as a precautionary measure. The BGMEA leaders urged the Bangladesh Truck Covered Van Owners Association to ensure that a GPS tracker is installed in all goods-laden cargo vans to stop stealing during transportation.  

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 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.