The Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) has said the economy has been gradually recovering despite the political instability after the July-August movement. In its quarterly economic review for July-September 2024 (Q1 of FY25) revealed on Thursday, the MCCI said the country saw improvements in exports, imports, remittances, and foreign exchange reserves despite many economic challenges during July-September. It has identified several pressing economic challenges including high inflation, declining external demand, a revenue shortfall, slow public expenditure, reduced job opportunities, and sluggish investment. The agriculture sector employed about 45% of the labor force and contributed 12.84% to GDP in Q4 of FY24, up from 9.41% in Q3 of FY24. Strong government support and favorable natural conditions, aside from localised flooding, enabled the sector to achieve a growth rate of 5.27% in Q4 of FY24, slightly higher than the 5.16% growth in Q3, said a press release. It said while data for Q1 of FY25 is pending, the industrial sector experienced slower growth of 3.98% in Q4 of FY24, down from 6.25% in Q3. The sector’s GDP share also fell to 35.38% in Q4 from 40.50% in Q3. The manufacturing sub-sector showed a similar trend, with growth declining to 6.45% in Q4 from 6.93% in Q3. The services sector grew by 3.67% in Q4 of FY24, slightly down from 3.81% in Q3. However, its GDP contribution increased to 51.78% in Q4, up from 50.09% in Q3, it added. Adani fraud allegations rock Indian Parliament as opposition demands probe into billionaire's firms Data from the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) indicates that power generation reached a maximum of 15,717 MW on September 20, 2024. On September 30, actual generation was 13,176 MW against a demand of 13,946 MW, resulting in 340 MW of load shedding. Broad money (M2) growth slowed to 7.88% in September 2024, below the central bank’s target of 8.20%. Private sector credit grew by 9.20% year-on-year, falling short of the 9.80% target. Public sector credit growth plummeted to 8.75%, compared to 26.27% in September 2023. Tax revenue collection decreased by 6.07% year-on-year in Q1 of FY25, with significant shortfalls in VAT and customs revenue. Public expenditure also slowed, with ministries and divisions spending only 4.75% of the annual development program (ADP) allocation during the quarter, compared to 7.50% in the same period last year, it said. Export earnings grew by 7.62% year-on-year to $11.66 billion in Q1 of FY25, while imports rose by 1.64% to $16.17 billion. Remittances surged by 33.34% to $6.54 billion, driven by higher inflows in September 2024. Massive irregularities in banking, energy sectors detected: Debapriya General inflation eased slightly to 9.92% in September 2024 from 10.49% in August. Food inflation dropped to 10.40%, while non-food inflation stood at 9.50%. Rural areas were disproportionately affected by high inflation compared to urban regions. The Bangladeshi Taka depreciated by 1.67% against the US dollar between June and September 2024. Gross foreign exchange reserves stood at $24.86 billion in September, down from $26.91 billion a year earlier. Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows declined by 15.01% year-on-year to $300 million in Q1 of FY25. While signs of recovery are evident, significant challenges remain for Bangladesh’s economy, said MCCI. It stressed the need for addressing structural inefficiencies and improving governance will be crucial to sustaining growth in the coming quarters.  

Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has detained a member of a fraud ring from Madaripur on Friday on charge of embezzling about Tk 1.5 lakh from the family members of the July-August movement martyr Sifat Ullah. The arrestee is Md Akash Bepari, 21, son of Iskan Bepari of Chowdhury Kandi village in Madaripur, said Additional Superintendent of Police Azad Rahman (CID - media wing). A team from the Cyber Intelligence and Risk Management Wing of the CID conducted a series of raids in the Surjanagar area under the Shibchar Thana in Madaripur district and arrested a suspect on Friday. During initial interrogation, the accused confessed that they are a gang of 14 to 15 individuals who have been extorting money from victims through fraudulent schemes for an extended period. The process of filing a case against the detainee is currently underway. The CID’s monitoring team learned through various news reports that the family of Sifat Ullah in Kishoreganj had fallen victim to fraud. Sifat Ullah, a 19-year-old resident of Munyarikanda village in Pakundia upazila, was a student at Mauna Emdadul Uloom Jamia Islamia Madrasa in Sreepur Upazila, Gazipur. He was killed during the recent uprising. Tati League leader arrested from Dhaka's Sutrapur over killing of student Following his death, several organizations provided financial assistance to his family. However, on October 10, the family reported to the Cyber Monitoring Unit that fraudsters had cunningly taken Tk 1,56,150 from them. The group, posing as government officials from the Finance Ministry, contacted Sifat's family, claiming they were calling to facilitate a donation. They requested the family's bank account number and ATM card information, and then asked for the OTP by discussing the serial number needed to process the donation. After obtaining the OTP, the fraudsters withdraw money from the card.