The government of Bangladesh will honour 44 business leaders with Commercially Important Person (CIP) cards this year for their outstanding contributions to the economy of the country in 2021. Of them, six will get the award in the National Council for Industrial Development (NCID) category, 20 in large industry (production) category, 5 in large industry (services) category, 10 in medium industry (production) category, 2 in small industry (production) category and 1 in micro industry category, according to a media release signed by Mohammad Mahmudul Hasan, senior information officer of the Industries ministry.   Read more: CIP cards awarding: Businesses should prepare to compete in post-graduation period-Tipu Munshi Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque will hand over the CIP cards to the businesspersons for their respective companies at a ceremony scheduled to be held on May 22 at Hotel InterContinental Dhaka, as the chief guest. Moreover, State Minister for Industries Kamal Ahmed Majumdar, Cabinet Secretary Md Mahbubur Rahman and FBCCI President Md Jashim Uddin will attend as special guests at the event with Industries Secretary Zakia Sultana in the chair. The CIPs will be able to use VIP lounges at all the airports in the country, receive visa assistance from embassies as well as their family members will also be given priority in booking cabins at public hospitals. Read more: Govt honours 178 businesspersons with CIP status They will also get passes to enter the Bangladesh Secretariat without hindrance, participate in different national programmes and will be given priority in booking tickets for air, railway, and waterways on business trips.

The country's business leaders have urged against lifting the cap on interest rate arguing that it will affect investment. They also agreed with the Bangladesh Bank governor who insists that it is not the right time to lift the limit. Speaking at a conference here on Thursday BB Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder said they are waiting for a good time to withdraw the interest cap. Md Jasim Uddin, president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) opposed any increase in the rate.  "If the interest rate suddenly increases, the investors will plunge into trouble. The manufacturing sector investors need to sell their products in a competitive global market, he said on Friday. Read more: BB extends tenure of relaxed ‘risk-weighted’ funding in new investment He told UNB that the interest rate is still high in Bangladesh compared with many other competitive countries, which will have to be taken into consideration before raising the interest rate. Executive president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers Association (BKMEA) Mohammad Hatem said entrepreneurs are suffering losses due to the gas crisis. In this situation increasing interest rate will not be investment friendly. He said Bangladesh has to decide whether it wants to bring in investment or not. Higher interest rate will create uncertainty in many sectors, already suffering from the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. The issue of the interest cap came up Thursday in the opening session of a three-day annual development conference organised by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) at a city hotel.  Read more: BB revises cluster credit guidelines to boost small enterprises Speaking at the event BB governor informed that the central bank has already relaxed the interest rate on consumer loans. Regarding the foreign currency exchange rate, Rouf said the BB will allow the market force to determine it.

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader on Sunday said business people have failed to keep their promise of reopening the export oriented factories only with  workers available in Dhaka and its adjoining areas during the ongoing lockdown.  At a briefing at his residence Quader said "The business leaders had promised to start the factories with the workers who are residing near the workplaces. But in reality many factory owners have sent notices to the workers to quickly return to work." The short notice has prompted workers’ hurried return to the capital city in thousands ignoring all Covid health protocols for fear of losing jobs, he said. This might aggravate the surging pandemic situation in the country, he feared. Read: AL shows zero tolerance to intruders in the party, says Quader He said the government decided to allow the export-oriented industries to open at the request of the business people. Accordingly, the mainly the garment factories reopened Monday (Aug. 1), even though the current lockdown would continue until Aug. 5. Caught off-guard by the decision thousands of workers, who had gone to village homes along with their family members on Eid holidays, began returning to Dhaka either by foot or by rickshaw vans, trawlers, goods-laden pickup truck in the absence of public transport. Read: No political harassment in the country, says Obaidul Quader In a last moment decision the government allowed public transport to operate only until Saturday noon to facilitate the workers' return to work.