Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has briefed Moody’s Investor Service about the future priorities of the RMG industry to enhance its capabilities and competitiveness in the global market in the coming days. The priorities include increased emphasis on product diversification, innovation, technology upgradation and skill development. Read more: Germany's TU Dresden to give technical, knowledge support to BGMEA's CIEOSH A delegation of Moody’s Investor Service met with BGMEA President Faruque Hassan at BGMEA Complex on Tuesday to understand the status quo of the RMG industry in Bangladesh, especially its prospects, current challenges, and way forward. The Moody’s team included Alka Anbarasu, Associate Managing Director, and Camille Chautard, Analyst. A representative of Bangladesh Bank was also present at the meeting, according to BGMEA. They had discussions about different trade-related issues Bangladesh’s RMG industry, including the challenges posed by the present global energy crisis and inflation, impacts on exports and possible ways to deal with the situation. Read more: BGMEA urges US' Jordache to source more from Bangladesh BGMEA President Faruque Hassan apprised the Moody’s team of remarkable progress made by Bangladesh’s apparel industry, becoming one of the safest and greenest industries in the world. Mentioning the proven resilience of the industry, he expressed high optimism would be able to weather the tough time. The RMG sector is keeping close eyes on the global market situation and would move ahead strategically based on the situation, he added. Moody’s Investor Service is a leading provider of credit ratings, research, and risk analysis. Faruque Hassan invited the Moody’s delegation to the Made in Bangladesh Week which will be organised by BGMEA on 12-18 November 2022 to promote Bangladesh and the RMG industry.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Thursday said prices of edible oil may fall in Bangladesh in line with declining prices in the international market. “We have seen that the prices of edible oil are declining in the international market and Indonesia has also withdrawn its ban on exporting edible oil. We will review the prices of oil within five to seven days and will fix new rate. It will take one and a half month time to come into effect,” he said. Also read:Dealers, retailers betrayed me on edible oil price: Commerce Minister The minister said these while speaking at a press briefing held at the conference room of the ministry. The good news is that the price of palm oil has come down and the price of soybean oil has started to decline, he said.

Bangladesh has purchased LNG and fertiliser at lower prices from the international market compared to previous rates as prices of the two products fall on the international market. Such an indication was found from the government's latest purchase of the two essential products. The approval of the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase to the latest purchase shows that Petrobangla has imported 33.60 lakh MMBtu of LNG from Vitol Asia Pte Ltd, Singapore at a per unit price at $25.75. The total value of the consignment was Tk 886.76 crore. Also read: Cabinet purchase body approves import of diesel, Jet fuel, LNG and fertilizer The per unit price of the last consignment's LNG was $26.40 which at one stage went to $39 following the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. Similarly, the price of fertiliser witnessed a big fall as the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) bought 30,000 metric tons of bagged granullar urea fertiliser with each metric ton’s price at $671 while price of each metric ton of the last consignment was $876 and at one stage it crossed $900. The 30,000 MTs of bulk fertliser this time costs Tk 174.62 crore, said Zillur Rahman, additional secretary of the Cabinet Division, who briefed reporters. Meanwhile, the Cabinet committee approved a proposal to award a Tk 439.51 crore contract to Joint Venture (1) ZHEC (2) BOW and (3) SMEDRIC, Hong Kong to do civil construction works for set up a water treatment plant at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Industrial City at Mirsarai in Chattagram. Also read: Bangladesh wants to procure LNG from Qatar for a longer period: PM Another proposal of the Department of Public Works received the approval of the committee to award Tk 191.80 crore contract to Mazid Sons Construction Ltd. to build a 25-story apartment complex at Green City Housing in Ropppur Nuclear Power Plant project.

FBCCI President Md. Jashim Uddin on Saturday urged the businessmen to ensure the quality of domestic products in order to utilize the potential of global market for electronics products He made the call at the FBCCI Standing Committee on Electrical and Electronics Merchandise was held at FBCCI on Saturday afternoon. FBCCI President said that we had to import electrical products before, but now about 80 percent is made in the country. Compliance is a big issue for the development of this sector. He said that it is possible to deliver electrical products to the world market if we can ensure quality products. The FBCCI chief further said that whether big or small companies, all are contributing to the economy of the country. He said that the government is also providing necessary support to keep the small traders afloat. “We also need to cooperate in formulating policies for them. We should work for the development of the whole sector, not only for our own business. Jashim Uddin urged the businessmen to emphasize on the establishment of backward linkages at that time,” he said. “we should provide full cooperation to these sectors including electrical, which can generate revenue by exporting products to the world market,” FBCCI’s senior vice-president Mostofa Azad Chowdhury Babu said. Read: No need to import wheat before August, says food secretary FBCCI’s Vice President Director-in-Charge of the Committee M A Razzak Khan said that there are policies in almost all sectors including garments and leather, except this electrical and electronics sectors. “As a result, most of the companies in the country are in recession except a few.” He said that if the small and medium entrepreneurs could not survive, they would fail to repay the loans given by the banks. As a result, both the bank and the entrepreneur will suffer. President of Bangladesh Television Manufacturers Association and Co-chairman of the committee Md. Sohel Khan demanded a separate industrial zone for assembling television and SRO facilities on this sector with the help of backward linkage. FBCCI's panel advisor and co-chairman of the committee, Dr. Kazi Iqbal said that due to lack of research and sufficient data, the electrical and electronics sector in Bangladesh is not growing significantly. We need to work through overall mapping on this sector. The meeting was chaired by former director of FBCCI and chairman of the committee Engr. Mohd. Mohabbat Ullah. Citing the lack of data in the electronics sector, he informed about his planning of creating a database in the sector on his own initiative and sending it to the government through FBCCI. Other members of the committee raised various demands at the meeting, including government incentives on the manufacturing of safety security equipment, increasing the use of domestic cable in government projects, setting up hubs for electrical and electronics products in Dubai or Africa, and 15% cash incentives from the government on this sector. FBCCI Vice President MA Momen, Md Amin Helaly, Director Hafez Harun, Former Director Khandaker Ruhul Amin, Committee Co-chairman Mafizur Rahman, Salauddin Yousuf, FBCCI Secretary General Mohammad Mahfuzul Hoque and other members were present at the meeting.

Global smartphone manufacturing brand vivo has brought its first foldable smartphone, Vivo X-Fold, to the global market. Vivo tablet pad was also launched for the first time. The new devices were recently released in China. However, vivo has not yet announced whether it will release these devices to other countries, including Bangladesh. Also read: Vivo Y33s available in new colour The most notable advantage of a foldable smartphone is its dual-screen display. The device allows users to spread or open the screens while working or playing games. It can be folded again and kept in the pocket like a normal device. "Vivo X-Fold is the first foldable smartphone in the world to have a 3D ultrasonic dual fingerprint sensor that will work on both screens. This 3D ultrasonic sensor supports 100 percent 3D data detection and unlocks 39 percent faster than conventional unlock systems," according to the company. Like the other smartphones of vivo X series, this one also incorporates the Zeiss camera technology. Also read:Vivo X Fold Review: Can it outsmart the other foldable phones? Also, this device is equipped with Zeiss optics and Zeiss T coating. Apart from that, Zeiss portrait effects have been added. Also, Vivo X-Fold offers a layer of ultra-thin glass (UTG) for added protection which ensures durability. SPU Snapdragon combined with hardware and software 8-Zen will secure data on the smartphone. Vivo's 11-inch tab includes a 2.5K and 120Hz ultra vision display. Read Best Upcoming Smartphones in May 2022 in Bangladesh

The Bangladesh Jewellers Samity (Bajus) has increased the prices of gold by Tk1,867 per bhori in line with the global market trend. The price of each bhori of 22-carat gold ornaments will stand at Tk75,000. The new prices will be effective across the country from Thursday, MA Hannan, chairman of the standing committee on pricing and price monitoring of the jewellers' association, said Wednesday in a statement. Now, each bhori of 21-carat gold will cost Tk71,675, 18-carat Tk61,819, and gold acquired in the traditional method Tk51,205. Till Wednesday, 22-carat gold was sold for Tk73,133, 21-carat at Tk69,984, 18-carat Tk61,236, and gold acquired in the traditional method Tk50,913. READ: Gold import policy fails to stop smuggling, tax evasion: NBR Chairman From Thursday, the price of 22-carat gold will go up by Tk1,867 per bhori, 21-carat by Tk1,691, 18-carat by 583 and gold acquired in the traditional method by Tk292 per bhori. Bajus lowered the price of gold by Tk1,166 on December 16, 2021. On November 13, the price was raised to Tk2,333.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said the goldsmiths of Bangladesh are skilled, their works are very beautiful and they can make world class ornaments. There is huge potential to export gold ornaments using the advantage of Bangladesh’s goldsmiths’ handwork as such ornaments demand is increasing in the global markets. The minister came up with the remark while addressing the chief guest of the new office inauguration ceremony of Bangladesh Jeweller’s Association (BJA) in the Bashundhara City Shopping complex on Tuesday. READ: CIP cards awarding: Businesses should prepare to compete in post-graduation period-Tipu Munshi Tipu Munshi also agreed on the necessity of gold bank in the country to assist the gold industry related people and expand the business of such pricy matters. “If the gold industry stands once, the country can earn huge forex currency as the value addition of gold is very high,” the minister added. The minister said the value addition of some gold jewellery is around 30 to 50 percent while value addition in the garment industry is 5 to 8 percent. Bashundhara Group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan was the special guest in the function while BJA President Sayem Sobhan Anvir presided over the function. BJA General Secretary Dilip Kumar Agarwala moderated the function. READ: We need to strengthen SMEs, agro-businesses for expanding economy: Tipu Munshi Tipu Munshi also said, "Bangladesh's reputation will be spread in different parts of the world through the handiwork of the country's goldsmiths and traders. I believe this sector would generate huge revenue for the country.” Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, owner of the country's lone gold refinery said Bangladesh’s export volume will jump to a new height if the gold export is started in the Chinese and European markets. A number of jewellery traders were also present in the function.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said the government has rationally raised the fuel oil prices amid the price hike in the international market as a large amount of subsidy is provided to this sector. “We provide Tk 23,000 crore subsidy to only diesel every year. We provide a total of Tk 53,000 crore as subsidy against diesel, electricity and related others. You just tell me how much money should be given as a subsidy,” she said. The Prime Minister was speaking at a press conference at her Ganobhaban in the afternoon on the outcome of her recent two-week visit to the United Kingdoms and France. Some journalists were also connected to the event virtually from the Prime Minister’s Office. Hasina said fuel prices have gone up in the international market and there will be no more development in the country if the larger amount of the budget is given as a subsidy. “If we procure diesel at a high rate and provide it at the cheapest rate by giving a larger amount of subsidy, how can we balance it? I’ve to consider the matters which are pragmatic,” she said, asking all to consider it. Read:Consensus over climate finance a significant achievement: Hasina Khaleda’s treatment The Prime Minister said she has given enough facilities to BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia by allowing her to stay in her residence and receive medical treatment. “She (Khaleda) has been allowed to stay in her residence and receive medical treatment by exercising the executive authority I have. The rest is a legal matter,” she said, replying to a question if she takes any initiative for the treatment of ailing Khaleda Zia. “Isn’t it enough that Khaleda Zia was allowed to stay in her residence instead of jail and receive treatment there?” questioned the PM. In a counter question, she asked the journalist whether he would receive a person with a garland who had tried to kill him and rewarded the killers of his family members by giving them jobs in different missions abroad and by not bringing the perpetrators to justice. Hasina said Khaleda Zia made Colonel Rashid, a killer of Bangabandhu, the opposition leader in Parliament through the February 15 election in 1996, and she also gave an accused Khairuzzaman a job in the Foreign Ministry and sent him to foreign mission as an ambassador. Khaleda Zia also promoted another killer of Bangabandhu, Pasha posthumously, who was in the army and ensured all retirement and other benefits for his family, she said. After the August 21 grenade attack, Khaleda had remarked that she (Sheikh Hasina) carried the grenades in her vanity bag. The Awami League was not allowed to discuss the attack in Parliament, even for a single day, though 22 people were killed and many others injured, she said. Before the Kotalipara bomb plantation, Khaleda Zia had commented that Sheikh Hasina can never be the opposition leader, let alone the Prime Minister. “She thought I would die,” said Hasina. “Even then we are not inhumane (like them). This is why she has been allowed to stay in residence by applying my executive authority….. I showed humanity for such an inhumane person,” she said.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan has urged the US brands and retailers to be more rational in pricing in order to build a secured global market where workplace and jobs will be safer and more sustainable. He urged the US government to consider reducing duty on apparel products from Bangladesh. The BGMEA President called on US businessmen and non-resident Bangladeshis living in the US to explore investment opportunities in textile industries in Bangladesh, particularly in the non-cotton segment. He made the call while addressing a roundtable titled "Seven years after Rana Plaza: Who is doing what?" organised by the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC recently, said a BGMEA media release. Read:BGMEA urges AAFA to promote Bangladesh’s business interests in US market “Our factories are increasingly investing money for safety and sustainability. Besides, production cost has gone up by more than 30% in last five years. On the contrary, the price of our apparel is declining every year," said the BGMEA chief. While it is a fact that in a free market economy price cannot be dictated, but nobody can justify a lower price to produce socially fair goods, he said.  “It is the collaboration and partnership between brands and our suppliers that has helped us to achieve tremendous growth so far and future cooperation and partnership will help us to maintain this,” Faruque Hassan added. In his address at the roundtable Bangladesh Ambassador to the United States M Shahidul Islam highlighted the measures and initiatives taken by the government of Bangladesh to support the RMG industry in ensuring workplace safety and the welfare of garment workers in Bangladesh. Senior US government officials including Christopher Wilson, Assistant US Trade Representative for South Asia; William Jackson, Assistant USTR for Textiles, and Jennifer Larson, Director for South and Central Asia of the US Department of State; Maureen Haggard, Director for Democracy, Human Rights and Labour of the US Department of State; former Bangladeshi diplomat Farooq Sobhan, BGMEA Vice President Miran Ali, Ambassador Teresita Schaffer from the McLarty Associates, representatives of US-Bangladesh Business Council, American Apparel and Footwear Association, Walmart, Target, as well as senior officials of the Bangladesh Embassy participated in the roundtable. Read: BGMEA, USGBC keen to promote green growth in Bangladesh BGMEA President Faruque Hassan briefed the US Government and relevant stakeholders about how the readymade garment industry of Bangladesh has undergone massive transformation over the last few years to become one of the safest industries in the world and have the highest number of green garment factories across the globe. He apprised the participants of the steps and measures taken by the industry to ensure workers’ wellbeing. The BGMEA chief stressed the need for a unified code of conduct as multiple audits are not only waste of time and money, but also the audit fatigue makes compliance difficult for enterprises.

The government is going to launch accredited laboratories soon to ensure the quality of agricultural goods to face the competitive global market. Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque said this on Sunday during an online discussion programme with vegetable and fruit exporters. "The government aims to make the agriculture sector profitable through marketing and processing. For that, the agricultural export market must be expanded," he said. Also read: Cabinet nods Agricultural Good Practices Policy to ensure safe food Also, the government is working on reducing barriers to exports of agricultural goods and considering setting up the processing industry and finding ways to give more support to the entrepreneurs, Razzaque said. "Those who are involved with the export and improving the quality of agricultural goods will get all the assistance," the minister added. "Agriculture is vital for Bangladesh as it ensures food security and provides raw materials for different industries. We can export agricultural goods to the international market if we can produce safe vegetables and fruits and process them."