United News of Bangladesh

Jewellery sales have taken a hit this Eid as soaring gold prices make ornaments less affordable for many buyers. The Bangladesh Jewellers Association (Bajus) recently raised gold prices to a record high, with the latest hike coming last Thursday. A year ago, a 22-carat gold bar cost Tk 1.11 lakh, but today, its market price stands at Tk 1.55 lakh, including VAT and labour charges. This marks an increase of Tk 44,000 per bhori in just one year—the highest price surge recorded so far. "Many customers are visiting jewellery stores for Eid shopping, but due to the high prices, they are purchasing smaller quantities, only as much as they can afford," said Abdus Salam, owner of Chandrima Jewellers in Mouchak Market. He noted that gold jewellery sales have dropped by half compared to last year. Gold prices reach record high ahead of Eid Gold has long been cherished for its aesthetic appeal and cultural significance, particularly among women. While demand typically rises during festive seasons, this year, traders report a sharp decline in sales due to the steep price hike. Under the revised pricing structure, the cost per bhori is now: 22-carat: Tk 154,945 21-carat: Tk 147,900 18-carat: Tk 126,776 Traditional method: Tk 104,498 Gold price increases by Tk 2,613 per bhori in Bangladesh Bajus has also said that a 5% government-mandated VAT and a minimum 6% making charge must be added to the selling price. But making charges may vary based on the jewellery's design and quality.

Bangladesh is on track to set a new record in remittance inflows, with expatriates sending $2.25 billion through banking channels in the first 19 days of March. This marks a significant 78.4 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. According to the latest data from Bangladesh Bank, the surge in remittance is largely attributed to the upcoming Eid celebrations, as non-resident Bangladeshis are remitting more funds to support their families. Remittance inflow surges amid forex reserve crisis The current remittance flow far exceeds that of the previous year. During the first 19 days of March 2024, the country received $1.26 billion in remittances. The substantial year-on-year rise underscores the increasing confidence in formal banking channels and the incentives provided for legal remittance transfers. From July 2024 to 19 March 2025, total remittances reached $20.75 billion. This figure is significantly higher than the $16.34 billion recorded during the same period in the previous fiscal year, reflecting an approximate 27 per cent growth. Bangladesh receives $18.49 billion in remittances over 8 months Earlier this month, remittance inflows stood at $1.66 billion in the first 15 days of March. This means that an additional $590 million was received in the subsequent four days, with 19 March alone accounting for $132 million in remittance. Experts predict that if this trend continues, Bangladesh could surpass the $3 billion mark in remittance for March, setting a new monthly record. The highest monthly remittance inflow to date was recorded in December 2024, with $2.64 billion, followed by February 2025 with $2.54 billion. Expatriates send $1.93 billion in remittances in 22 days of Feb With Eid approaching and remittance inflows maintaining their momentum, Bangladesh is poised to achieve a historic milestone in its foreign exchange earnings through expatriate remittances.  

The final trading session of the week saw a decline in indices on both the Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchanges on Thursday. Despite the drop in indices, share and unit transactions in the stock exchanges witnessed an increase. On the day, the benchmark DSEX index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) fell by 5 points. Among the other indices, the Shariah-based DSES also declined, whereas the selective blue-chip DS-30 index rose by 6 points. The total transaction value at the DSE stood at Tk 497 crore for the day, up from Tk 482 crore in the previous session. Out of the 397 companies that participated in the trading, most saw a decline in share prices. While 138 companies recorded a price increase, 199 companies saw a drop, and 60 remained unchanged. Mixed trends in stock markets: DSE gains, CSE declines in early trading In terms of category-wise performance, the majority of shares in the A and B categories experienced a price decline. Meanwhile, the Z category remained relatively neutral, with 34 of the 95 traded companies gaining in value, another 34 declining, and 27 remaining unchanged. In the block market, 24.90 lakh shares of 30 companies were traded for a total value of Tk 17.44 crore. Khan Brothers led the transactions, selling shares worth Tk 3.99 crore. Midas Financing PLC topped the DSE gainers' list with a 9.30% price increase, while United Commercial Bank saw the biggest drop, losing 6.92% of its value. Decline in Chittagong Similar to Dhaka, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also saw a decline in indices. The overall index of the CSE dropped by 7 points. Despite the index fall, the total trading volume at the CSE increased. The stock exchange recorded transactions worth Tk 8.47 crore, compared to Tk 6.94 crore in the previous session. Among the 188 companies that participated in trading at the CSE, 80 witnessed a price increase, 79 saw a decline, while 29 remained unchanged. DSE announces new trading hours for Ramadan Sonar Bangla Insurance Limited led the gainers at the CSE with a 10% increase, whereas Central Insurance Company Limited registered the highest loss, declining by 9.91%.

Export and import activities through Burimari Land Port in Lalmonirhat will remain suspended for eight days from March 29 due to Eid-ul-Fitr. Faruk Hossain, president of the Burimari Land Port (C&F) Association, said trade between Bangladesh and India will be halted for eight days, including weekends, from March 29 to April 5. Operations at the port will resume on April 6. The movement of passport-holding travellers through the check-post will continue as usual, said Ashraful Islam, officer-in-charge of the Burimari Land Port Police Immigration Post.

The price of gold in Bangladesh has once again surged to a record high, just two days after the last adjustment. The price of 22-carat gold has increased by Tk 1,470 per bhori, reaching Tk 154,945—marking the highest rate in the country’s history. The Bangladesh Jewellers Association (Bajus) announced the price hike in a notice on Tuesday evening, stating that the new rates will take effect from Wednesday in the local market. Bajus explained that the decision to raise prices was due to an increase in the price of raw gold in the local market. Gold price increases by Tk 2,613 per bhori in Bangladesh Considering the overall situation, the association has set new rates accordingly. Under the revised pricing, the cost of gold per bhori has been set as follows: 22-carat: Tk 154,94521-carat: Tk 147,90018-carat: Tk 126,776Traditional method: Tk 104,498Bajus also specified that a 5% government-mandated VAT, along with a minimum making charge of 6% as set by the association, must be added to the selling price. But, the making charges may vary depending on the jewellery’s design and quality. Gold prices come down slightly in domestic market The last adjustment in gold prices took place on March 16, when Bajus increased the price of 22-carat gold by Tk 2,613 per bhori, setting it at Tk 153,475. So far this year, gold prices in Bangladesh have been adjusted 15 times, with prices increasing 11 times and decreasing only 4 times.

A two-day remittance fair is scheduled to be held on 19-20 April in New York, USA, to encourage remittance through legal channels to develop Bangladesh. The remittance fair is scheduled to be inaugurated by Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H. Mansur. The fair will be held at Sanai Restaurant and Party Hall in Jackson Heights, New York. The fair is being jointly organized by the Bangladesh-USA Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BUCCI) and USA-Bangla Business Link. The Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB) and the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) are the organizing partners. Banks and financial institutions, mobile financial service providers, money transfer operators, remittance channel partners, offshore banking service providers, and expatriate small entrepreneurs will participate in this year's fair Remittance inflow surges amid forex reserve crisis Expatriate Bangladeshis will have the opportunity to open bank accounts immediately at the fair. There will also be seminars on multiple topics in this two-day event. In addition, representatives of the New York Financial Services Department and top local money exchanges will participate in networking sessions. The organizers said that a special publication will also be published on the occasion of the fair. Bangladesh’s economy stabilising on exports and remittances: MCCI review The organizers said that Deputy Governor Md. Habibur Rahman, Director Monowar Uddin Ahmed, FBCCI Administrator Md. Hafizur Rahman, Sonali Bank Chairman Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury, Bangladesh Association of Banks Chairman Abdul Hai Sarkar, and other officials of different financial operators have agreed to participate in this remittance fair.

National Board of Revenue chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan on Tuesday said they are thinking to introduce QR Code system band-roll for tobacco sector to prevent tax evasion. He was speaking at a pre-budget meeting with Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) at the conference room of the Revenue Building. He said that as the tax is high on tobacco items huge amount of illicit cigarettes enter in the country depriving the NBR of getting due revenue. The NBR chief said that they are conducting drive against these cigarettes across the country. He said that some bidi companies used to use counterfeit band-roll to avoid paying taxes in the national exchequer. “Even they bring those band-rolls from abroad after printing in there,” he said. NBR launches campaign against illegal tobacco products The NBR chairman put emphasis on establishing cashless society to stop tax evasion. The ATMA in their proposal said that the existing four price tier (low, medium, high, and premium) system in cigarettes has rendered the tobacco price and tax measures less effective. Particularly, the very narrow price difference between low and medium tier cigarettes allows consumers to choose brands belonging to any of these two tiers. To safeguard public health, this glaring loophole can be plugged by merging low and medium price tiers and reducing the number of price tiers to three. The ATMA said that prices of tobacco products in Bangladesh are considerably low. ATMA delegation member City Editor of The Daily Janakantha Kawser Rahman placed the proposals. The other members were Deputy Editor of the Business Standard Sazzadur Rahman, ATMA Convener Mortuza Haider Liton and Co-convener Mizan Chowdhury. The proposals from ATMA for the FY 2025-26 are as follows: The low and medium tier should be merged into one and prices for 10 sticks of the merged tier should be set at Tk 90. The proposal, if realised, will encourage the low-income smokers to quit and discourage the youth from lighting up. In addition, ATMA urged policymakers to keep the retail price of high-tier cigarettes at existing Rk 140 for 10 sticks and to raise the prices for 10 sticks of premium cigarettes to Tk 190. The supplementary duty (SD) on all cigarette tiers should be the existing 67 percent. As per the proposal presented by ATMA, for non-filtered bidi, the retail price should be Rk 25 for 25 sticks. In the case of filtered bidi, the retail price for 20 sticks should be set at Tk 20. Both prices should be followed by a 45 percent SD. Regarding smokeless tobacco, the retail price for 10 grams of jarda and gul should be Tk 55 and Tk 30, followed by 60 percent SD. Tobacco kills 1.61 lakh annually in Bangladesh, experts say The budget proposals also suggest retaining 15 percent VAT on the retail prices of tobacco products and continuing the existing 1 percent health development surcharge (HDS). In support of its demand, ATMA informed that budget proposals placed by anti-tobacco organisations, if realised, can help the government raise a staggering Tk 20,000 crore in additional revenue, which will come in handy in reaching revenue targets and improve public health. Implementation of such proposals, in the long run, will also help prevent the premature deaths of 1.7 million Bangladeshis, including nearly 900,000 youths, ATMA said.

National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan on Monday said the government has pledged to phase out tax exemptions unless they are deemed absolutely necessary for the country. “We are going out from the tax exemption culture, we have scrapped existing tax exemptions, we will not give any tax exemption freshly, we have taken a vow, we have prepared a policy that we will not give any tax exemption,” he said. He made the remarks while addressing a pre-budget meeting at the NBR conference room at the Revenue Building. Representatives from financial institutions including banks, insurance firms, leasing and merchant banks, the Bangladesh Securities Exchange Commission (BSEC), Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), and DSE Brokers’ Association, attended the meeting to present their budget proposals. Expressing dissatisfaction over repeated requests for tax exemptions, the NBR chief questioned the rationale behind seeking such benefits before setting up any entity. “The first demand is tax holiday, why? This attitude has to be change, otherwise nothing will happen. Every place there is one demand- tax holiday, we do not want to live with this tax exemption culture anymore,” he said. Tracking system to alert NBR of inefficiencies, irregularities among staff He said past tax exemptions have not yielded expected results. “We did not get any positive result wherever we gave this tax exemption,” he added. He said the government in the past time nurtured the tax exemption culture and currently the country is paying badly for that. “For that purpose, the tax GDP ratio is not increasing in the country, one analysis said that Bangladesh is losing the same amount of money what it collects as revenue due to the tax exemption, we do not want to bear this bad name anymore,” he said. Talking about the present condition of the capital market of Bangladesh, Md Abdur Rahman Khan said that the basic problem is the lack of good governance in the capital market. He mentioned that no country in the world could develop industrialisation without developing the capital market. “Bangladesh will not be able to do that also, but we have ruined this place through various means, still we are depending on the banking sector for the source of money for industrialisation,” he said. He blamed the regulators for the lack of confidence of the investors in the capital market. NBR to digitise its activities under master plan He said that business people used to take loans from the banks for setting up their industries but they are not interested to go to the capital market to raise funds. “Why they are not coming to the capital market, I do not know that,” he added. He also said that taking money from the banking sector is loan while raising fund from the capital market is “absolutely free money”. “You do not need to return that money, if you take money from the bank you have to start repaying just after one year, but you will need five years to set up the industry, to reach the break-even point you will need 20 years, them how you will do your business taking money from banks,” he said.

Bangladesh Bank has introduced a significant policy change to enhance business growth and employment in the Cottage, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (CMSME) sector. Under the new policy, the central bank has mandated that 27 percent of loans be allocated to the CMSME sector for the next five years.  This initiative was announced during a press conference held at Bangladesh Bank’s headquarters in Motijheel on Monday. Stock Market: Dhaka sees decline, Chattogram experiences growth Mustafizur Rahman, Executive Director of Bangladesh Bank; Noushad Mustafa, Director of the SME Department; and Habibur Rahman, Assistant Spokesperson, were present at the press conference. As part of the new policy, people involved in f-commerce and e-commerce will be eligible for loans of up to Tk 5 lakh under the CMSME scheme. The revised master circular also outlines that small traders without trade licenses will be eligible for loans. Accounts above Tk1.0 crore up by 4,954 in December quarter Besides, the definition of women entrepreneurs has been updated in the new policy. A company will now be considered a woman-led business if the woman holds at least 20 percent ownership and 51 percent of its employees are women. Earlier, the threshold for ownership was 51 percent. Besides, banks are required to establish separate departments to manage CMSME loans and assess the risks associated with them. Bangladesh Bank reconstitutes boards of three private banks  

Mobile financial service provider bKash is facilitating Eid shopping through Facebook live sessions, allowing customers to purchase from top brands at discounted prices. During these live sessions on bKash's official Facebook page, "bKash for Business," and participating merchant pages, customers can avail up to Tk 500 in discounts or cashback on purchases from brands such as Le Reve, SaRa Lifestyle, Sailor, Raw Nation, Fabrilife, and Shelai, said a press release. Customers can place orders directly from merchants’ Facebook pages or websites and get discounts by using the "R1" coupon while making payments via bKash. As part of the campaign, daily live sessions feature popular hosts showcasing the Eid collections of renowned brands. Additionally, customers can win gifts by sharing the live sessions on social media. The person with the highest number of shares receives a special gift from the merchant, with winners announced during the sessions. Shoppers can also avail special discounts by showing a screenshot of their shared live session at selected merchant outlets.