United News of Bangladesh

The Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) has urged the government to ensure transparency in the bidding process of public procurement. They made the call when a delegation of the apex chamber of multinational companies met with the Adviser to the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources, Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan on Thursday.  The FICCI board members highlighted several key issues faced by foreign investors in the sector, particularly in relation to regulatory bottlenecks and concerns about transparency in the bidding process. They discussed critical industry matters and ways to explore avenues for collaboration. The FICCI Board, led by its President Zaved Akhtar, congratulated the adviser on his new role and expressed confidence in his leadership to address the pressing challenges in the power and energy sectors.  According to FICCI, Dr Fouzul Kabir acknowledged the challenges raised by FICCI member companies and assured them of his firm commitment to tackling corruption within the ministry.  He pledged to implement reforms aimed at enhancing transparency, particularly in the bidding process, and expressed his determination to resolve the specific problems affecting FICCI members. The adviser also expressed his willingness to collaborate closely with FICCI to address these challenges and promote sustainable growth in the power and energy sectors.  He emphasized the importance of public-private cooperation and expressed a commitment to maintaining an open dialogue with FICCI to foster long-term partnerships. As a token of appreciation and in recognition of the ongoing dialogue between FICCI and the Ministry, the FICCI President handed over the chamber’s latest publications to the adviser, underscoring the Chamber's commitment to continued advocacy for its members and supporting the development of a robust energy sector in Bangladesh. FICCI has been working as the development frontier of Bangladesh by creating significant footprints in economic growth since its journey started in 1963.  As a leading chamber, FICCI represents Foreign Investors from 35 countries across the globe in 21 sectors in Bangladesh. 

A General Diary (GD) has been filed against Tanvir A Mishuk, the former Chief Executive Officer of Nagad, at Banani Police Station in Dhaka. The complaint was lodged by Muhammad Badiuzzaman Didar, the newly appointed administrator of Nagad. The GD was officially recorded on September 5, after Didar alleged that Mishuk had sent him a “threatening message” via WhatsApp on September 4. Banani Police Station’s Officer-in-Charge, Russel Sarwar, confirmed the filing and stated that the authorities are investigating the matter. The threat is being taken seriously, and an investigation is currently underway, said OC Russel Sarwar. Sub-Inspector Mohammad Ali Saikat, the GD Investigation Officer, provided further details, noting that Didar had expressed feeling “threatened” by the content of the message. The developments at Nagad come in the wake of significant changes within Bangladesh's financial sector. On August 5, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned amid widespread student protests, leading to a wave of restructuring across various financial institutions. Subsequently, on August 21, the interim government dissolved the previous board of Nagad and appointed Didar as the new administrator. Bangladesh Bank has also deployed six additional officers to support the transition at the mobile financial services operator.

Summit Group has completed the repair of its floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), known as LNG Terminal, but it will take 20 more days to get service from the facility as Petrobangla needs time to import LNG. “Summit is pleased to announce that Summit LNG Terminal Co Pvt Limited (“SLNG”) is now ready for ship-to-ship transfer and regasification of LNG in order to send out 500 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of regasified LNG to the national grid,” it said in a statement on Thursday. Considering the national importance of SLNG to meet the demand of power, fertiliser and gas in the industrial sectors, Summit’s officials along with its international partners have been working tirelessly round the clock to resume gas supply to the national grid, it added. On May 23 this year, the ship-to-ship transfer was strategically avoided due the onset of cyclone Remal. A few days later on May 27, during the peak of cyclone Remal, a stray broken floating pontoon weighing hundreds of tonnes repeatedly hit Summit’s FSRU causing damage to the ballast water tank. Though the LNG Terminal has been ready for resuming operation, it will take about 20 days to get its benefit as the government has to import LNG from abroad to use its service. Power and Energy Adviser of the interim government Dr Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan on Wednesday informed that technical problems of the Summit Group's LNG Terminal has been fixed and now it is waiting for resuming production. He also noted that it will take about 20 days to import LNG from abroad to resume production at the terminal.

Seeking support for building a new Bangladesh, Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Thursday urged the businesspeople to come forward and work together as one team to boost productivity, capacity and competitiveness so that Bangladesh can compete effectively in the global market. “We need to move ahead as a team. It is a compact team. It is a very compact family. Let us work together. Let us build a new Bangladesh,” he told the businesspeople appreciating their entrepreneurial spirit. Prof Yunus said they got an opportunity to build a new Bangladesh with a healthy and decent economy by coming out from the rotten system that the country witnessed over the last 15 years. “We can do that together. You have proved that you can,” said the Nobel Laureate, describing the businesspeople as world-class entrepreneurs. International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh (ICCB) hosted the event titled “National Business Dialogue” held at a hotel in Dhaka. Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud and Finance and Commerce Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed spoke as special guests while business leader Mir Nasir Hossain spoke on behalf of the ICCB President Mahbubur Rahman. The Chief Adviser said it was not an ordinary political movement but the students led it with their uncompromising spirit to achieve their goal to see a new Bangladesh. He said such opportunities do not come again and again and they have no idea whether the nation will get any such opportunity in the future. “My appeal to you all, this opportunity should not be left unutilized.” Prof Yunus said they know each other in this compact family which is a big source of power. “RMG industry emerged as something very big out of nowhere.” He said RMG industry is proudly holding the second position in the world market and it can be number one in the world market. Prof Yunus said businesspeople are members of the compact family and the government wants to work together with the businesspeople. He said they might not have knowledge or experiences in all the fields but they can gather the required experiences by working together as a team. “Let us materialize the dream.” Talking about the challenges in the post-graduation era, Prof Yunus said they might lose some benefits but they have to develop the capacity to compete efficiently. The Chief Adviser introduced his special envoy on international affairs Lutfey Siddiqui with the businesspeople and hoped that he will be successful in conveying the messages of businesspeople to its international partners. “Let us do reforms together. My big expectation is to see workers-owners good relationship. We cannot proceed if workers issues remain unaddressed. If we want to proceed, give us the courage,” he said. The Chief Adviser also encouraged the businesspeople to do social business, noting that making money is happiness but making other people happy is super-happiness. “We will do whatever we can as the country has given us an opportunity. Let us work together,” he said. Representing the ICCB President, Mir Nasir Hossain said there is a well-orchestrated vested quarter which is desperate to discredit the interim government by creating chaos and unrest within the society and the economy. “We must resist this unholy alliance and counter it with full force,” he said, adding that businesses as a whole will work as a catalyst with the Chief Adviser to realize the dream of martyrs. Nasir said businesses as a whole have full trust and confidence in the interim government of Bangladesh headed by Prof Yunus which came into being as a consequence of student-led mass movement to create a new Bangladesh.      

Bangladesh Bank has formed a six-member task force to conduct reform work in the banking sector. This task force will assess the current financial situation, distressed assets and major risks in the banking sector, the central bank said in a press release on Wednesday. The members of the task force are Chief Adviser's Special Envoy on International Affairs Lutfey Siddiqui; former Bangladesh Bank deputy governor Muhammad A Rumee Ali; Brac Bank PLC Chairman Meheriar M Hasan; former lead economist of World Bank's Dhaka office Zahid Hussain; ZNRF University of Management Sciences Vice Chancellor Prof M Zubaidur Rahman; Hoda Vasi Chowdhury & Co's Partner Sabbir Ahmed. According to the press release, the task force will assess the current financial situation of the banking sector, conduct assessment of distressed assets and major risks, financial indicators of weak banks, actual credit status, provision shortfall, liquidity situation, net capital, actual value of assets, and separation of bad assets of the troubled banks. It will also provide recommendations regarding the development of regulatory framework, limitation of political and corporate influence in banks’ decision-making, and bank ownership reform, under the process of strengthening bank governance and risk management to achieve crisis resilience, said the press release. Additionally, the task force will propose reforms in various laws related to the financial sector such as the Bank Company Act, Bangladesh Bank Order, asset management companies, bank acquisitions, mergers legislation, reforms and modernisation and will take steps to issue a banking sector white paper. The overall functions of the task force will be coordinated by the Governor of Bangladesh Bank, it added.

The government has appointed Md Hafizur Rahman, a member of Bangladesh Competition Commission and also a former additional secretary, as the administrator of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industries (FBCCI). A notification, signed by Dr Naznin Kawsar Chowdhury, additional secretary to the Ministry of Commerce, was issued in this regard on Wednesday. He was appointed following Section-17 of the Trade Organizations Ordinance-2022. The administrator has been asked to hold a fair and neutral election within 120 days and hand over the charge to the elected committee and apprise the ministry of the matter, said the notification.

Finance and Commerce Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed on Tuesday asked the National Board of Revenue (NBR) not to collect taxes forcefully from the taxpayers. “There should not be any force on the existing taxpayer. All are not equal, every person cannot pay taxes, that do not mean you will collect tax forcibly,” he said while speaking at the meet the press at NBR on the occasion of introducing online income tax return submission facility. He also put emphasis on bring all eligible persons under the tax net as many people have the capacity to pay tax. “All eligible have to be put under the tax net. If you bring those people under the tax net it would be better,” he said. The adviser said that it is a tough job to provide government services when people don't pay taxes. He also said that taxpayers feel easy while not seeing the face of any tax officials. “…and you know the various meanings of seeing the face of tax officials.” He put emphasis on deposit the taxes in the national exchequer without any leakage. “From now on we will avoid any leakage in tax payment and for that purpose we have introduced the online tax payment system,” he said. The Finance Adviser said that the government can not run the country through borrowing from savings certificates and taking loans from abroad. Narrating the benefits of online submission, Dr Salehuddin hoped that this year some 15 lakhs individual taxpayers would submit their income tax return through the online system. “We will be able to get rid of them from the dependency on others.” NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan said that this year the online income tax return submission started on September 9, but from the next fiscal it will start from July 1, the first day of the fiscal year. “We are taking preparations towards that. Our main goal is to introduce a taxpayers friendly culture, especially reducing the compliance cost.” He said that the NBR will gradually incorporate all related sectors in this system to make the income tax submission more hassle free. “We want to go for comprehensive automation,” he said. In 2021-22 fiscal the income tax submission through online was 61,000, in 2022-23 it was 244,000 and in 2023-24 it was 526,000. “This year we hope that the lion share of the individual tax return submission will be done through online,” he added. The NBR Chairman said that from Thursday a call center will be introduced from 9am to 5pm for helping the taxpayers. “Although we have been able to do a little thing so far, but our dream is very big,” he added.

Bangladesh Bank (BB) governor Dr. Ahsan H Mansur on Tuesday reshuffled the duties of deputy governors after joining two new deputy governors. The central bank in an office order stated that this change will increase the scope of the work of deputy governors and make a mark in the financial sector. Nurun Nahar is the Deputy Governor-1. The departments under her supervision are- Human Resources Department 1, Human Resources Department 2, Banking Regulations and Policy Department, SME and Special Programs Department, Credit Guarantee Department, Agricultural Credit Department, Bangladesh Bank Training Academy, Expenditure Management Department 1, Expenditure Management Department 2, Bankers Selection Committee Secretariat, Department of Currency Management, Currency Museum Department, Sustainable Finance Department, and Security Management Department. Deputy Governor-2 Dr. Md. Habibur Rahman, departments under his supervision are- Chief Economist's Unit, Accounts & Budgeting Department, Credit Information Bureau, Debt Management Department, Department of Communications and Publications, Deposit Insurance Department, Financial Inclusion Department, Financial Sector Support and Strategic Planning Department, Information & Communication Technology Department, Monetary Policy Department, NFIS Administrative Unit, Research Department and Statistics Department. Deputy Governor-3 Md. Zakir Hossain Chowdhury, departments under his supervision-Common Services Department-1, Common Services Department-2, Department of Financial Institutions and Markets, Department of Off-Site Supervision, Financial Integrity and Customer Services Department, Foreign Exchange Investment Department, Foreign Exchange Operation Department, Foreign Exchange Policy Department, Integrated Supervision Management Department, Law Department, Payment Systems Department and Special Studies Cell. Deputy Governor-3 Dr. Md. Kabir Ahmed, departments under his supervision are- Department of Banking Inspection 1-8, Department of Foreign Exchange Inspection, Financial Institutions Inspection Department, Financial Stability Department, Forex Reserve & Treasury Management Department.

Bangladesh Bank has once again clarified that no company’s bank accounts have been blocked or interfered with, regardless of political affiliations. “We are not affecting any industry. Every sector is allowed to operate freely, without interference or blocking of funds," said Governor Dr. Ahsan H Mansur in a discussion meeting on Monday. On the other hand, the central bank on Monday issued a circular clarifying that the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), a wing of BB did not direct banks to block any company accounts related to the individual account seized by the BB. The circular states, “It is observed that banks and financial institutions outside the BB guidelines of the company accounts related to individuals suspended the transactions on some accounts; As a result, the day-to-day activities of the institutions are being disrupted, the salaries of employees of the institutions' payment and import-export related transactions are being hampered.” According to the BB instruction, banks cannot block any company accounts despite seizing the accounts maintained in the name of individuals and sole proprietorships.

Walton CSM (Customer Service Management) will provide free service to repair its electronics, home and electrical appliances that were damaged due to recent flood in several southeastern districts of the country. SM Mahbubul Alam, managing director of Walton Hi-Tech Industries, directed the CSM department to provide free service to the flood affected customers in repairing their damaged products in a special meeting held recently at Walton Corporate Office in the capital, said a press release. Following his instructions, the CSM department made the announcement of providing free service. Shibdash Roy, head of Walton CSM Department, said that the houses of lakhs of families in several districts in the south-eastern part of the country were submerged in water recently due to sudden floods. In the flood affected areas, Walton’s wide range of electronics, home and electrical appliances are used by majority of the households. All those products will require servicing. He noted that the customers in the flood affected areas will get free service in repairing their electronics and electrical products of Walton brand. If new spare parts are needed for product repair, customers will also get a special discount on the price of those parts. At the beginning of the flood, the members of Walton family came forward to help the flood victims. Walton’s local distributors, dealers, Plaza sales team and CSM department’s representatives distributed relief in the flood affected areas. Besides, Walton Corporate Office also provided financial donations and relief to various organizations and institutions approved by the government. To tackle the the post- flood situation, Walton took the initiative of providing free service to the flood victims in repairing their damaged electronics and electrical products.