Bangladesh Bank decided not to bring major changes in the US dollar exchange rate before the upcoming national election. The central bank’s Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder informed of this decision at a meeting with managing directors and CEOs of banks recently. At that meeting, the governor said that Bangladesh Bank will not make any policy changes regarding the dollar market or the foreign currency market before the national election. Despite this decision, the dollar rate has been raised by Tk .50 or 50 paisa in all cases. The price of the dollar has increased to Tk 110 in case of export and expatriates’ income, and to Tk 110.50 in case of import. Read: Selling dollars at higher prices: What is Bangladesh Bank’s action against treasury heads of 10 banks?The dollar rate was hiked again yesterday, which is effective from today. The dollar crisis in the country has become evident since March 2023, following the downturn caused by the Russia-Ukraine war. To deal with this crisis, Bangladesh Bank fixed the dollar price at the beginning. This worsened the crisis. Later, last September, Bangladesh Bank withdrew from determining the price of the dollar. Read: Bangladesh Bank seeks explanations from 13 banks for selling dollars at higher prices This responsibility has been given to the Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB) and Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Dealers’ Association (BAFEDA). Since then the two organizations have been jointly setting the dollar price for export, remittance earnings, and payment of import liabilities. Read more: Dollar goes off kerb market after central bank-led raids of money exchanges

Private Industry and Investment Adviser to Prime Minister Salman F Rahman on Saturday said the US visa policy for Bangladesh will not disrupt the trade relation between the two countries. He told reporters this after attending the ICURP Conference held in a city hotel on Saturday. Salman said that the USA is the most prominent market for Bangladesh's RMG industry, where Bangladeshi products enter at a competitive tax of 15.5 percent. Bangladesh is not getting any extra privileges in that market, he said. Read: Visa restrictions: US didn’t issue any statement regarding anyone in particular, says Home Minister In reply to a query, he clarified that unlike other regions such as Europe, the United States does not grant any special trade facility like GSP to Bangladesh. Salman welcomed the US visa policy in addressing potential obstructions to the electoral process while asserting that the policy aims to target not only obstacles but also instances of violence in election time. Read more:  'Nothing to lose' from visa restrictions: Shahriar Alam

Sri Lanka has paid off the entirety of USD $200 million loan from Bangladesh, taken through a currency exchange agreement two years ago to survive the severe dollar shortage. In the last installment, Sri Lanka paid about $50 million and $4.5 million in interest on the loan on Thursday night, a senior official of Bangladesh Bank confirmed to UNB today. Sri Lanka took this loan for a period of one year in May 2021. However, the country failed to repay the loan due to a worsening domestic economic crisis and the Sri Lankan government declared itself bankrupt. That's why the country took extension to repay the debt several times. Read: Sri Lanka repays $100million in second installment of loan taken from Bangladesh This year, Sri Lanka's economy started to turn around and the country was able to repay the debt. According to Bangladesh Bank, Sri Lanka initially repaid $50 million on August 20. Then on August 31, it returned $100 million. Finally, they returned the remaining $50 million on Thursday night. Sri Lanka has paid off the loan taken from Bangladesh in three installments. Read more: $200 million loan: Sri Lanka repaid $50 million to Bangladesh, says central bank

Adani Wind, the wind energy solutions division of Adani New Industries Limited (ANIL), announced that its 5.2 MW Wind Turbine Generator (WTG), which is India’s largest, has received type certification from WindGuard GmbH. In a recent media statement, it said the certification enables Adani Wind to start series production for global markets.  The certification under IEC System for Certification to Standards Relating to Equipment for Use in Renewable Energy Applications (IECRE) affirms that the Adani Wind’s 5.2 MW WTG meets highest quality and safety standards and provides international recognition to this turbine. The type certification acknowledges Adani WTG’s conformity with the globally recognized IEC 61400 series standards and regulations for design, testing and manufacturing. WindGuard carried out the testing of the WTG prototype, installed in Gujarat’s Mundra. Mr Vneet Jaain, director, Adani New Industries Limited, said, the type certificate reaffirms the quality and robustness of our 5.2 MW WTG platform built to bring down Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE). The certification is a boost to our endeavor of making India the global manufacturing hub for renewable equipment, he added. Mr Milind Kulkarni, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Adani Wind, said, “The certification is a testament to our R&D efforts focused on enabling higher Annual Energy Production (AEP) of wind power plants and enhancing the profitability for customers. We thank our team for their commitment and unwavering focus on leveraging technology to enable affordable, reliable, and sustainable power for all.”       

President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Mahbubul Alam on Sunday called on the businessmen of Turkey to invest in the potential sectors of Bangladesh. He made this call in a courtesy meeting with Turkish Ambassador Ramis Sen at the FBCCI office in Dhaka. FBCCI President and Turkish Ambassador to Dhaka led the discussions, where they emphasized the deep-rooted friendship between the two nations and their shared determination to bolster economic cooperation. Also read: Japan wants to increase investment in Bangladesh: Japanese envoy told FBCCI During the meeting both Bangladesh and Turkey have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral trade ties. FBCCI President mentioned that Turkish investors could invest in several key sectors within Bangladesh, including oil refining, construction, medicine and industrial chemicals, tourism, agriculture, dairy, shipbuilding, civil aviation, and shipping. Furthermore, FBCCI pledged its full support to Turkish businessmen as they navigate the intricacies of the Bangladeshi market. FBCCI also called for removing customs barriers to facilitate the export of garment products to Turkey, a move that could significantly boost the textile industry in Bangladesh. In response Turkish Ambassador Ramis Sen praised Bangladesh's progress and expressed Turkey's keen interest in expanding trade relations. Also read: Dependence on any market will put Bangladesh at risk: FBCCI President He extended an invitation to a business delegation led by FBCCI to visit Turkey, strengthening the bridge of collaboration between the two nations. FBCCI Vice President Khairul Huda Chopol, Mohammad Anwar Sadat Sarker, Rashadul Hossain Chowdhury (Ronni), Md. Munir Hossain, directors, and others were present at the event. Also read: FBCCI and ICC discuss strengthening trade ties

With Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov set to touchdown in Dhaka Thursday, Russia is interested in supplying a number of agricultural commodities to Bangladesh at the “best, most competitive” price, officials said. Russia is interested in expanding cooperation with Bangladesh in supplying various food products such as yellow peas, chickpeas, red lentils, green lentils and sunflower oil on a G-to-G basis. If Bangladesh is interested in developing cooperation in this specific field, the Russians will hold talks with the Ministry of Commerce. Bangladesh is likely to focus on payment issues in light of the US sanctions on Russia, as the offer looks likely to be very competitive on price, officials said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will pay a working visit to Bangladesh on September 7-8. Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen is scheduled to receive him at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 4:15pm on Thursday. They will jointly meet the press at 8pm on Thursday after a bilateral meeting to be held at a city hotel. Lavrov, the world's longest-serving foreign minister, will meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday morning. During the visit, the current state of Russia-Bangladesh relations will be examined in detail, said Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. She said the two sides will also exchange views on the most pressing regional and international problems. They may also discuss issues like food, fertilizers, fuel, and the Rohingya crisis during the Russian Foreign Minister’s visit. "We will discuss the complex situations that have come across the world since the Ukraine crisis. We will highlight the problems that we have," said Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen. Acknowledging a long-standing relationship with Russia, he said Bangladesh can request Russia to find a peaceful solution to the Ukraine issue as soon as possible. The two countries will discuss prospects for development of bilateral relations and exchange views on the most pressing regional and international issues, said the Russian Embassy in Dhaka. Earlier, Foreign Minister Dr Momen said Bangladesh would raise the Rohingya issue during the visit of Lavrov. “We will have a bilateral meeting the day he arrives here. We have many bilateral issues to discuss. We have the Rohingya issue, too,” FM Momen said. Lavrov will attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi on September 9-10 after completing his visit to Bangladesh. Lavrov was scheduled to visit Bangladesh last November, mainly to attend the 22nd IORA Council of Ministers meeting, but the visit was called off at the last minute. In Delhi, Lavrov is expected to speak at two plenary sessions: on September 9, at the One Planet session, focused on sustainable development and stable economic growth; and on September 10, at the One Future session, with an emphasis on the key tasks of democratisation and strengthening the role of the world majority countries in global economic institutions, as well as implementation of the digital transformation.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Deutsche Bank signed a risk participation agreement to enhance access to financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Asia and the Pacific. The agreement was signed between ADB’s Trade and Supply Chain Finance Program (TSCFP) and Deutsche Bank AG through its Singapore branch, said a release of ADB on Tuesday. The agreement will enhance Deutsche Bank’s ability to support SMEs and other corporate clients by releasing more capital for use in key economic sectors in the region, like pharmaceuticals and agriculture, added the release. Read: Global trade finance gap expands to 2.5 trillion USD in 2022: ADB “Partnering with Deutsche Bank will allow companies, particularly SMEs, to access the global supply chain which can spur economic growth and contribute to job creation,” said ADB’s Director General for Private Sector Operations Suzanne Gaboury. “Partnerships like this one allow ADB to catalyze the private sector and mobilize capital for trade transactions that support development across the region.” Supply chain finance is critical to increasing trade by providing working capital to suppliers by leveraging their relationships with larger corporates. With short-term revolving facilities for supply chain finance transactions, this partnership has the potential to support more than 200 million U.S. dollars in additional trade in Asia and the Pacific each year. Read: BIMSTEC Summit: High-profile Bangladesh business delegation to visit Thailand in November “We are proud to partner with ADB on this important initiative. Together, we will help smaller companies achieve growth through better access to supply chain financing. We believe this is important, as we are seeing increasing demand for this in the trade sector,” said Deutsche Bank Head of Trade Finance and Lending for Asia Pacific Matthew Moodey. TSCFP is helping banks in Asia and the Pacific improve their ability to provide supply chain finance, particularly to SMEs. It is working to make global trade and supply chains green, resilient, inclusive, transparent, and socially responsible.

The launch of Biman's Dhaka-Narita (Tokyo) direct flight will enhance trade and relations between the two countries, Badal Chaklader, president of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan (BCCIJ), has said. He said this while speaking at a reception programme organised by BCCIJ in Japan's Tokyo on Sunday (September 03, 2023) night. He also thanked the Bangladesh government and Biman Bangladesh Airlines for launching the direct flight. Read: After Narita (Tokyo), Biman eyeing flights to New York, Chennai, Los Angeles, Rome "We expect that the direct flights would not be discontinued like in the past. We want more Japanese investment in Bangladesh," the BCCIJ president said. “For boosting trade with Japan, initiatives should be taken to operate daily flights in phases. The quality of services offered by the airline should also be enhanced so that domestic and foreign passengers show more interest,” the BCCIJ president added. Business leaders said that Japanese investors were often not interested in going to Bangladesh due to lack of direct flights. It also took a long time for Bangladeshis to travel to and from Japan. Relations and trade between the two countries will reach a new height due to the direct Biman flights, they hoped. They also urged Biman authorities to transport dead bodies of Bangladeshi expatriates to the country free of cost. Business leaders also demanded harassment-free services at Dhaka airport. Read: Dhaka-Narita Tokyo direct flights launched  State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism, Md Mahbub Ali, said, “We have 50 years of relationship with Japan. This relationship will grow even more due to the direct flights to Japan. Biman resumed flights to Tokyo, Japan after 17 years and it will facilitate passengers as well as cargo transportation.”  “Besides, more Japanese businessmen will now come to Bangladesh and invest here as our country has great potential,” he added.

Amazon employees have been pushing back against the company’s return-to-office policy for months — and it seems CEO Andy Jassy has had enough. During a pre-recorded internal Q&A session earlier this month, Jassy told employees it was “past the time to disagree and commit” with the policy, which requires corporate employees to be in the office three days a week. The phrase “disagree and commit” is one of Amazon’s leadership principles, and was used often by the company’s founder and current executive chairman, Jeff Bezos. Brazil's Amazon Summit ends with a plan to protect the world's rainforests, but no measurable goals “If you can’t disagree and commit, it’s probably not going work out for you at Amazon,” Jassy said, adding it wasn’t right for some employees to be in the office three days a week while others refuse to do so. His comments were first reported by Business Insider, and later shared by Amazon. The current office attendance mandate, which was announced in February and went into effect in May, is a shift from Amazon’s previous policy that allowed leaders to determine how their teams worked. But the company said Tuesday it rejects the notion that the prior policy was supposed to be the norm, and pointed to a blog post from 2021 where Jassy noted Amazon would “continue to adjust” things as more information rolled in. Amazon nations seek common voice on climate change, urge action from industrialized world When announcing the updated policy earlier this year, Jassy wrote in a memo to staff that Amazon made its decision after observing what worked during the pandemic and talking to leaders at other companies. He said the company’s senior executives, known internally as the S-team, concluded employees tended to be more engaged in person and collaborate more easily. But many workers haven’t been convinced. In May, hundreds of Amazon employees protested the new policy during a lunchtime demonstration at the company’s Seattle headquarters. At the time, an internal Slack channel that advocated for remote work had racked up 33,000 members. Some employees have also been pushing the company to supply data that support Jassy’s claims. During the session, Jassy said the company's leadership looked at the data it has available and among other things, he said they didn’t feel that meetings were as effective from home as they were before. He added there are a lot of scenarios where the company has made some of its biggest decisions without perfect data, pointing to examples like Amazon’s decision to pursue an online marketplace for sellers and AWS, its cloud computing unit. Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and other tech firms agree to AI safeguards set by the White House In July, Amazon also rolled out a policy that requires some workers in smaller offices to move to main offices located in bigger cities, according to multiple media reports. Amazon employs 1.4 million people worldwide but does not indicate how many of those work in office settings, as opposed to working at its warehouses and other sites.

A high-profile business delegation from Bangladesh will visit Thailand in November during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s participation at the BIMSTEC Summit. The sixth BIMSTEC Summit will be held in November 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand, in which Bangladesh will assume the chairmanship of the regional grouping. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will attend the event. Thai investors can get opportunities in Bangladesh to invest through the foreign investment friendly policy in the country as the two countries have the similar environmental and cultural ties, said Executive Chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Lokman Hossain Miah said in a recent courtesy meeting with newly elected board of directors of Bangladesh-Thai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BTCCI), said the Chamber on Sunday. BTCCI sought all sorts of cooperation and supports from BIDA to make the programme in Thailand successful. BTCCI also requested BIDA Executive Chairman to make available data regarding investment opportunities in Bangladesh especially tax exemption facility, incentives, foreign specialists working at Foreign Companies in Bangladesh. BIDA Executive Chairman assured the business leaders of extending their support to BTCCI’s proposals. He emphasized on the joint venture between Bangladesh and Thailand in some sectors like agro-processing, tourism & hospitality management, jute and jute goods, fisheries, pharmaceuticals etc. Shams Mahmud, President of BTCCI, introduced the newly elected Board of Directors of BTCCI to the BIDA Executive Chairman and its officials. He apprised to BIDA officials regarding on the plan of BTCCI to take necessary steps for enhancing bilateral relationship between Bangladesh and Thailand. BTCCI President also emphasized on the increasing export of different products such as pharmaceuticals, jute and jute goods, leather, RMG and ceramics from Bangladesh to Thailand and relocating labor intensive industries in Bangladesh. BIDA Executive Chairman thanked the board of Directors to come forward for the discussion of bilateral issues of Bangladesh and Thailand and extended his appreciation to BTCCI for working to enhance bilateral business relationship between Bangladesh and Thailand. Executive members of BIDA including Mohsina Yasmin, Md. Salem Sulaiman, Vice President, Khemathat Archawathamrong, Honorary Director, Mohammad Junaed Ibne Ali, Director Finance, Shahzada A Hamid, Md. Ahsanuzzaman, Brahmanda Pratap Barua, Directors, Md. Nazmul Hossen ACS, Secretary of BTCCI attended the meeting among others.