United News of Bangladesh

Faruque Hassan, President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), represented Bangladesh’s ready-made garment in the public hearing held on Monday by the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC).   The hearing was held in connection to a new fact finding investigation undertaken by USITC to examine the export competitiveness of the apparel industries in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan, said a press release. 89 percent turnout at BGMEA election, counting in progress BGMEA Vice President Miran Ali, Directors Asif Ashraf, and Abdullah Hil Rakib and Chair of BGMEA Standing Committee on Labour and ILO Affairs ANM Saifuddin were also present at the conference room of the Commerce Ministry during the hearing held virtually.   USITC Chairman David S. Johanson along with his colleagues conducted the public hearing. BGMEA President seeks High Commission’s support to enhance Bangladesh-India trade ties In his presentation during the public hearing, Faruque Hassan provided an overview of Bangladesh's RMG sector, with special focus on the industry's progress in areas such as workplace safety, green growth, workers' rights, and labour law reforms.   He also presented a picture of current apparel trade with the USA, especially the strengths and factors that have contributed to weathering global setbacks performing well in the world market, particularly in the US.   He answered different questions regarding the garment industry of Bangladesh.   Senior Secretary at the Commerce Ministry Tapan Kanti Ghosh, who represented the government of Bangladesh in the hearing, highlighted the government's initiatives to enhance workers' rights, particularly through amendments to labour laws.   Mohammad Navid Safiullah, Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Commerce, was also present.    

A delegation from Associated British Foods (ABF) and Primark met with Faruque Hassan, President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) on March 12. The delegation included Steve Lawton, Trading Director, Primark; Matthew Rhodes, Head of Sourcing and Supplier Management, Primark; Eoin Tonge, CFO, ABF/Primark; Richard Morrison, Director, ABF/Primark; Filippo Poggi, Sourcing Country Controller (Bangladesh-India-Pakistan-Sri Lanka); Mohammad Ismail, Senior Ethical Trade Manager (Bangladesh & Pakistan); and Jalis Khan, Sourcing Manager (Bangladesh-India-Pakistan-Sri Lanka).   The meeting was also attended by BGMEA Vice President Md. Nasir Uddin, Vice President Miran Ali, Director Faisal Samad, newly elected Directors of BGMEA for the 2024-2026 term -- Mohammad Sohel Sadat and Mesbah Uddin Khan.   The discussions centered around fostering collaboration to achieve shared sustainability goals, with a particular emphasis on promoting sustainable practices within Primark’s Bangladeshi suppliers.   The meeting focused collaboration in improving sustainable practices, the use of recycled materials, and minimizing environmental footprints throughout the manufacturing process in the Bangladeshi suppliers of Primark.   This involves providing support, resources, and knowledge to improve manufacturing processes and meet global sustainability standards.   Both sides stressed the importance of working together to build up capacities of the suppliers in meeting Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards.   BGMEA President Faruque Hassan briefed the Primark delegation about Bangladesh’s strong emphasis on environmental sustainability and product diversification, especially non-cotton high-end garments.   He also highlighted the growing infrastructure of Bangladesh, including highways, expressways, deep sea port alongside improved logistics that have contributed to reducing lead time for product shipment.   He called upon Primark to increase its garment sourcing from Bangladesh, particularly in the high-end garment sector.   Faruque Hassan extended gratitude to Primark for their support to Bangladeshi suppliers in implementing the recently announced minimum wage by adjusting prices on their orders. All the members of BGMEA implemented the new wage structure for their workers from December 2023.      

MASTUL Foundation's Ramadan initiative provides Iftar for 1 lakh for encouraging everyone to share in the happiness of Ramadan Iftar. They  have taken the initiative to distribute 1 lakh Iftar this Ramadan so that poor and low-income fasting people are not deprived of the taste of Ramadan Iftar.  Like every year, this year also the initiative  is starting Iftar distribution program in 64 districts of the country including Dhaka. This event will continue for a month so that low-income people can eat good food at Iftar. This event  is being done with the motto 'No one gets left behind' in two segments in honor of the fasting people who are suffering due to financial hardship and high prices of daily commodities. In the first segment  iftar is being organized for more than 1000 destitute fasting people every day at Mastul Mehmankhana located in Dhanmondi Rayerbazar and the fasting people will eat that iftar while sitting in the Mehmankhana.   

A group of Somalian pirates seized control of the Bangladesh-flagged cargo vessel, MV Abdullah, in the Indian Ocean earlier today, officials reported. The ship, carrying coal from Mozambique's Maputo port to Al Hamriyah Port in the UAE, was attacked around noon. The MV Abdullah, owned by SR Shipping Lines, a sister company of Chattogram-based Kabir Steel and Rerolling Mill (KSRM) Group, has 23 crew members on board. All crew members are being held hostage by the pirates, said KSRM's media adviser Mizanul Islam.  “We have received information that the vessel is under attack by pirates in the Indian Ocean. The crew are secured within the ship's cabins,” he said. "We are working to establish communication with them," he added.    

CNG stations will remain closed for 5 pm to 10 pm instead of 6 pm to 11 pm everyday until April 6 this year in order to resolve the low pressure problems in gas supply, said a new notice of the energy and mineral resources division. It further said that the CNG stations will remain open for 24 hours from from 7 April to 18 April to facilitate transport operation during the Eid journey. From April 19, the CNG station will remain closed from 6 pm to 11 pm, said the notice.  

United Commercial Bank PLC (UCB) has officially entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Titas Gas Transmission & Distribution Co Ltd, as part of collaboration between the two organizations. According to UCB, under the terms of the agreement, employees of Titas Gas T & D Co. Ltd will benefit from an exclusive corporate executive package through UCB's payroll banking solutions. The MOU signing ceremony took place at the Titas Head Office in Dhaka on Tuesday, in the presence of officials of both the entities. Arif Quadri, Managing Director & CEO of UCB, and Engr. Md. Haronur Rashid Mullah, Managing Director of Titas Gas T & D Co. Ltd, were present on the occasion. Mohammad Shafiqur Rahman, SEVP & Head of Retail Business Division of UCB, and Md Lutful Hyder Masum, Secretary & General Manager of Titas Gas T & D Co. Ltd, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides. Top officials including A T M Tahmiduzzaman, Additional Managing Director, Md. Sekander-E-Azam, SEVP & Head of Transaction Banking Division, from UCB, and Ms. Arpana Islam, General Manager of Titas Gas T & D Co. Ltd, along with other senior executives, were also present at the event. This partnership underscores UCB's commitment to providing innovative financial solutions and strengthening relationships with leading organizations in Bangladesh, said a press release.    

Police recovered two bodies, including a female from a house in the city's Uttara area on Monday night. The deceased were identified as Ibrahim Sheikh Apurba (28) and Moushumi Akhter (35). It has been known that Ibrahim was the adopted brother of Moushumi. Being informed, a team of Turag police station rushed to the spot and recovered the two bodies after breaking the door of a room inside the house in Uttara Sector No. 10 around 10:30 PM on Monday night. Ibrahim Sheikh Apurba' was hailed from Faridpur district and Moushumi Akter from Chandpur district. Quoting neighbours, police said Ibrahim has been residing in a rented room of the house. Moushumi often used to visit the house. She had been residing at a rented house in Uttara Sector -10 with her husband.  She went to the house of her brother Ibrahim sometime between 12:00pm and 4:00 pm on Monday. Finding no response from inside the room for a long time, neighbours informed Turag Police Station at around 8:30 pm. Later, police rushed to the house and broke the door with the house owner and found the two dead bodies inside. Police found the body of the woman lying on the bed with her throat cut and a bloody knife was also seen beside her. On the other hand, the body of the young man was lying on the floor. He had a plastic wire wrapped around his neck, police said. Contacted, the officer in charge (OC) of Turag police station Mohammad Mostafa Anwar said that the door of that room was fixed from inside. Later the police went inside breaking the door and found the two bodies lying there. The female corpse has a cut throat and the male corpse has scars on its throat. Replying to a question, the OC said that the woman's throat had been cut. She is believed to have been killed by slitting her throat. Ibrahim has a black spot on its neck. It seems that he might be committed suicide by hanging himself, then the rope snapped. The bodies were sent to Shaheed Sohrwardi medical college hospital for post mortem.    

The National Economic Council (NEC) on Tuesday approved a Tk 245,000-crore Revised Annual Development Programme (RADP) for the current fiscal year of 2023-2024 (FY24), slashing the original ADP by Tk 18,000 crore. The approval came from a NEC meeting presided over by its chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the NEC Conference Room in the city's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area. Focus on rural dev along with infrastructure: PM Hasina tells ECNEC The RADP, which prioritized road transport, communication, energy and power and some other sectors, is 6.84 percent lower than the original ADP size of Tk 263,000 crore for the current fiscal. Out of the total revised RADP of Tk 2,45,000 crore, Tk 1,61,500 crore will come from the local sources, while Tk 83,500 crore from the foreign sources, said Planning Division Senior Secretary Satyajit Karmakar at a press briefing. He said the total number of projects in the RADP for the current fiscal year has been fixed at 1588. The projects include 1345 investment projects, 36 feasibility studies, 115 technical assistance projects, and 92 self-financed projects. Planning Minister Major General (retd) Abdus Salam said the Prime Minister asked the authorities concerned to arrange necessary allocations for the ongoing projects whose implementation will take small funds and quick time, but invite a good return. Ecnec nods 44 projects worth Tk 39,094 crore He said a number of specific proposals were placed in the meeting in line with the directives the Prime Minister earlier issued regarding project formulation, approval and implementation. The PM emphasized on conducting feasibility study to avert the usual tendency of delay in project formulation and implementation stages, he said. The Planning Minister said emphasis was also given in the meeting on prioritizing allocations and investments in the sectors like agriculture, health, education, power and energy, science and technology, social protection, climate change in line with the 8th Five Year Plan. "Stability is a prerequisite for development and it is now prevailing," he said, adding that the implementation of projects is now going on smoothly. Replying to a question about downsize of ADP, Salam said that revision of the ADP is a continuous process and it would continue. State Minister for Planning Shahiduzzaman Sarker said this year the RADP has been finalized considering the current and practical situation with some minor changes. The Planning Secretary informed that the PM asked the ministries and divisions concerned to complete some 330 projects, which are nearing completion, to complete those within the current fiscal year. According to the RADP for FY24, the transport and communication sector got the highest allocation of Tk 63,263.31 (25.82%) followed by power and energy sector Tk 37,896.73 crore (15.47%), housing and community facilities Tk 28,002.15 crore (11.43%), Local Government and Rural Development Tk 19,969.71 crore (8.15%), education Tk 17,229.91 crore (7.03%), environment, climate change and water resources Tk 14,391 crore (5.87%), health Tk 12,066.76 crore (4.93%), agriculture Tk 10,317.76 crore (4.21%), industry and Economic services Tk 4,630.43 crore (1.89%) and science and ICT Tk 3,637.12 crore (1.48%). Out of the highest allocation recipient ministries and divisions, Local Government Division topped the list with Tk 42,700.76 crore (17.43%) followed by Road Transport and Highways Division Tk 27,803.45 crore (11.35%), Power Division Tk 27,127.45 crore (11.07%), Ministry of Railways Tk 13,117.62 crore (5.35%), Ministry of Water Resources Tk 12,192.75 crore (4.98%), Ministry of Science and Technology Tk 11,415.51 crore (4.66%) and Health Services Division Tk 9,345.49 crore (3.81%).    

Bangladesh and the Netherlands signed a new agreement to avoid double taxation and prevent revenue evasion. Finance Minister Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali and Netherlands’ Minister for Tax Affairs and the Tax Administration M.L.A. van Rij signed the agreement on behalf of their respective nations at the Ministry of Finance in Dhaka. According to the Finance Ministry, an agreement between Bangladesh and the Netherlands for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of revenue evasion was first signed on July 13, 1993, about 30 years ago. Netherlands Ambassador inaugurates demonstration on farming initiative In the meantime, there have been various changes in the international norms related to the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of revenue evasion, such as the OECD model or the UN model. Besides, Bangladesh is also passing through the graduation period in terms of belonging to least developed to developing countries. The new agreement has 33 articles. Among them, changes have been made in some important articles to widen the scope of taxation, while some new articles have been added for derivation from new areas. The main features of the agreement said that the new agreement amends the existing provisions to provide tax-free benefits only to state-owned enterprises while in the Technical Service Fees, incorporation of the new article added will ensure collection of tax at a maximum rate of 10 percent on service and bill payment against services. The new treaty has included a provision that capital gains on transfer of shares are taxable in Bangladesh. As a result, it will be possible to collect tax from the capital gains earned in the source country as Bangladesh. Any income not covered by any article of existing treaty which provides for taxation in the country of which the taxpayer is a resident. In order to protect the interests of Bangladesh, the new agreement has been amended to impose taxation in the country where such income is generated. In case of Assistance in tax collection, an article has been newly added for assistance in collection of tax claims. In this case, both the contracting states should cooperate with each other in revenue collection. Bilateral trade and investment partnership relations between Bangladesh and the Netherlands are very strong. Bangladesh is one of the 15 partner countries of the Netherlands. On the other hand, the Netherlands is Bangladesh's ninth largest exporting partner country in the fiscal year 2022-2023 with an export value of more than $ 2,000 million. Exports from Bangladesh to Netherlands include knitwear, ovens, garments, lobsters, shoes, textiles, leather goods, and bicycles. On the other hand, Bangladesh imported more than $300 million worth of goods from the Netherlands in the fiscal year 2022-2023, including capital machinery, vegetables, prepared food ingredients, live animals (animals and birds), minerals, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, organic chemicals, plastics and rubber. The Netherlands ranks fourth in terms of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Bangladesh. In 2019 -2020 fiscal year, the Netherlands has invested more than $2560 million in Bangladesh. Investments in the Netherlands are increasing in the fields of energy, trade, leather sector, leather goods, and cement. The Finance Ministry said that this initiative has been taken to amend the double tax avoidance agreements with various countries to remove the inconsistencies and to uphold the interests of Bangladesh. Against his backdrop, Bangladesh and the Netherlands have moved to sign the new agreement. Abu Hena Md. Rahmatul Munim, Senior Secretary and chairman of National Board of Revenue, Md. Khaeruzzaman Majumdar, Finance Secretary, Sonja Kuip, Charge d'Affaires of Netherlands were present at the signing ceremony.    

The Ministry of Commerce has fixed prices of dates, an Iftar item. According to a notice issued on Monday, the ministry has fixed the price range for low-grade dates at Tk 150 to Tk 165 per kilogram. Besides, price of  Zahidi dates, which come in sacks, has been between between Tk 170 and Tk 180 per kilogram. This notice was sent to both the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and the Bangladesh Fresh Fruits Importers Association.