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Interest spread up slightly; Banks' excess liquidity all-time high at Tk 2.0tn

SIDDIQUE ISLAM 2021-01-18 08:27:21

The interest rate spread increased slightly in November 2020, as the banks slashed their deposit rates more than the lending ones, bankers have said. The interest on deposit decreased at comparativ...

Tk 10b refinance scheme set up for tech upgrading of export units

FE REPORT 2021-01-18 08:15:54

Bangladesh Bank (BB) has formed a Tk10 billion refinancing scheme to provide low-cost loans to the export-oriented industries for upgrading technologies. The scheme is also meant for strengthening...

Agriculture minister hopeful of achieving 50pc irrigation efficiency by 2030

-- 2021-01-17 20:29:58

Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque on Sunday said the irrigation efficiency would be increased up to 50 per cent by 2030 aiming to expand more cost-effective irrigation facilities for the farmers. &...

Govt rolls out new stimulus worth Tk 27.0b for small businesses

-- 2021-01-17 17:24:04

The government has announced two more stimulus packages worth Tk 27 billion to help small, medium and cottage industries and expand social safety coverage. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has approved t...

Turkish messaging app tops users’ list in Bangladesh

MENAFN 2021-01-17 17:13:35

Turkish communication and messaging app, BiP placed at the top of the users' list in Bangladesh in the wake of concerns about new privacy on WhatsApp. MobileAction, one of the world's leading app sto...

Italy's public debt may surge to post-war record high at 158.5pc of GDP

Reuters 2021-01-17 13:18:06

Italy forecasts its debt to soar to a new post-war record level of 158.5 per cent of gross domestic output (GDP) this year, surpassing the 155.6 per cent goal it set in September, a government source...

IsDB lends $47m to supplement stimulus packages for SMEs

ISMAIL HOSSAIN 2021-01-17 12:28:24

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) has come forward with a US$47 million credit line to support the country's small and medium enterprises (SMEs), hit hard by the pandemic, but abandoned by banks as...

Brazil to allow China's Huawei in 5G auctions

REUTERS 2021-01-17 11:44:26

Brazil’s government will not seek to bar Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co Ltd from 5G network auctions slated for June this year, newspaper Estado de S. Paulo reported on S...

NASA's Boeing moon rocket ready for 'once-in-a-generation' ground test

REUTERS 2021-01-17 11:19:24

NASA’s deep space exploration rocket built by Boeing briefly ignited all four engines of its behemoth core stage for the first time on Saturday, cutting short a crucial test to advance a years-d...

Apparel sector needs collaboration among stakeholders for recovery, experts say

FE ONLINE REPORT 2021-01-16 21:17:45

A collaborative approach among governments, brands and suppliers will be the key to ensure better recovery of the global apparel sector which has suffered an unprecedented disruption in view of the CO...

90pc public services to be digitised by this year, Palak says

-- 2021-01-16 19:20:59

Reiterating the government’s plan to ensure access to internet for all, State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak on Saturday said the digitalisation of 90 per cent of the public services will b...

ADB, EIB form partnership to protect oceans, support blue economy

-- 2021-01-16 19:04:06

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) has formed a new clean and sustainable ocean partnership to support initiatives in Asia and the Pacific to help meet the SDGs an...

Google Play is unsportsmanlike, US states may argue

REUTERS 2021-01-16 11:22:07

State attorneys general are planning a third lawsuit against Alphabet Inc’s Google, this one focused on the search and advertising giant’s Play Store for Android phones, according to two s...

Poor project implementation may lead to cutting development budget

FHM Humayan Kabir 2021-01-16 08:58:00

The annual development programme (ADP) is likely to be revised soon with a significant cut due to poor project execution by the ministries and agencies in the first half of the current fiscal, officia...

A retrospect of the pandemic-ravaged Bangladesh economy

Muhammad Shahadat Hossain Siddiquee and Avinno Faruk 2021-01-15 22:20:18

Having spent almost a year with the novel Coronavirus, the new year brings forth a beacon of hope with the advent of vaccines, setting aside the associated implementation challenges. It also means tha...

China's battle against fresh COVID outbreak clouds economic recovery

Reuters 2021-01-15 17:09:17

New cases in China are at 10-month highs, prompting the lockdown of 28 million people in two provinces, disrupting logistics and industrial activity, with millions expected to scrap holiday travel pla...

Turkey’s costly food starves the economic rebound

REUTERS 2021-01-15 15:49:34

Food has become so expensive in Turkey that some people are spending what money they have to stock up on rice and pasta to avoid swallowing even higher prices in the months ahead. Parents have switch...

Biden’s Covid-19 package offers bridge for hard-hit economy

REUTERS 2021-01-15 15:00:11

US President-elect Joe Biden’s proposal to pour $1.9 trillion into a hobbled economy could lay the foundation for a surge in jobs and spending that many economists say is needed to avoid long-te...

Only 24pc of development budget spent in first half

FHM HUMAYAN KABIR 2021-01-15 11:07:44

The government agencies executed only 24 per cent of the annual development programme in the first half of the current fiscal in a sign of sluggish project work, officials said on Wednesday. They s...

Bangladesh Bank further eases import payment

FE REPORT 2021-01-15 08:59:55

The central bank has extended the upfront import payment regime, allowing offshore banks and external financiers to pay under the buyer's credit. Currently, domestic banks are allowed to make such an...

Japan's households, firms keep piling up cash at record pace

-- 2021-01-14 11:41:11

Japan’s currency in circulation and bank deposits rose at a record pace in December, data showed on Wednesday, as a resurgence in coronavirus infections prompted companies and households to cont...

Signal sees higher growth after WhatsApp controversy

-- 2021-01-14 11:19:44

Messaging app Signal has seen “unprecedented” growth following a controversial change in rival WhatsApp’s privacy terms and is looking to hire more staff as it seeks to bolster the s...

Some developing nations paying high interest rate on bilateral debt: WB's Malpass

-- 2021-01-14 11:11:38

World Bank President David Malpass urged private sector creditors to finally step up and help poor countries deal with the economic and health crises unleashed by the Covid-19 pandemic and stop collec...

Stimulus-induced liquidity may create inflationary pressure

FE Online Report 2021-01-14 10:46:47

The policy relaxations by Bangladesh Bank and low-cost refinancing lines of credit along with the government's big stimulus packages to support economic activities had already injected a big liquidi...

Bank depositors in distress as real rate of returns recedes

FE REPORT 2021-01-14 08:57:23

The real rate of return on deposits in the money market had turned negative between the months of April and December last year. The average rate of interest on bank deposits went below or remained cl...

Economy may attain 7.40pc growth if second wave doesn’t cause downturn: BB policy review

FE Online Report 2021-01-13 20:31:18

Bangladesh economy may reach the annual growth target of 7.40 per cent in the current fiscal year (FY21) as long as the second wave of Covid-19 does not restrain the economic activities and the develo...

BB unveils monetary policy review after six years

FE Online Report 2021-01-13 19:58:48

Bangladesh Bank has released monetary policy review after six years, reviewing the central bank’s monetary policy stance for the current fiscal year (FY21). The latest monetary policy review is...

Razer makes 'world's smartest face mask'

BBC 2021-01-13 18:44:14

Gaming company Razer has made what they claim is world's smartest face mask - complete with a built-in microphone. The prototype, revealed at the tech convention CES, claims to amplify the users' voi...

Bangladesh seeks five years to prepare for graduation to developing nation

-- 2021-01-13 18:24:19

Bangladesh has sought the facilities reserved for the least developed countries for five years for preparations after graduating to the developing nation bracket. It floated the proposal at a virtual...

GM unveils futuristic vehicle: Look, up in the sky

-- 2021-01-13 11:19:08

General Motors Co on Tuesday presented a futuristic flying Cadillac - a self-driving vehicle which takes off and lands vertically and carries the passenger above the streets and through the air. A se...