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2.6m new jobs a year difficult in post-pandemic Bangladesh: Economists

FHM Humayan Kabir 2021-01-02 09:16:09

Creating as many as 11.33 million jobs during the 8th five-year plan (FYP) period would be challenging for the government as the fallout of Covid-19, economists said on Friday. Following the unempl...

African free trade bloc opens for business, but challenges remain

Reuters 2021-01-01 18:50:14

African countries began officially trading under a new continent-wide free trade area on Friday, after months of delays caused by the global coronavirus pandemic. But experts view the New Year's Day...

SolarWinds hackers accessed Microsoft source code

REUTERS 2021-01-01 13:34:04

The hacking group behind the SolarWinds compromise was able to break into Microsoft Corp and access some of its source code, Microsoft said on Thursday, something experts said sent a worrying signal a...

Sales of savings schemes more than triple

FE REPORT 2021-01-01 09:42:30

The net sale of state-run savings instruments more than tripled in the July-November period of this fiscal year (FY), 2020-21, than that of the corresponding period of previous fiscal. The Departme...

Extension of support package will bring RMG to next level, says BGMEA chief

MONIRA MUNNI 2021-01-01 09:35:15

After an 'unprecedented' year in 2020 riddled with scars of the pandemic, the country's readymade garment (RMG) sector is ushering in the new year 2021 amid some challenges and hopes also, an industry...

Survive, revive and then thrive, new DCCI President says on priorities

SYFUL ISLAM 2021-01-01 09:27:01

Bangladesh's economy will eke out "satisfactory" growth next year provided private investments and international trade remain buoyant, a leading voice on private business has said. "While uncertainti...

Bangladesh recovery to take three years, forecasts MCCI chief

JUBAIR HASAN 2021-01-01 09:17:00

Bangladesh would need at least three years to not just get back to the full speed of the economic activities but to overcome the losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the chief of the country's olde...

Planning Commission discourages execution of unimportant projects this fiscal year

FHM HUMAYAN KABIR 2021-01-01 09:08:25

The government pursued a cautious stance in 2020 while approving development projects and releasing funds amid fears of higher budget deficit due to the adverse impact of Covid-19 pandemic, according...

Private commercial banks mostly see profit fall

SIDDIQUE ISLAM 2021-01-01 08:55:53

The operating profit of majority of the private commercial banks (PCBs) shrunk in the just-concluded calendar year mainly due to the impact of Covid-19 and implementation of the single-digit interes...

Experts emphasise accurate data for post-pandemic recovery

-- 2020-12-31 22:25:25

The recovery of the country's economy following the coronavirus crisis is long and slow due to data scarcity, experts said. Relief distribution is also affected due to the lack of a proper database,...

IFAD to provide $18m to rebuild microenterprises, support smallholders in Bangladesh

UNB 2020-12-31 18:21:04

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will provide Bangladesh with an additional loan of US$18.07 million to rebuild microenterprises and support smallholders who have been affect...

All borrowers can now enjoy loan moratorium, central bank clarifies

FE REPORT 2020-12-31 09:24:42

Borrowers who rescheduled their defaulted loans under the Bangladesh Bank's (BB) relaxed policy in 2019 are now allowed to enjoy loan moratorium facilities like other clients, officials said. Besides...

Vaccine rekindles hopes of Bangladesh economic recovery

JASIM UDDIN HAROON 2020-12-31 08:10:16

Like most countries in the world, Bangladesh bids farewell to 2020 today (Thursday), a pandemic-devastated year that upended people's normal lifestyle while bringing the country's economic wheel to...

Forex reserve crosses $43b-mark

FE ONLINE REPORT 2020-12-30 18:59:54

Bangladesh’s foreign exchange (forex) reserve crossed US$43 billion-mark for the first time in the history of the country on Wednesday following lower import payment obligations and higher growt...

Bangladesh’s economy to perform better next year, finance minister says

-- 2020-12-30 18:40:21

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Wednesday said Bangladesh’s economy will perform better in the next year as all indicators of the country’s economy are in good position despite COVID...

India bets on asset sales to partly fund higher spending next year

Reuters 2020-12-30 17:37:42

India is likely to spend more next fiscal year than this year’s budgeted $415 billion and prioritise infrastructure projects, relying on asset sales of around $40 billion for some of the funding...

Foreign trade scenario dismal though deficit narrows down by $2.1b in July-Nov

SIDDIQUE ISLAM 2020-12-30 08:39:58

The country's trade deficit narrowed down by 30.77 per cent or US$ 2.10 billion in the first five months of this fiscal year (FY) amid dismal foreign trade situation due to the Covid-19 pandemic, of...

Corona-induced funding cushions public finance, contingency expenditure still cut by 50pc

FE REPORT 2020-12-30 08:36:27

The public finance went through a difficult phase between the months of April and September this year because of the Covid-19 consequences. Government's revenue earnings suffered, but its expenditu...

Climate disasters bring catastrophic results for rich, poor nations in 2020

-- 2020-12-29 20:39:21

Disasters fuelled by weather and climate extremes brought “catastrophic results for millions” across rich and poor nations in 2020, causing thousands of deaths and tens of billions of doll...

Japan developing wooden satellites to cut space junk

-- 2020-12-29 20:28:33

A Japanese company and Kyoto University have joined forces to develop the world's first satellites made out of wood by 2023. Sumitomo Forestry said it has started research on tree growth and the use...

Bangladesh may see decline in remittance inflow in 2021: RMMRU

FE Online Report 2020-12-29 18:46:21

The country’s remittance earnings may fall next year as the outflow of workers abroad declined drastically in the current year, projected a RMMRU report. Only 183,682 workers went abroad with j...

NEC approves 8th FYP with a target of 8.51pc growth by FY'25

FE ONLINE REPORT 2020-12-29 18:24:32

The government has endorsed the 8th five-year plan (FYP) with a target to boost the country’s economic growth to 8.51 per cent by its terminal fiscal year 2024-25 recovering from the Covid-19 im...

Appeal against order blocking US TikTok restrictions

-- 2020-12-29 10:51:07

The US government on Monday appealed a federal judge’s order that blocked the Commerce Department from imposing restrictions on Chinese-owned short video-sharing app TikTok that would have effec...

Vietnam posts highest trade surplus in five years

-- 2020-12-28 15:22:05

Vietnam recorded export turnovers of approximately 281.5 billion US dollars in 2020, up 6.5 per cent year-on-year, and import turnovers of over $262.4 billion, up 3.6 per cent, with a trade surplus of...

Bangladesh economy to become 28th largest in 2030

JASIM UDDIN HAROON 2020-12-28 09:34:02

Bangladesh’s economy will be 28th largest in 2030 and 25th largest in 2035 , the UK's Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has made the projection in a recent report. Austria now e...

Vietnam's growth slips to 30-year low

Reuters 2020-12-27 22:48:07

Vietnam’s economic growth slowed this year to its weakest in at least three decades, buffeted by the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters and a sluggish global economy, government data showed on...

State-owned Krishi Bank seeks Tk 9.5b bailout

REZAUL KARIM 2020-12-27 09:40:35

Troubled by huge capital shortfall, the Bangladesh Krishi Bank (BKB) has recently sought Tk.9.5 billion from the government to raise its paid-up capital citing an altogether different reason. The cap...

China to overtake US economy by 2028: Think tank

-- 2020-12-26 12:41:34

The Chinese economy is set to overtake the US in 2028, five years earlier than previously estimated due to the contrasting recoveries of the two countries from the Covid-19 pandemic, a think tank said...

Millions of Americans lose unemployment benefits as Trump refuses to sign Covid relief bill

-- 2020-12-26 12:13:09

Millions of Americans saw their jobless benefits expire on Saturday after US President Donald Trump refused to sign into law a $2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package, protesting that it did n...

Americans’ charity surges with 20m relying on unemployment benefits

-- 2020-12-25 11:00:16

Hundreds of cars line up before dawn on weekly distribution days for the Forgotten Harvest’s partner food pantries in the metro Detroit area, where visits are up by 50 per cent this year. The n...