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IFC pledges $3.8b to offset pandemic effects in South Asia, drive recovery

FE Online Report 2021-08-17 12:55:01

The International Finance Corporation has renewed focus on sustained investments in South Asia in a bid to protect the most vulnerable people and help companies maintain operations and jobs, says the...

No bid on BB bills accepted

SIDDIQUE ISLAM 2021-08-17 09:01:16

The central bank did not accept any bid from the auction of its two-type Bangladesh Bank (BB) bills on Monday as bidders quoted higher yields on the instruments, officials said. "No bid was accepted...

India will soon unveil $1.35tn infrastructure plan: Modi

REUTERS 2021-08-16 11:05:59

India will launch a 100 trillion rupee ($1.35 trillion) national infrastructure plan that will help generate jobs and expand use of cleaner fuels to achieve the country's climate goals, Prime Minister...

Microfinance institutions falling into non-performing loan trap

Siddique Islam 2021-08-16 08:42:02

The amount of classified loans in the micro-finance institutions (MFIs) jumped by 25 per cent in fiscal year (FY) 2019-20 mainly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, officials said. The non-performing loa...

Taliban's gains give investors cause for concern

-- 2021-08-15 10:36:51

The Taliban's rapid advance towards Kabul is not only causing concern about Afghanistan's future but also about the impact on other countries in the region and their economies. Iran and then Iraq lie...

Bangladesh's revenue receipts increase 21pc

DOULOT AKTER MALA 2021-08-15 08:32:09

The tax revenue collection recorded an impressive 21 per cent growth in the fiscal year (FY) 2020-21 over that of the previous FY. Greater mobilisation of corporate and withholding tax made the fea...

Govt giving importance to local, foreign investment for post-pandemic recovery

UNB 2021-08-14 18:52:24

With the pandemic hitting the economy hard as an external shock, the government gives immense importance to investments, both local and foreign ones, for ensuring balanced development and improving th...

Apple's child protection features 'could be exploited' by repressive regimes

Reuters 2021-08-13 10:33:52

A backlash over Apple's move to scan US customer phones and computers for child sex abuse images has grown to include employees speaking out internally, a notable turn in a company famed for...

Bangladeshi banks may face asset quality challenge in post-Covid situation

-- 2021-08-13 09:19:16

Maintaining the existing asset quality, now largely helped by generous government support regimes, may emerge as a key challenge in post-pandemic situation for Bangladesh's banking sector. Such progn...

Finance minister Kamal upbeat on high remittance inflow

FE REPORT 2021-08-12 09:54:03

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal expressed doubt over the patriotism of people who talks otherwise about higher remittance inflow and its continuation. "I am in doubt whether those, who oppose it...

Hackers return $260 million to cryptocurrency platform after massive heist

Reuters 2021-08-12 09:41:13

Hackers behind one of the biggest ever cryptocurrency heists have returned more than a third of $613 million in digital coins they stole, the company at the centre of the hack said on Wednesday. Po...

Savings tools information under taxmen's watch

DOULOT AKTER MALA 2021-08-12 08:29:27

All investors in government savings certificates are coming under scrutiny by taxmen to check any information holdback on their actual wealth. The tax authority has already got down to doing the rech...

Central bank dispels bankers' worry, sticks to gun

Siddique Islam 2021-08-12 08:24:03

Scuttling all concerns of top bankers, the central bank said it wouldn't budge from its instructions on fixing the interest rates on fixed deposits commensurate with inflation so to protect depositors...

Cryptocurrency platform loses $600m in ‘massive’ hacking attacks

REUTERS 2021-08-11 20:43:56

A cryptocurrency platform has lost an estimated $600 million in digital tokens after one of the sector's biggest ever hacking attacks, according to details of the heist which emerged on Wednesday. Po...

Bankers balk at minimum deposit interest rate

SIDDIQUE ISLAM 2021-08-11 08:26:35

A portion of fixed deposits rather than the entire amount in Bangladesh's banking sector is set to come under 'floor', or minimum interest rating, imposed by the central bank recently to protect dep...

Inflation slightly falls in July amid pandemic

-- 2021-08-10 18:42:17

The inflation rate slightly declined by 0.28 per cent on a point-point basis as it came down at 5.36 percentage point in July 2021. “The general point-to-point inflation rate came down to 5.36...

Central bank restarts withdrawing excess money

SIDDIQUE ISLAM 2021-08-10 09:10:49

A splurge of money from stimulus packages and private-investment stalemate prompted the central bank to restart mopping up excess liquidity from the market, as a measure of taming inflation. As the m...

Bangladesh announces discovery of 28th gas field

-- 2021-08-09 21:00:12

State-run Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration Company (BAPEX) has discovered a new gas field in the Sylhet region of the country. State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid form...

Consumption-GDP ratio declines slightly in FY21

FE ONLINE REPORT 2021-08-09 19:13:04

In the midst of the pandemic, consumption spending at the current price stood at Tk 22.83 trillion in the last fiscal year (FY21), according to the provisional estimation of the Bangladesh Bureau of S...

Food aid recommended as prices rise

FE REPORT 2021-08-09 09:55:39

Fiscal aid transfer and food support are immediately required for underprivileged and disadvantaged group of people, as food prices increased significantly in fiscal year (FY) 2020-21 against reduct...

VAT evasions galore despite exemptions

FE REPORT 2021-08-09 09:46:46

Tax intelligence unearthed five times higher VAT evasions, year on year, in the last fiscal year (FY 2020-21) despite pandemic-time exemptions. According to an official statement released by the VAT...

Scientists are watching new coronavirus variants beyond Delta

Reuters 2021-08-08 20:49:41

The continued spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has spawned a Greek alphabet of variants - a naming system used by the World Health Organisation to track concerning new mutations of the virus that causes...

Interest rate of deposits will not be less than inflation, central bank says

-- 2021-08-08 20:39:14

The Bangladesh Bank has instructed all banks not to fix the interest rate of the deposits below the inflation rate. “Livelihood of depositors and a part of other depositors depends on the inter...

Release of GDP estimates restores rules of business, says Debapriya

FE Online Report 2021-08-08 18:07:54

As the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) finally released the estimate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and its components in the last week, a leading economist appreciated the move. “The ne...

Petrobangla owes NBR Tk 213b VAT arrears

DOULOT AKTER MALA 2021-08-08 08:42:48

The state-owned Petrobangla has suspended the submission of monthly VAT (value-added tax) returns since December 2020. The oil and gas company owes Tk 213.18-billion VAT arrears to the National Boa...

Import duty on rice to be reduced to 15pc

FE REPORT 2021-08-08 08:28:29

The government has decided to cut the total import duty on rice in a bid to rein in prices of the staple in the local market. Following the instruction of the Prime Minister, the National Board of...

‘COVID-19 takes away 2.26m jobs, increases poverty by 9.0pc’

FE ONLINE REPORT 2021-08-07 21:50:44

Bangladesh’s economy has suffered a setback with 2.26 million jobs lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has battered the world for over one a half years. Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Ind...

500,000 jobseekers, employees to get soft skills training in five years

-- 2021-08-07 18:21:25

The government is going to provide soft skills training to 500,000 jobseekers and employees within the next five years, aiming to improve their employability skills. “The demand for soft skille...

Microloan disbursement rises sharply

FE REPORT 2021-08-07 10:44:13

Both the amount of loan disbursed by micro-finance institutions (MFIs) and the number of microcredit beneficiaries have risen significantly across the country. Some 746 MFIs have been registered with...

Industrial slump drags down GDP, agriculture saves economy

FHM HUMAYAN KABIR 2021-08-07 08:11:20

After more than a decade, Bangladesh's industrial growth collapsed in the fiscal year (FY) 2019-20 in line with the contraction of the country's total economic output during the year, analysts said Fr...