Do you know about remittance? On which Pakistan survives? We receive it from overseas Bangladeshis as well.
Bangladesh Economic & Infrastructure Development - Updates & Discussions
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Can we have your real flags or do we need to get moderators involved to do this for you.?
Govt taking way too much loans which will impact Forex reserves. I don't think it will increase much in some years. Maybe after Padma bridge and Rooppur plant is done it might increase.
Homo Sapiens
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New railway station in Khulna starts operation
- UNB NEWS
- PUBLISH DATE - NOVEMBER 25, 2018, 10:35 AM
- UNB NEWS - UNB NEWS
- 136 VIEWS
- UPDATE DATE - NOVEMBER 25, 2018, 11:20 AM
Newly-constructed railway station in Khulna began its operation on Sunday, November 25, 2018.
Khulna, Nov 25 (UNB) - The newly-constructed railway station in Khulna began its operation on Sunday morning.
Md Majibur Rahman, managing direction of Bangladesh Railway (West Zone), officially indurated the operation by waving the green flag for Dhaka-bound ‘Chitra Express’ train around 8:40 am.
Earlier on March 3, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the station during her Khulna visit.
On January 26, 2014, the Executive Committee of Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the project involving cost of Tk 600 million. However, the cost was finally calculated Tk 61,27,00000.
Construction works of the project started in April 2015.
The three storied railway station building comprises with three platforms, demarcation wall, 4,000 square metres car parking space, link corridor, footpath and roads.
Besides, a beautiful garden, illumination, fire dousing system and modern hydrant were set up at the station.
The train service was first started in Khulna on Damdam-Khulna-Jashore rail route on February 16, 1884.
The station can accommodate about 9 to 10 thousand passengers every day and has the capacity to handle sis trains to enter and leave.
http://unb.com.bd/category/Bangladesh/new-railway-station-in-khulna-starts-operation/7162
doorstar
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do your best (or is it worse?) or rejoin as some bonglasubbah and start spamming to back yourself
Too many people do not understand the picture holistically.
BD is a large developing market of over 160 million people with rapidly rising purchasing power. Just by keeping it's market share in BD at 97% the industry will hit nearly 10 billion US dollars within 10 years.
It takes a little while to build up momentum in overseas developed markets and once BD is exporting drugs to a country like US, other rich countries will follow.
Nope, BD will not pay a single dollar back to either China for 5 years and Russia for 10 years.
Most of the forex has already been used for Padma Bridge already and so that money drain will soon be taken out of the forex reserves.
Homo Sapiens
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Ctg port inefficiency, traffic congestions key challenges for supply chain mgmt
Experts say at a seminar
Staff Correspondent | Published: 00:00, Nov 25,2018 | Updated: 00:19, Nov 25,2018
Prime minister’s economic affairs adviser Mashuir Rahman, state minister for finance Abdul Mannan, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority executive chairman Kazi M Aminul Islam, Bangladesh Supply Chain Management Society president Naquib Khan, IPDC Finance Limited managing director Mominul Islam and Bonik Barta editor Dewan Hanif Mahmud are present at a seminar on ‘Challenges and Prospect of Supply Chain Management in Bangladesh’ organised by IPDC Finance and Bonik Barta at the Sonargaon Hotel in capital Dhaka on Saturday. — New Age photo
Experts on Saturday identified inefficiency of Chattogram port, traffic congestions on roads and highways and lack of human resources as the key challenges for supply chain management in Bangladesh.
At a seminar on ‘Challenges and Prospect of Supply Chain Management in Bangladesh’, they urged the government to address the disruptions and lacking and to formulate unique rules and regulations for business to reduce the cost of doing business.
They also urged the government to introduce supply chain management in the national curriculum considering future economic development.
Non-bank financial institution IPDC Finance Limited and Bangla daily Bonik Barta jointly organised the seminar at the Sonargaon Hotel in the capital, Dhaka.
‘Bangladesh’s economy is moving fast and challenge will be there but question is how fast we can remove the barriers. Global supply chain is moving fast and if we fail to address our disruption, country’s economic growth will be stalled,’ said Naquib Khan, president of Bangladesh Supply Chain Management Society.
Naquib said that inefficiency of Chattogram port, traffic congestions in Dhaka and on Dhaka-Chattogram road and lack of human resources were the main challenges for supply chain management in the country although the government had taken initiative to address power and gas-related challenges.
He emphasised the adoption of latest technology saying that a well-managed supply chain could create huge opportunity in the area of information technology and e-commerce.
Naquib said that multinational companies were playing important role in making supply chain management more vibrant while local entrepreneurs just started practicing the management.
‘We need to develop integrated supply chain management processes more efficiently and effectively to achieve competitive advantage,’ he added.
Mominul Islam, managing director of IPDC Finance, said that country’s economy developed significantly over the last 10 years with the advantage of low-cost labour.
‘I think country’s economy is at a critical phase now and the advantage of cheap labour will not last long. We have to increase productivity and supply chain management can be the next level of economic development,’ he said.
Imtiaz Uddin Chowdhury, head of supply chain of BSRM Group, urged the government to address supply chain disruptions including those in ports and on roads.
Recently, BSRM Group incurred losses worth Tk 100 crore due to various disruptions in ports, he said.
Imtiaz urged the government to take initiative to improve ease of doing business condition saying that unique rules and regulations should be formulated for business.
Mashuir Rahman, economic affairs adviser to the prime minister, said SME loan was one of the key elements in supply chain management and if the small producers got proper financing, they could maintain the regular supply chain and in future they could make it better.
Besides, project management and skill development are very important for the development of supply chain financing, he said.
State minister for finance Abdul Mannan said exposure of the benefits of supply chain management to the youth would pave the way for better reconstruction of the nation as a whole.
Kazi M Aminul Islam, executive chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, said all kinds of disruptions in terms of transportation and logistics should be addressed.
‘We will have to be competitive and we will also have to retain our competitiveness. I hope, this initiative [the seminar] will bring a greater success in the field of supply chain management,’ he said.
Bonik Barta editor Dewan Hanif Mahmud moderated the event.
Experts say at a seminar
Staff Correspondent | Published: 00:00, Nov 25,2018 | Updated: 00:19, Nov 25,2018
Prime minister’s economic affairs adviser Mashuir Rahman, state minister for finance Abdul Mannan, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority executive chairman Kazi M Aminul Islam, Bangladesh Supply Chain Management Society president Naquib Khan, IPDC Finance Limited managing director Mominul Islam and Bonik Barta editor Dewan Hanif Mahmud are present at a seminar on ‘Challenges and Prospect of Supply Chain Management in Bangladesh’ organised by IPDC Finance and Bonik Barta at the Sonargaon Hotel in capital Dhaka on Saturday. — New Age photo
Experts on Saturday identified inefficiency of Chattogram port, traffic congestions on roads and highways and lack of human resources as the key challenges for supply chain management in Bangladesh.
At a seminar on ‘Challenges and Prospect of Supply Chain Management in Bangladesh’, they urged the government to address the disruptions and lacking and to formulate unique rules and regulations for business to reduce the cost of doing business.
They also urged the government to introduce supply chain management in the national curriculum considering future economic development.
Non-bank financial institution IPDC Finance Limited and Bangla daily Bonik Barta jointly organised the seminar at the Sonargaon Hotel in the capital, Dhaka.
‘Bangladesh’s economy is moving fast and challenge will be there but question is how fast we can remove the barriers. Global supply chain is moving fast and if we fail to address our disruption, country’s economic growth will be stalled,’ said Naquib Khan, president of Bangladesh Supply Chain Management Society.
Naquib said that inefficiency of Chattogram port, traffic congestions in Dhaka and on Dhaka-Chattogram road and lack of human resources were the main challenges for supply chain management in the country although the government had taken initiative to address power and gas-related challenges.
He emphasised the adoption of latest technology saying that a well-managed supply chain could create huge opportunity in the area of information technology and e-commerce.
Naquib said that multinational companies were playing important role in making supply chain management more vibrant while local entrepreneurs just started practicing the management.
‘We need to develop integrated supply chain management processes more efficiently and effectively to achieve competitive advantage,’ he added.
Mominul Islam, managing director of IPDC Finance, said that country’s economy developed significantly over the last 10 years with the advantage of low-cost labour.
‘I think country’s economy is at a critical phase now and the advantage of cheap labour will not last long. We have to increase productivity and supply chain management can be the next level of economic development,’ he said.
Imtiaz Uddin Chowdhury, head of supply chain of BSRM Group, urged the government to address supply chain disruptions including those in ports and on roads.
Recently, BSRM Group incurred losses worth Tk 100 crore due to various disruptions in ports, he said.
Imtiaz urged the government to take initiative to improve ease of doing business condition saying that unique rules and regulations should be formulated for business.
Mashuir Rahman, economic affairs adviser to the prime minister, said SME loan was one of the key elements in supply chain management and if the small producers got proper financing, they could maintain the regular supply chain and in future they could make it better.
Besides, project management and skill development are very important for the development of supply chain financing, he said.
State minister for finance Abdul Mannan said exposure of the benefits of supply chain management to the youth would pave the way for better reconstruction of the nation as a whole.
Kazi M Aminul Islam, executive chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, said all kinds of disruptions in terms of transportation and logistics should be addressed.
‘We will have to be competitive and we will also have to retain our competitiveness. I hope, this initiative [the seminar] will bring a greater success in the field of supply chain management,’ he said.
Bonik Barta editor Dewan Hanif Mahmud moderated the event.
Homo Sapiens
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doorstar
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"What LDC graduation will mean for Bangladesh’s drugs industry
Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical industry is unique among least developed countries (LDCs). Driven by active government policies, output has grown a thousand times since 1982, to US$2 billion, or around 1% of gross domestic product, making it the biggest white collar employer in the country. The industry supplies almost the entire domestic market and more than 100 other countries including the United States.
It’s of some concern, then, that if Bangladesh potentially leaves the LDC category in 2024 it’ll no longer have access to a special World Trade Organisation (WTO) waiver which exempts the industry from the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of International Property Rights (TRIPS). The exemption has allowed government to pursue a dedicated industrial policy that’s spurred growth until now.
Most of the hundred or more pharma companies operating in Bangladesh make so-called generics, or non-branded medicines, the patents of which have often expired. Around a fifth of drugs produced in the country are patented in other countries, something which is made possible by the waiver which until 2033 allows LDCs to produce patented drugs without first asking patent holders.
The most obvious benefit of the waiver is that companies can make whatever drug they want, drastically cutting costs and improving availability. Bangladesh’s 1911 Patent Law would contravene the TRIPS agreement in a number of ways, among other things because it only provides patent protection for 16 years, not the required 20. No patent protection exists for plant and animal varieties; compulsory licences can be introduced by entities other than government; and foreign patents can be cancelled after four years if the product is not also manufactured domestically.
The Drugs Act allows government to regulate how imported drugs are labelled, requiring complete formulaic information to be visible. The Drugs Control Ordinance of 1982 lets the authorities fix prices and restrict the imports of any medicine if it or a substitute is produced in the country.
Under the waiver Bangladesh as an LDC can export generic versions of patented drugs to any country where those drugs aren’t covered by patents or where compulsory licences are issued to treat diseases like cancer or HIV/AIDS. Vietnam, Myanmar and Kenya are currently key markets.
Perhaps most importantly, weak intellectual property protection has also allowed Bangladeshi firms to build their technological base by imitating or reverse engineering foreign technologies. Copying and reverse engineering is critical to economic catch-up in a range of industries, not just pharmaceuticals. Rather than start from scratch, developing-country firms can take advantage of what others have learned.
The end of access to the waiver after graduation means several things.
First, Bangladesh would have to update its patent law, increasing patent terms to 20 years, extending patents to pharmaceutical products and processes, and allowing patent protections on animal and plant varieties. Patents could no longer be cancelled simply because they are foreign-registered, and compulsory licenses could only be issued by the government.
Bangladesh would have to let foreign companies file for an injunction if a patent was infringed so that the authorities could seize those goods. The government could no longer insist that the ingredients of imported drugs were displayed on packaging for fear of revealing trade secrets and interfering with manufacturers’ marketing strategies.
After graduation Bangladesh would also probably have to abandon the import restriction strategy pursued under the 1982 drugs control ordinance, again because it would conflict with WTO rules.
Irrespective of the loss of the pharmaceutical waiver, it’s unlikely that the general TRIPS exemption for LDCs will be renewed after its expiry in 2021. Although this is before Bangladesh’s potential graduation date and would therefore have an impact irrespective of graduation, complying with TRIPS would be expensive. The government has already said that it will upgrade its intellectual property system in accordance with TRIPS, earmarking projects worth US$71.04 million.2 Among other things this includes an overhaul of the Patent Act. A 2014 draft law is still under review by the Ministry of Industry.
Some commentators argue that strong protection of intellectual property under TRIPS will stimulate innovation, attract foreign direct investment and foster technology transfer, promoting development.3 Bangladesh would compete on a level playing field, with private companies confident that their intellectual property wouldn’t be stolen. On this line of argument, intellectual property rights are said to incentivise innovation by preventing free-riding and increasing the rewards from investment.
The evidence in LDCs, however, doesn’t support this view. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2014), the argument that strong intellectual property protection stimulates domestic technological innovation is “almost entirely limited to specific sectors in the developed world”.4 Strong intellectual property protection can raise prices — by up to 40 percentage points according to some estimates — restricting imitation and follow-on innovation6 as well as limiting access to important technological inputs into research and development.7
Bangladesh would also have to bring its laws into line with WTO agreements other than TRIPS, such as the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. This may bring into question the services and facilities given to local drug manufacturers under the National Drug Policy of 2005. Full compliance with WTO rules would require that infant pharmaceutical corporations compete in the global market with little financial support from government.
Ultimately LDC graduation risks derailing the process of technological learning that has spurred growth until now. The industry body expects recent annual compound growth rate of 15% to continue into the medium term. Without mitigating measures, this growth may slow, with broad-based economic, employment and public health implications. As a potential middle-income country, Bangladesh’s main challenge is to keep moving up the technological ladder, adding value and moving away from low-cost production.
More importantly, limiting the activities of pharmaceuticals producers could raise prices for Bangladeshis who couldn’t otherwise afford vital drugs – as well as buyers around the world. Life-saving medicines would no longer be available for poor people in Bangladesh, LDCs and other developing countries.
What appears likely in the event of graduation, and without any new measures to mitigate the impact on graduating countries, is that the industry will undergo consolidation, with established international players buying up smaller local companies. The possible new foreign investment may bring new technologies and working practices, with a knock-on impact on production – although nothing is certain. Whether the industry is robust enough to withstand and adapt to this consolidation remains to be seen."
Committee for Development Policy Secretariat
comment:
$2 billion does not = 200 billion taka but around tk167.8 billions
$2 billion will not (never) become $10 billion if you loose LDC perks
Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical industry is unique among least developed countries (LDCs). Driven by active government policies, output has grown a thousand times since 1982, to US$2 billion, or around 1% of gross domestic product, making it the biggest white collar employer in the country. The industry supplies almost the entire domestic market and more than 100 other countries including the United States.
It’s of some concern, then, that if Bangladesh potentially leaves the LDC category in 2024 it’ll no longer have access to a special World Trade Organisation (WTO) waiver which exempts the industry from the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of International Property Rights (TRIPS). The exemption has allowed government to pursue a dedicated industrial policy that’s spurred growth until now.
Most of the hundred or more pharma companies operating in Bangladesh make so-called generics, or non-branded medicines, the patents of which have often expired. Around a fifth of drugs produced in the country are patented in other countries, something which is made possible by the waiver which until 2033 allows LDCs to produce patented drugs without first asking patent holders.
The most obvious benefit of the waiver is that companies can make whatever drug they want, drastically cutting costs and improving availability. Bangladesh’s 1911 Patent Law would contravene the TRIPS agreement in a number of ways, among other things because it only provides patent protection for 16 years, not the required 20. No patent protection exists for plant and animal varieties; compulsory licences can be introduced by entities other than government; and foreign patents can be cancelled after four years if the product is not also manufactured domestically.
The Drugs Act allows government to regulate how imported drugs are labelled, requiring complete formulaic information to be visible. The Drugs Control Ordinance of 1982 lets the authorities fix prices and restrict the imports of any medicine if it or a substitute is produced in the country.
Under the waiver Bangladesh as an LDC can export generic versions of patented drugs to any country where those drugs aren’t covered by patents or where compulsory licences are issued to treat diseases like cancer or HIV/AIDS. Vietnam, Myanmar and Kenya are currently key markets.
Perhaps most importantly, weak intellectual property protection has also allowed Bangladeshi firms to build their technological base by imitating or reverse engineering foreign technologies. Copying and reverse engineering is critical to economic catch-up in a range of industries, not just pharmaceuticals. Rather than start from scratch, developing-country firms can take advantage of what others have learned.
The end of access to the waiver after graduation means several things.
First, Bangladesh would have to update its patent law, increasing patent terms to 20 years, extending patents to pharmaceutical products and processes, and allowing patent protections on animal and plant varieties. Patents could no longer be cancelled simply because they are foreign-registered, and compulsory licenses could only be issued by the government.
Bangladesh would have to let foreign companies file for an injunction if a patent was infringed so that the authorities could seize those goods. The government could no longer insist that the ingredients of imported drugs were displayed on packaging for fear of revealing trade secrets and interfering with manufacturers’ marketing strategies.
After graduation Bangladesh would also probably have to abandon the import restriction strategy pursued under the 1982 drugs control ordinance, again because it would conflict with WTO rules.
Irrespective of the loss of the pharmaceutical waiver, it’s unlikely that the general TRIPS exemption for LDCs will be renewed after its expiry in 2021. Although this is before Bangladesh’s potential graduation date and would therefore have an impact irrespective of graduation, complying with TRIPS would be expensive. The government has already said that it will upgrade its intellectual property system in accordance with TRIPS, earmarking projects worth US$71.04 million.2 Among other things this includes an overhaul of the Patent Act. A 2014 draft law is still under review by the Ministry of Industry.
Some commentators argue that strong protection of intellectual property under TRIPS will stimulate innovation, attract foreign direct investment and foster technology transfer, promoting development.3 Bangladesh would compete on a level playing field, with private companies confident that their intellectual property wouldn’t be stolen. On this line of argument, intellectual property rights are said to incentivise innovation by preventing free-riding and increasing the rewards from investment.
The evidence in LDCs, however, doesn’t support this view. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2014), the argument that strong intellectual property protection stimulates domestic technological innovation is “almost entirely limited to specific sectors in the developed world”.4 Strong intellectual property protection can raise prices — by up to 40 percentage points according to some estimates — restricting imitation and follow-on innovation6 as well as limiting access to important technological inputs into research and development.7
Bangladesh would also have to bring its laws into line with WTO agreements other than TRIPS, such as the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. This may bring into question the services and facilities given to local drug manufacturers under the National Drug Policy of 2005. Full compliance with WTO rules would require that infant pharmaceutical corporations compete in the global market with little financial support from government.
Ultimately LDC graduation risks derailing the process of technological learning that has spurred growth until now. The industry body expects recent annual compound growth rate of 15% to continue into the medium term. Without mitigating measures, this growth may slow, with broad-based economic, employment and public health implications. As a potential middle-income country, Bangladesh’s main challenge is to keep moving up the technological ladder, adding value and moving away from low-cost production.
More importantly, limiting the activities of pharmaceuticals producers could raise prices for Bangladeshis who couldn’t otherwise afford vital drugs – as well as buyers around the world. Life-saving medicines would no longer be available for poor people in Bangladesh, LDCs and other developing countries.
What appears likely in the event of graduation, and without any new measures to mitigate the impact on graduating countries, is that the industry will undergo consolidation, with established international players buying up smaller local companies. The possible new foreign investment may bring new technologies and working practices, with a knock-on impact on production – although nothing is certain. Whether the industry is robust enough to withstand and adapt to this consolidation remains to be seen."
Committee for Development Policy Secretariat
comment:
$2 billion does not = 200 billion taka but around tk167.8 billions
$2 billion will not (never) become $10 billion if you loose LDC perks
Last edited:
I don't exactly know how it works though. But considering our
exports + remittance - imports
We should be adding around $10 bn yearly. But that doesnt't happen. Instead Forex reserve has been slightly decreasing for a year.
South Korea started Chaebol in 1961.... I don't think they were much better off back then.
Tanveer666
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So, simply put
1) Better education for a technically skilled workforce
2)low import duties
3)'encouraging' local SME's (which sectors should they target ,in context of bd?)
4) improving supply chain (how ?)
BD export growth was weak for last year but this has changed this fiscal. Also BD government has pretty much paid for Padma Bridge and so this drain will come to a stop very soon.
10 billion dollars extra for forex is unrealistic - 5 billion is a good target to aim for.
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