Bangladesh Economy: News & Updates

[eastwatch]

$958m remittances received in Aug
$958 million Remittances Rcvd in August
FE Report

Bangladeshis working abroad remitted about US$ 958 million in August this year thanks largely to the forthcoming Eid-ul Fitr festival, officials said Monday.

The remittances from Bangladeshi nationals working abroad were estimated at $957.93 million in August 2010, up by $100.62 million from that of the previous month. In July last the remittances stood at $857.31 million.

"The flow of inward remittances increased significantly in August last due mainly to the ensuing Eid-ul Fitr, the biggest religious festival for the Muslims," a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE.

He also said the inflow of remittances may slightly fall this month. But it will pick up in October ahead of the Eid-ul Azha.

The August total took the remittance figure in the first two months of the current fiscal to $1.815 billion, registering a 0.29 per cent negative growth over the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, according to the central bank statistics.

"We expect that the overall growth of remittances will turn into positive in the month of September from the existing level," another BB official said, adding that recovering world economy would help to increase the flow of remittances.

The central bank earlier took a series of measures to encourage expatriate Bangladeshis to send their money through formal banking channel instead of the illegal "hundi" system to boost the country's foreign exchange reserve.

Four state-run commercial banks and dozens of private commercial banks have stepped up efforts to increase remittance flow from the Middle East, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Singapore, Italy and the United States.

"We're still serious about increasing the inflow of remittances through official channels to meet our internal foreign exchange demand," a senior official of a commercial bank said.

As part of the move, some banks are trying to set up their own exchange houses or drawing arrangements with overseas companies in different parts of the world, he added.

The country's foreign exchange reserve stood at an all time high at $11.115 billion Monday, thanks to the robust growth of remittances from Bangladeshis working abroad, the central bank officials added.

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

Banglalion WiMAX service launched in Barisal

Tuesday, 07 September 2010 00:34

The New Nation - Internet Edition

Banglalion WiMAX service launched in Barisal
Our Correspondent, Barisal

Banglalion Communications Limited, the largest WiMAX operator of the country, launches its operation in Barisal on Saturday noon. It was done after its successful commencement in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Khulna and Rangpur. Banglalion offers attractive packages starting from 128Kbps to 5Mbps at the monthly tarrif of Tk 600-15,000. It has also announced a speacial package for students and media profesionals that they can get Banglalion WiMAX connection of 256 Kbps at Taka 800 (Taka Eight Hundred) only which is the most attractive offer in this segment. On this occation a press conferance was held in the local "BDS ‚ auditorium .

Chief Commercial Officer of Banglalion WiMAX, Md. Shafiul Haque Chowdhury and Head of Media & Communications G. M. Faruq Khan addressed the press. CCO Mr. Chawdhury in his speech said, "With the inception of our service in Barisal, Banglalion have successfully completed their march to all divisional headquarters of Bangladesh. It is matter of pride of all of us that we have come to a touch of world's latest technology WiMAX in all divisions of our country. Banglalion is committed to make this area a wireless digital city through our strong network and quality of service to healthcare, education, manufacturing industries, financial institution, local chain shop, real state and information technology for better efficiency, productivity, and better growth", the Banla Lion CCO announced. BanglaLion HMC Mr. Faruq Khan in his speech said, "Being very advanced in education, culture and agriculture, the people of Barisal can contribute more to growth of national economy with the help of world latest technology WiMAX".

Among others Banglalion Head of Strategic Sales Tamim H. Chawdhury, Head of New Business Amanul Islam Head of WiMAX Plaza Md. Nazrul Islam, Area Sales Manager Zahir Uddin Khan, Corporate Sales Manager Rezwan- Ur-Rahman, Media & PR incharge Syed Nasim, Assistant Dealer and Distribution Manager Arifur Rahman and Sr. Executive Showkat Parvez, were present in the occasion.

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

GP signs solar power deals

Tuesday, 07 September 2010 00:32

GP signs solar power deals

GP signs solar power deals

Grameenphone Chief Executive Officer Oddvar Hesjedal, third from right, poses after signing deals with three solar power producers at a programme in Dhaka yesterday. Photo: GPGrameenphone Chief Executive Officer Oddvar Hesjedal, third from right, poses after signing deals with three solar power producers at a programme in Dhaka yesterday. Photo: GP

Star Business Desk

Mobile phone operator Grameenphone has signed agreements with three companies to purchase solar power to operate its off-grid base station sites.

Grameenphone is the first telecommunication company in Bangladesh to use solar power in a large scale, GP said yesterday.

Oddvar Hesjedal, chief executive officer of GP; MA Reaz, director for marketing of Cosmos Energy Services; Mohammad Ali Sarker, managing director of InGen Technology; and Amajit Gupta, head of sales and marketing for South Asia of Acme Tele Power, signed the deals.

The suppliers will install and maintain solar panels at Grameenphone's base transceiver stations (BTSs).

GP will buy electricity on a unit consumption basis for 10 years with a buyback option after that period.

The mobile operator will use solar power at 140 sites by 2010. When completed, up to 1.15 million litres of diesel will be saved a year and annual carbon emissions will be reduced by 3,062 tonnes.

"We're targeting to create the largest solar-powered cell network in the region," said Hesjedal.

"We are very committed towards the “Green” revolution in network part and we look at it in a business viable mode to gain long term sustainability.”

GP has set a target of reducing 30 percent of its emissions by 2015 from the business as usual situation considering 2008 as the baseline.

It has been experimenting with renewable energy for last few years and installed 14 solar powered and one wind powered BTS so far.

The company's green initiatives were acclaimed internationally and it won “Green Mobile Award" at the GSMA Asia Mobile Awards 2009.

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

Bangladesh takes part in shipbuilding fair in Germany

Tuesday, 07 September 2010 00:36

The New Nation - Internet Edition

Bangladesh takes part in shipbuilding fair in Germany

Stella Moon, previously built by Ananda Shipyard and Slipways. Source: http://www.ambdhaka.um.dk/Stella Moon, previously built by Ananda Shipyard and Slipways. Source: Danish Embassy Bangladesh

BSS, Dhaka

Five local pioneer shipbuilders will take part in the world's biggest shipbuilding biannual fair in Germany to begin tomorrow to showcase Bangladesh's capacity in building ocean-going vessels for the global shipping companies.

The four-day international Shipbuilding, Machinery and Marine Technology (SMM-2010) trade fair will begin at Hamburg, the port city of Germany and major trading hub for central Europe.

The 24th biennial SMM fair will bring thousands of decision makers and qualified buyers under one roof in the Hamburg fair resulting in business transactions worth millions. Some 2,000 exhibitors from 60-plus countries will showcase display of high- tech products and technologies for shipyards, marine equipment suppliers and marine technology specialists. More than 50,000 trade visitors are expected to visit the fair. The Bangladeshi participants are Ananda Shipyard and Slipways Limited (ASSL); Western Marine Shipyard; Dhaka Dockyard and Engineering Works Ltd; Khan Brothers Shipbuilding Ltd and Karnaphuli Shipbuilders Ltd.

"We will try to demonstrate Bangladesh's shipbuilding progress made in the last two years. Interaction with our new clients in the fair would help get export order" Dr Abdullahel Bari, president of Association of Export Oriented Shipbuilding Industries of Bangladesh (AEOSIB), told BSS today.

"Our target is to bag some new orders especially from Middle Eastern countries," Dr Bari said adding Bangladeshi ship-makers are expecting export orders worth US dollars 200 million from the Hamburg fair. "We hope to win orders to build bigger ships," he said adding his company, which already won orders of 10 vessels worth nearly 400 million US dollars, is now capable of building vessels weighing 15,000 Dredge Weight Tonnage (DWT).

Chairman of Western Marine M Saiful Islam said promotion of Bangladesh's shipbuilding sector in the prestigious fair will help build up image immensely.

"Locals shipbuilders' participation in the international trade fair is very much necessary for the industry's recognition in the global market at this point of time," said Islam, also president of Bangladesh-German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (BGCCI).

"Our target is to procure order and joint-venture initiative," said Gazi G Rabbani, Chief Executive Officer of Dhaka Dockyard and Engineering Works Ltd.

"We will have a chance to meet top shipping companies and highlight our potentials and capacity," said Tofayel Kabir Khan, managing director of Khan Brothers Ltd, a new shipbuilder. Bangladesh is the lone country in South Asia which builds dredgers, Managing director of Karkaphuli Shipyard Ltd MA Rashid said adding that which could be projected before the world's top shipbuilders in the fair.

Experts say participation in the SMM-2010 trade fair would provide Bangladeshi shipbuilders an unprecedented opportunity not only to display the unique aspects of the recent developments but also shed light on its progress to the global maritime community.

The SMM Fair will focus on a wide array of industry sectors including shipyards, marine equipment, propulsion systems, ship operation plants, ship electrical and electronics systems, marine technology, maritime services and the special super yacht segment.

The supporting programme at the trade fair will feature over 140 events, including a wide range of congresses, symposia, workshops, conferences and panel discussions and numerous official receptions. Bangladesh first joined the prestigious exhibition in Hamburg in 2006.

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

BoI registers 153 industrial units in July


Tuesday, 07 September 2010 00:45

Business

BoI registers 153 industrial units in July
Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha . Dhaka

Board of Investment in July registered 153 industrial units, proposing an investment of Tk 5,726.12 crore.

The proposed amount was higher by Tk 3,205.06 crore from Tk 2,521.06 crore in June when 134 industrial units were registered with the authorities.

The July proposal include Tk 4,980.54 crore from 143 local industries and Tk 745.58 crore from four foreign and six joint venture units.

The textile sector got the highest 69 per cent of the total investment proposal when service sector got 10 per cent, food and allied 7 per cent, agro-based industries 5 per cent and others 9 per cent.

According to BoI, the proposed industrial units will create a total of 29,916 jobs.

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

New policy sweetens investment incentives

Tuesday, 07 September 2010 00:46

New policy sweetens investment incentives

New policy sweetens investment incentives
Rejaul Karim Byron

A new industrial policy offers a host of incentives to attract local and foreign investment and envisages appropriate measures to rehabilitate the sick industries.

To enhance foreign investment, the policy proposed to offer citizenship for investors who are investing $500,000 or transferring $1 million to any recognised financial institution.

In providing permanent residency to foreign investors, the minimum investment level has been raised from $75,000 to $100,000. Any foreigner investing $5 million in any heavy industrial unit will enjoy the "no visa required" facility.

In a meeting yesterday, the cabinet approved the policy with a target GDP growth of 8 percent by 2013.

In a news briefing, Prime Minister's Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad said the government proposes to assist the rehabilitation of sick industries.

The government will support public and private sectors to strengthen the economy, Azad said.

The list of industries collectively defined as the services sector was expanded from 19 to 31 in the new policy.

The policy said a sick industry law would be made. The industries that have been sick for 15 years would be shoved out of the industrial sector.

Small, medium and large industrial units will need to be worth up to 200 percent more than in 2005 to stay in their traditional business-size slot, according to new definitions that adjust the slots for inflation.

Industries listed under the thrust sector category enjoy different benefits, including tax waivers. The number of industries in the sector has been reduced to 31 from 33. Manpower exports, ship building, renewable energy, polymer industries, hospitals and clinics, plastics, tea, container services and warehouses have been proposed for inclusion in the this sector.

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

Policy approved to foster higher industrial growth

Tuesday, 07 September 2010 00:47

Policy approved to foster higher industrial growth

Policy approved to foster higher industrial growth
Monira Munni

The cabinet gave Tuesday its stamp of approval to the much-awaited draft industrial policy intended to raise industrial sector' contribution to the economy to 40 per cent, from 28 per cent, by 2021.

The new Industrial Policy-2010 also aims to foster more foreign and domestic investments, generate employment and spur higher economic growth.

"We've now a new industrial policy. Cabinet members have suggested some minor changes," industries minister Dilip Barua told the FE after the meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Mr Barua said small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been given priority in the new industrial policy with a view to boosting the country's economic growth through creating more job opportunities.

The government has decided to provide collateral-free loans up to Tk 0.75 million to the SME entrepreneurs, especially women entrepreneurs, to make them self-reliant.

He expressed the hope that the lending programme would help achieve the government's 'one family one employment' plan.

The country can achieve a 7.0 GDP (gross development product) growth if necessary steps are taken in line with the short term guidelines for smaller firms, Mr Barua said.

The new policy has incorporated three fresh sectors such as automobiles, cosmetics and toiletries into the list of thrust areas.

It has dropped a proposal for divesting the state-owned Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), a senior official of Ministry of Industries (MoI) said.

The official said the policy has curtailed the scope for Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) to set up new industrial parks.

The policy will give leeway to non-profitable state firms to reach profitability while discouraging privatisation of "profitable" state enterprises.

The policy has a provision for bailing out industrial units that have remained sick for 15 years through liquidation and recovery of their capital. Steps will be taken to enact a law to rid the nation of the curse of sick industries.

The policy will encourages establishment of industrial zones for sectors such as textiles, ceramics and pharmaceutical ingredients.

 

[CaPtAiN_pLaNeT]

New industrial policy evokes mixed reactions

Tuesday, 07 September 2010 00:48

New industrial policy evokes mixed reactions

New industrial policy evokes mixed reactions



Mehdi Musharraf Bhuiyan and Md Fazlur Rahman

The new industrial policy has evoked mixed reactions from economists and business leaders.

Some hail the policy, which replaces the 2005 one after it got a go-ahead from the cabinet yesterday, for separately defining micro industries, while some grill the government for its stand on continuing with state-owned enterprises (SoEs).

However, Industries Minister Dilip Barua expressed his hope that the Industrial Policy 2010 would propel industrialisation and foster economic growth.

Terming it a 'comprehensive one,' the minister said, "It features long-term goals to foster the country's economic growth."

"The small and medium enterprises have been given special attention, as those could generate huge employment.”

"We have also selected a number of sectors as thrust sectors to give them required impetus to grow."

The minister has maintained his long-time position of not giving in to calls for divesting the SoEs -- a long demand by the private sector as well as development partners.

"Rather, we'll make SoEs competitive. Already many are making profit," Barua told The Daily Star yesterday.

Khondaker Golam Moazzem, senior research fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue, hailed the government for separately defining micro industries.

"Under old definitions, the micro industries could not fully match with any categories, which made it difficult to address the special needs and problems of the sector," he said.

On the point of making SoEs competititive, Moazzem laid emphasis on ensuring adequate alternative job opportunities for the SoE staff in case of any privatisation.

"Nongovernmental organisations should be given a responsibility in creating alternative job opportunities for such workforce," he added.

Moazzem also hailed the government move to include the more non-traditional segments in the list of thrust sectors.

"Going beyond the export-oriented industries, the new list has included a number of industries like shipbuilding, which has huge potential."

Moazzem welcomes government plans to set up separate economic zones for a number of highly potential industries like pharmaceuticals.

He however underlined the need to draw out a legal framework for establishing such economic zones.

"The funding for such zones should be channelled through public-private partnership," the CPD official suggested.

Former caretaker government adviser Dr ABM Mirza Azizul Islam questioned the government's plan to go ahead with SoEs.

"It's a fundamental question -- the government should not run commercial enterprises, no matter those are profit-making or not," he said, suggesting that the government could only limit its involvement in public utilities sectors.

The former finance adviser said, "Over the years the successive governments have dumped hundreds of crores for state-run factories."

He advised the government to go for golden handshake and arrange training facilities for the workers to be laid-off.

Waliur Rahman Bhuiyan, former president of Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry, echoed the former adviser's view on the government's stand on SoEs.

"The policy is encouraging SoEs, but it's not the government's job to run businesses. It should act as a regulator and facilitator."

 

[LongLiveBritian]

I'm going to Bangladesh in 2022, to do some buisness there with some of my friends such as car manufacturing in Sylhet suprisingly I would have thought it would be in capital, But why not now why in 2021 thats the biggest question I'm going to have to ask him.

 

[eastwatch]

I'm going to Bangladesh in 2022, to do some buisness there with some of my friends such as car manufacturing in Sylhet.

Is it 2022 or 2012, please straighten the fact.

 

[LongLiveBritian]

Is it 2022 or 2012, please straighten the fact.

2022. why?

 

[gogbot]

2022. why?

You like to plan ahead don't you.

Given BD is an Asian Economy , things will drastically by 2022.
For the better i would hope , i seriously doubt that the economic or political landscape will remain the same.

Sorry if i intruded into you conversion.

 

[LongLiveBritian]

You like to plan ahead don't you.

Given BD is an Asian Economy , things will drastically by 2022.
For the better i would hope , i seriously doubt that the economic or political landscape will remain the same.

Sorry if i intruded into you conversion.

In my opinion bangladesh aremaking good progress and every asian country, We have already made it official, But will see.

 

[akash57]

Tk 85cr project to enhance 25 pc food production

The government with the support of European Union (EU) has undertaken a Taka 85 crore project to enhance cereal production up to at least 25 percent and reduce 10 to 15 percent production cost.

Sources in the Ministry of Agriculture said the EU will provide 73.72 crore for the Food Security Programme and Soil Fertility Component Project. Bangladesh government will incur cost of Taka 4.53 of the project while rest of the amount of the project will be given by various donor agencies, the sources said

The Soil Resources Development Institute (SRDI) under the Ministry of Agriculture will implement the project with active participation of 38 non-government organizations at the field level.

Under the project steps would be taken for using modern technology in agriculture, diversification of crops, logical and profitable use of soil and water resources to boost agriculture production including rice.

Chief Scientific Office of the SRDI Nazmul Hasan told BSS that about 50,000 small and marginal farmers would be benefited from the project. He said the project will be implemented at coastal and char areas, pit basin, haor region and hill areas of 50 upazilas in 31 districts.

Under the project, he said 25,000 fertilizer cards would be distributed among farmers, 5000 compost fertilizer plant would be set up and farmers would be motivated to use the compost fertilizer, Nazmul Hasam said.

One of the important components of the project is to ensure availability of nutritious food for farmer families and make them aware to take such food.

The New Nation - Internet Edition

 

[bd_4_ever]

Tk 85cr project to enhance 25 pc food production

The New Nation - Internet Edition

Weird....even to muster a project of just Tk 85m, we need need EU's help....?!?



Cheers!!!