Daily News Flash, 19th December, 2017 - eblsecurities.com€¦Daily News Flash, 19th December, 2017 1 DSEX 11.52 Gold (Ounce) $1261.70 Dollar 82.60 (Buy) 82.60 (Sell) CSCX 18.99 Oil

Daily News Flash, 19th December, 2017

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DSEX 11.52 Gold (Ounce) $1261.70 Dollar 82.60 (Buy) 82.60 (Sell) CSCX 18.99 Oil (Barrel) $57.44 Euro 97.07 (Buy) 97.10 (Sell)

ANOTHER NON-BANK FALLS PREY TO GRAFT, LOAN IRREGULARITIES.............................................................. 2

REAL ESTATE SALES PICKING UP ....................................................................................................................... 3

DATA USAGE SHOOTS UP ................................................................................................................................. 4

INSURANCE FAIR BEGINS IN SYLHET ON FRIDAY .............................................................................................. 5

CHILAHATI LAND PORT YET TO BE FUNCTIONAL .............................................................................................. 6

WB GIVES ANOTHER $245M TO HELP ENSURE EFFICIENCY OF SAFETY NET SCHEMES ...................................... 6

SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION TAKES CENTRE STAGE ...................................................................................... 7

RECOGNITION FOR PROJECT ON BRAC UNIVERSITY CAMPUS .......................................................................... 9

NRB BANK REELECTS CHAIRMAN ................................................................................................................... 10

GOVT SET TO CREATE DATABASE OF NATL SAVINGS TOOLS SUBSCRIBERS ................................................... 10

INTERNET BANDWIDTH USE GROWS 73PC ..................................................................................................... 11

GP SEEKS MORE TIME FOR BSEC NOTICE REPLY ............................................................................................. 12

DHAKA STOCKS SEE MARGINAL GAIN RIDING ON BANKS, GP ........................................................................ 12

SET UP 12 ECONOMIC ZONES FIRST ............................................................................................................. 13

GOVT TO REVIVE 13 TEXTILES MILLS UNDER PPP ........................................................................................... 14

CHITTAGONG PORT MOVES 27 NOTCHES UP IN CONTAINER-HANDLING ....................................................... 14

PRIVATE-SECTOR CREDIT, IMPORT SURGE AWAKENS REGULATORS .............................................................. 15

GOVT BORROWS $1.097B FROM THREE INT'L LENDERS ................................................................................. 16

IMAM BUTTON INCURS RETAINED LOSS OF ABOVE TK 33.01 MILLION .......................................................... 17

FOREIGN AID INFLOW RISES .......................................................................................................................... 17

JUTE GOODS EXPORTS TO INDIA FALL IN WAKE OF ANTI-DUMPING DUTIES.................................................. 18

LICENCES OF 8 FIRMS SELLING INTL SIMS TO BE CANCELLED ......................................................................... 19

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ANOTHER NON-BANK FALLS PREY TO GRAFT, LOAN IRREGULARITIES Corruption and loan irregularities by board members are pushing yet another financial institution towards the brink of insolvency. This time, it is First Finance, a non-bank financial institution. Its financial health has deteriorated to the point that it is now unable to maintain the mandatory cash reserve with the central bank. Any financial institution, banks or non-banks, must keep 19 percent of its depositors' money in the form of statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) and cash reserve ratio (CRR) with the Bangladesh Bank. As of September, First Finance has a cash reserve deficit of Tk 221.87 crore, which prompted the BB on December 3 to slap it with a fine of Tk 2.21 crore. An investigation carried out last year by the BB revealed that AQM Faruk Ahmed Chowdhury, former chairman of First Finance, embezzled more than Tk 4 crore through irregularities, including loan forgery. Faruk resigned from the post of chairman in May last year only for his brother AQM Faisal Ahmed Chowdhury, who was found to be an accomplice in the corruption, to take over. Prior to his elevation to the post of chairman, Faisal was serving as the vice-chairman of First Finance. He is a sponsor director of Alphabet Associates Ltd and Alphabet Systems Ltd, both of which are owned by his brother. Several top officials including the then chief financial officer MA Matin and the then head of treasury Ashfaqur Rahman also colluded in committing the misdeeds, the investigation found. According to the probe report, Faruk received remuneration despite not attending board meetings, misappropriated Tk 65 lakh from selling land that was mortgaged against default loan, and received money against false advertisement. Faisal was given a home loan of Tk 70 lakh overruling the board decision. He did not repay the loan. The probe also found that some large loans were given to Al-Madina Enterprise, Aftab Enterprise, Munshi Traders, Dolfin Car Centre, Mabco Group, Mohammad Siddiqur Rahman, Hafijul Islam and Runa Trading Corporation from its Agrabad, Corporate, Gulshan and Board Bazar branches. All loans were issued based on forged documents and eventually turned bad. In some cases, innocent officers were punished by the then-board in order to hide the misdeeds of the directors, cited the investigation report. Despite being the head of the procurement department of First Finance, Chowdhury Moin Ahmed Mujib supplied goods to the NBFI at high price from his own firm Business Link and Business Communication Services, getting a windfall in the process. On paper, Mujib's wife owns the firm.


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Mujib was terminated from First Finance as per recommendation of the probe report. Meanwhile, First Finance has urged the central bank to waive its latest penalty of Tk 2.21 crore on the ground that it will plunge into insurmountable liquidity crisis if it has to pay up. Also in the letter to the BB, the NBFI, which has been failing to maintain the required cash reserve with the central bank since 2015 and been appropriately fined several times, said the continuous financial penalty has hurt its profit. In 2015, the company was penalised Tk 9 lakh for shortfall in cash reserve of Tk 7.42 crore, according to a central bank report. It then paid Tk 2 crore in penalty in 2015-16 for non compliance with the CRR and SLR rules. The NBFI incurred a loss of Tk 14 crore in the first nine months of 2017, according to its financial statement. The company was listed with the Dhaka Stock Exchange in 2003 and for the last two years it has been a Z category stock. Its share traded at Tk 12 on the Dhaka bourse yesterday. The central bank has appointed Md Abu Taher, general manager of the BB's foreign exchange operation department, as an observer in the NBFI. Currently, the non-performing loans of the financial institution are 30 percent of its total loans. The firm has been suffering from liquidity crisis for not getting funds from banks, said Sarwar Shafiq, its company secretary. He said many NBFIs depend on bank loans for their funds, but now banks do want to lend First Finance due to its deteriorating health. The company has been in the Z category stocks since 2015 because of its failure to pay dividends. Shafiq said the management has strengthened efforts to speed up loan recovery in a bid to bring down default loan below 20 percent by the end of the year. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/another-non-bank-falls-prey-graft-loan-irregularities-1507174

REAL ESTATE SALES PICKING UP Realtors are expecting the property market to flourish in 2018 as sales have finally started to pick up this year upon banks' slashing of interest rates to single digits. The relative political calm, the bearish trend in the stock market and a lack of solid investment options also drove sales in 2017, leading to a price spiral in almost all areas save for Gulshan and Baridhara in the capital. I think the real estate sector will get a boost next year, said Toufiq M Seraj, managing director of Sheltech, one of the leading developers in Bangladesh. Seraj, who closely follows the property market, said the sector has started to pick up -- although slowly -- from July. While no accurate data is available yet on the sales of homes, commercial spaces and land in the outgoing year, the Real Estate & Housing Association of Bangladesh said the sector grew 5-7 percent in 2017, bucking the downturn of the last several years. 2017 has been much better than 2016 and 2015, Seraj said. The housing market went on a downturn in 2012 for intermittent political instability, a bearish stock market and the government's apathy towards providing gas connections to new buildings. Developers said the property price corrections in the past few years have lured in many prospective home buyers.

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Prices hit rock-bottom at the beginning of 2017, after which it started to pick up little by little, Seraj said. The construction of relatively smaller flats by major developers also attracted the middle-class and fixed income groups. The real estate sector is repositioning itself. The apartment prices have also seen correction. And we the developers have paid attention to design features in line with the customers' demands, he added. The prices have increased by Tk 200-500 per square feet this year in almost all areas except for Gulshan and Baridhara, said AKM Shafiuddin Shahin, sales in-charge of Structural Engineers Ltd. This is because of increased demand. Shahin went on to link the relative political calm in 2017 for the pick up in property sales. People tend to hold back on making new investments during times of political instability. However, the demand for luxury apartments has not increased, according to developers. It appears that a section of the rich people is more interested in owning a second home abroad, he added. The number of unsold apartments has declined for rising sales, said Md Noor-E-Alam Siddike, executive director of sales of Building Technology and Ideas. I think all have now gathered that the market has become stable and the prices will not fall further, he said, adding that the declining interest rate on home loans was a big factor in rallying sales in 2017. In some cases, the interest rate came down to as low as 8 percent. Falling interest rate on home loan has encouraged many middle class to think of buying homes of their own, said Mohammad Farhaduzzaman, marketing in-charge of Eastern Housing. The low interest rate coupled with the lack of attractive investment opportunities in other sectors including stock markets will bring in increased investment into the real estate sector. The rate of interest is unlikely to rise soon, he added. Like Seraj, Shahin also feels next year will be a good one for the real estate sector. In another development, investments in flats by Bangladeshis living abroad have increased in 2017. This is likely to rise further in 2018 because of the uncertainty surrounding immigrants in the West, he said. The market will grow next year if there is no political instability. The main challenge is ensuring gas connection to household, said Siddike of BTI. Farhad of Eastern Housing said the government has already stopped giving new connections to households. The sector will seriously be affected if gas connection is not provided to households next year, he added. The electricity situation though has improved, according to Seraj. The government should provide gas connection to homes if there are reserves and the capacity to distribute in Dhaka, he added. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/real-estate-sales-picking-1507171

DATA USAGE SHOOTS UP The use of international internet bandwidth by Bangladesh soared 73.38 percent year-on-year to 456 gigabits per second at the end of third quarter of 2017, in a development that suggests the country is marching fast towards digitisation. People's lifestyle has evolved. Nowadays people are using the internet for

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entertainment, education and many other things, said MA Hakim, president of the Internet Service Providers Association Bangladesh. The internet service providers are supplying more than 70 percent of the bandwidth and the mobile operators the rest, though most people are using the internet from their smartphones, he said. The rise in internet subscribers is the main reason for the increase in the bandwidth usage, according to industry insiders. At the end of September, the total number of internet users in Bangladesh stood at 7.92 crore, up 18.39 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission. Wholesale bandwidth providers said the total usage crossed the 500 Gbps-mark in recent weeks. At the end of 2016, it was 380 Gbps. M Rokonuzzaman, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at North South University, termed the growth tremendous. He, however, said there is still a lot left to be done. Bangladesh is on the process of digitisation, so more and more data will be required in the near future. Per capita data consumption was only 5kbps in 2012 in contrast to 250kbps in Singapore, according to Rokonuzzaman. This picture needs to change. The data growth is much lower than the expectation even though a huge number of people are not using internet for productive purposes, said a BTRC official. Rokonuzzaman said the government and the telecom regulator should promote the benefits of internet to boost the use of bandwidth. The mobile operators' data promotions are targeted towards encouraging more social media use, much to the chagrin of Rokonuzzaman. State-run Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Ltd is also experiencing fabulous growth, said Mashiur Rahman, its managing director. Currently, we are supplying 60 percent of the country's total demand and hopefully this scenario will be more favourable for us in the coming days. The submarine cable company has connected its second cable, helping cut imports, Rahman said. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/data-usage-shoots-1507168

INSURANCE FAIR BEGINS IN SYLHET ON FRIDAY A two-day insurance fair will begin in Sylhet on Friday with a view to raising people's trust in insurers. The Insurance Development & Regulatory Authority (IDRA) is organising the Insurance Fair 2017 at the gymnasium of the District Sports Council in the northeastern city. The main objective of the fair is to take insurance services to the people living in the remote areas, said Shafiqur Rahman Patwari, chairman of the regulatory body, at a press conference at its headquarters in Dhaka yesterday. He said the event would be helpful in building trust of the clients in insurance policies. Insurance companies will settle claims of Tk 18 crore at the fair, Patwari said. Visitors will be able to know about life, health, fire, accident and car insurance as well as pension schemes, according to the IDRA. Gokul Chand Das, a member of the regulator, said the IDRA puts more efforts on settling insurance claims in order to boost policyholders' confidence. About Tk 100 crore worth insurance claims were settled in the last four months. Of the 78 insurance companies in the country, 32 will participate in the show. The fourth-generation insurance companies seem reluctant to take part. Of the 15 new insurance companies that got licences in 2013, only three will display their products and services at the fair. The new insurance companies have not been able to introduce new products in the market, said Das. As a result, they are lagging behind the existing insurance companies, he said.

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In Bangladesh, the insurance business has remained largely untapped. The sector's contribution to the gross domestic product is 0.7 percent whereas it is 4 percent in India. MA Mannan, state minister for finance and planning, is expected to inaugurate the second edition of the fair, which will stay open for visitors from 10:00am to 8:00pm. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/insurance-fair-begins-sylhet-friday-1507162

CHILAHATI LAND PORT YET TO BE FUNCTIONAL The Chilahati land port in Nilphamari's Domar upazila is still to become operational six years after its inauguration as the Indian side is yet to wrap up their preparations to get goods flowing through the new point of entry and exit. It is being delayed as the preparations on the Indian side are still incomplete, said Aftabuddin Sarker, lawmaker of the Domar-Dimla constituency. But the Bangladesh side is all set: the government even completed the renovation of the nearby Chilahati Rail Station and the connecting rail routes last year at a cost of Tk 203 crore to better support the land port. The delay though has got the local business community worked up. The Chilahati land post has special facilities in comparison to others such as the broad-gauge tracks that directly connect the region to the capital and other big cities, said Farhanul Huq, vice-president of Nilphamari Chamber of Commerce and Industries. This port could have given a boost to the trade and commerce of this under-developed region of the country, he added. Trade with India, Nepal and Bhutan can easily be facilitated for the port's advantageous location, said Abdul Wahed Sarker, a former president of the chamber. Most exporters and importers of Rangpur division now use the distant Burimari and Banglabandha land ports, said Idris Ali, president of Saidpur Merchants' Association. Abu Musa Mahmudul Huq, president of Chilahati Land Port Implementation Committee, warned of agitation if the port remained inoperative for long. Nilphamari Deputy Commissioner Khaled Rahim said the government is working with the Indian side to make the land port functional at the earliest. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/chilahati-land-port-yet-be-functional-1507159

WB GIVES ANOTHER $245M TO HELP ENSURE EFFICIENCY OF SAFETY NET SCHEMES The World Bank has approved an additional $245 million to help Bangladesh improve equity, efficiency and transparency in major safety net programmes. The financing to the ongoing Safety Net Systems for the Poorest Project will benefit nine million of the poorest households, according to a statement. It will help improve performance of some of the country's largest safety net schemes, which are implemented by the Department of Disaster Management. These schemes include public workfare and humanitarian assistance programmes. In FY2017, Bangladesh spent around $3.5 billion on social protection, which is about 1.4 percent of its gross domestic product, said Rajashree Paralkar, operations manager of the WB. By effectively identifying poor households and administering the safety net programmes, the government will continue to reduce poverty and ensure effective use of public resources. To help streamline safety net programme administration, the project is helping to build common platforms for improved beneficiary targeting, information management and digital payment. The financing will support the Department of Disaster Management to roll out a management information system to administer beneficiary records and programme processes, as well as expand digital payment to beneficiaries with greater efficiency and transparency, the WB said.

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It will also support the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics in completing the country's first universal poverty registry -- the National Household Database -- which will be integrated with external information systems, allowing various ministries and agencies to use its data for more equitable beneficiary selection. The Department of Disaster Management will build upon ongoing efforts to strengthen implementation of its safety net programmes, said Ashiq Aziz, task team leader of the WB. The additional financing will support establishment of an integrated social protection service delivery system envisioned in the National Social Security Strategy. With the additional financing, the WB's total commitment to the project stands at $745 million. The project is expected to be completed in June 2019. The credit is from International Development Association, the WB's concessional lending arm. The credits are interest-free, repayable in 38 years, including a six-year grace period, and carry a service charge of 0.75 percent. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/wb-gives-another-245m-help-ensure-efficiency-safety-net-schemes-1507156

SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION TAKES CENTRE STAGE Sustainable construction aims to meet present day needs for housing, working environments and infrastructure without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs in times to come. It incorporates elements of economic efficiency, environmental performance, and social responsibility. It has the greatest impact when architectural quality, technical innovation and transferability are included. This is how the sustainable construction was defined at the Regional LafargeHolcim Awards 2017 for Asia Pacific. LafargeHolcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction, an independent legal entity supported by LafargeHolcim, organised the awards ceremony at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on November 23. The fifth edition of the competition for architects, engineers, urban planners and developers attracted 5,085 entries from authors in 121 countries, said Donald Bates, head of the LafargeHolcim Awards Jury for Asia Pacific, at the awards night. The foundation okayed 1,836 entries after the pre-screening phase, he said. This year, the foundation honoured three projects with the main award and four projects in each region with acknowledgement prizes and another four with Next Generation prizes. The International LafargeHolcim Awards is the world's most significant competition in sustainable design, said Edward Schwarz, general manager of LafargeHolcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction. The foundation, a non-profit organisation, was initiated in 2003 mainly to promote sustainability in construction, Schwarz said. Upfront, a set of five target issues for sustainable construction were developed, to make it easier to measure what we are doing in this foundation and to be able to live up to certain standards with regard to innovation, environmental performance, social performance, economic compatibility and also architectural proficiency, he said. The foundation carries out two main activities. On one hand are the academic symposiums taking place once every three years, dedicated to a specific topic relevant to sustainable construction, he said. And on the other hand, the LafargeHolcim awards competition, a series of five regional and global competitions for projects and visions in sustainable construction.

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The broad scope of entries in the competition makes it difficult to anticipate much beyond an exciting array of projects responding to the challenges of sustainability in various local contexts, Schwarz said. Through its activities, the LafargeHolcim Foundation has developed a close-knit global network of academic and professional experts and acts as an information hub connecting professions, geographies and generations. To pursue its goals, the foundation collaborates closely with some of the most renowned technical universities worldwide, with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich/EPFL Lausanne), Switzerland, as the seat of the academic committee of the foundation. Projects and visionary concepts in the fields of architecture, building, civil engineering, landscape and urban design, materials, products, and construction technologies that live up to the five target issues for sustainable construction are eligible for entry, Schwarz said. A total of $2 million in prize money is awarded in each three-year cycle to leading projects of professionals as well as bold ideas from the next generation, he said. The competition is handled in two stages. In the regional phase, the best projects and concepts are sought in the five world regions: Europe, North America, Latin America, Middle East Africa and the Asia Pacific. The juries evaluate the projects based on the five target issues for sustainable construction set forth by the LafargeHolcim Foundation and its affiliated universities. In the global phase, the 15 projects that receive the Gold, Silver or Bronze Awards in the regions automatically qualify for the Global Awards. In the main awards category of the LafargeHolcim Awards 2017 Asia Pacific, a home for marginalised children at Thane in India won the Gold Award. A home for 30 children, this building replaces their existing facility which tends to flood and lacks ventilation. The jury was taken with the project's Alice in Wonderland-like approach which re-envisions a small urban building through the eyes of children. The concept of an impressive micro library to be established at Bandung in Indonesia achieved the Silver Award. Set within a park, the micro library aims to raise literacy by offering attractive spaces for reading. In the words of the authors, Being situated within a park, having an all-side open pavilion where one can enter from any direction is contextual and relevant. The floating campus project of Brac University, to be established in Dhaka of Bangladesh, bagged the Bronze Award. The authors aim to introduce buildings and open space on remediated swampland in Dhaka. They designed a university building that floats on a pond. The jury believes the campus will set a net benchmark for sustainability in Asia. The most interesting thing is that more than half of all entries were submitted by participants younger than 30 years of age, said Schwarz. The Asia Pacific competition region is particularly diverse in terms of cultures, countries, and climates, said Marc Angelil, head of the academic committee of the LafargeHolcim Foundation. The diversity of the Asia Pacific competition was perfectly reflected in the more than 1,100 projects submitted, he said. Anglil noted how the target issues for sustainable construction allow diverse projects to be compared and ranked. He also shed light on the high quality of submissions: Sustainability has become comprehensive, systematic and specific you have to deliver a truly special entry to stand out!


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What is important for me is to anticipate what the next step would be within sustainable construction. It is a developing concept. It's constantly changing its focus, said Anglil who is also an architect and professor of architecture and design at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. It started with technical issues and moved into social issues and now questions of economy are more and more at the forefront. And we are looking for the next possible steps that will form sustainable construction. I think one of the biggest impacts that the LafargeHolcim Foundation has is to promote truly the next generations of architects, landscape designers and urbanists the people that we haven't yet heard of, he said. The LafargeHolcim Foundation recognises the critical importance of supporting the future generation of professionals to develop out-of-the-box sustainable design concepts. To make the criteria of sustainable construction concise and transparent, the LafargeHolcim Foundation defined five target issues: Progress: Projects must demonstrate innovative approaches to sustainable development, pushing the envelope of practice and exploring new disciplinary frontiers. People: Projects must adhere to the highest ethical standards and promote social inclusion at all stages of construction, from planning and building to use and servicing, to ensure an enduring positive impact on communities. Planet: Projects must exhibit sensible use and management of natural resources throughout their entire life cycle. Prosperity: Projects must be economically feasible and able to secure financing whether from public, commercial, or concessional sources while having a positive impact on society and the environment. Place: Projects must convey a high standard of architectural quality as a prevalent form of cultural expression. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/sustainable-construction-takes-centre-stage-1507153

RECOGNITION FOR PROJECT ON BRAC UNIVERSITY CAMPUS Lafargeholcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction has recently awarded a project on the new 'floating' campus of Brac University in Bangladesh with the Regional LafargeHolcim Awards 2017 for Asia Pacific. The project was highly appreciated by architects, landscape designers, engineers, urban planners and developers as it won the Bronze Award at the gala event held at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia on November 23. The university project, located on an urban lake at Merul Badda, is an international effort. Jalal Ahmad, a Bangladeshi architect and principal architect of JA Architects Ltd, is a part of the team of multinational architects and engineers who are working on the project that started in July 2016. Richard Hassell and Sim Choon Heok, architects from WOHA in Singapore, and Wolfgang Kessling, climate engineer of Transsolar Energietechnik GmbH of Germany, are the other members of the team. Speaking about the project, Hassell said something that looks attractive in picture is the water body, but it was actually a kind of black toxic mud. The team soon realised that the biggest challenge would be how to transform the area into a hassle-free lively university campus. We had to fit in a lot of things in the project a social space, recreational space, nature and an energy generating space. So, there were a lot of programmes to accommodate, Hassell said, adding that the project will set a new benchmark for sustainability in Asia. Ahmad said: We have taken inspiration from the Sundarbans, which have separate ecosystems above and below tidal level.

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The club sandwich approach was adopted to create two distinct programmatic strata by floating the academia above the lake and revealing a campus park below to reflect the synergistic coexistence between mankind and mangrove, according to Ahmad. All organic waste produced on the campus is composted for maintenance of the landscape. The building uses adaptive thermal comfort using seven modes of cooling/ventilation, fine-tuning the building to the local climate. The campus is designed to breathe, with cross ventilation and indirect natural day-light making tropical learning spaces without air-conditioning possible. Using vegetation as a key component of the building's material palette, landscaping is applied both vertically and horizontally throughout its height, Ahmad said. The design's tactile architectural expression of living green walls upon a pedestal of terracotta brick recalls the ancient Paharpur transposed into a forward-looking, innovative and sustainable 21st century tropical campus, he said. Upto 44 percent of open spaces are provided as informal break-out areas. The building section is designed to catch the breezes and direct them to the gathering spaces while providing shelter from the sun and rain, Ahmad said. We hope to complete the project by the middle of 2020. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/recognition-project-brac-university-campus-1507150

NRB BANK REELECTS CHAIRMAN Mohammed Mahtabur Rahman has recently been re-elected as chairman of NRB Bank for next three years, said the bank in a statement yesterday. He is also chairman and managing director of Al Haramain Perfumes Group of Companies. Rahman is founder president of the Bangladesh Business Council in Dubai and sponsor of Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Bangladesh Islamia (Pvt) School in Abu Dhabi, the UAE. Rahman was selected as commercially important person for four consecutive years from 2012-13 to 2015-16 and was awarded the Bangladesh Bank Remittance Award for three consecutive years from 2013 to 2015. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/nrb-bank-reelects-chairman-1507135

GOVT SET TO CREATE DATABASE OF NATL SAVINGS TOOLS SUBSCRIBERS The government is set to create a database of subscribers of national savings certificates to prevent misuse of the scope like investment beyond allowable limit and in fake names by investors. The automated database will be integrated with national identity cards of the investors and the process will be completed by next three to four months, officials of the finance ministry said. The ministry took the decision as finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith in his concluding budget speech for the current fiscal year 2017-2018 declared that the government would prepare a database of NSC investors so that the target groups get the benefits. The officials said that creation of an automated database of investors would ensure that the target groups would get the benefits of savings schemes as part of the governments social safety net programmes. No one will be able to exceed the limit of investment set for different target groups or make investment in fake or others names once the integration is completed as the amount of investment by individuals and institutions could be detected under the system, they added. It will also help the government in its debt management as higher sales of savings certificates have been increasing the governments debt burden in recent years. The government will also be able to monitor the trend and actual scenario of investment in the savings tools of the Department of National Savings.

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The finance ministry is implementing the automation process under its Integrated Budget and Accounting System (iBAS). There are allegations that many investors make investments in the savings certificates beyond the limit allowed for them using fake names, NSD officials said. Though furnishing NID is mandatory for buying savings tools, officials could not check the authenticity in absence of integration with the NID system, they said. They said wealthier section of people reaps the benefits of savings instruments though the government targets the lower-, lower-middle- and middle-income groups of people as part of its social safety net programmes. It was observed that low-worth savings certificates that the government issues targeting the marginalised groups of people remain unsold while the sales of high-worth certificates have been increasing over the years following a fall in bank interest rates. Currently, the government offers interest at the rates between 11.04 per cent and 11.76 per cent for investment in savings instruments while interest rates in bank deposit are between 5 per cent and 6 per cent. According to the NSD, the net sales of savings certificates stood at Tk 52,417 crore in the fiscal year 2016-17 against the governments target of Tk 45,000 crore for the year. NSD officials said they were also bringing its all bureau offices under e-savings software to ensure online transactions of investment as manual transactions including sales of certificates and encashment process take longer time. The NSD is supposed to complete brining all its bureau offices under e-savings software by December, they said. Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/30716/govt-set-to-create-database-of-natl-savings-tools-subscribers

INTERNET BANDWIDTH USE GROWS 73PC Total uses of international internet bandwidth in the country increased by 73.38 per cent year-on-year to 456 gigabits per second at the end of third quarter amid growing engagement of people in internet, Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company data showed. Besides, flourishing of local contents, introducing online-centric services and expansion of 3G services also helped in attracting internet users and bandwidth uses accordingly, said market experts. The number of internet users in the country stood at 7.92 crore at the end of September this year, which was 6.69 crore at the end of September last year, according to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission data. Officials of Google, however, at the launching ceremony of an android phone-based application, Datally, in Dhaka in November this year said that the number of active internet users in Bangladesh was four crore. A top official of BSCCL said that the total uses of internet bandwidth of state-owned BSCCL were also getting momentum. Currently BSCCL is supplying 60 per cent of the countrys total demand and I hope that the scenario would be more favourable for the state-owned entity in coming days, he said. The lone state-owned submarine cable company has already got connected with the second cable and that also supply a huge quantity of bandwidth, the official said. Apart from BSCCL, six international terrestrial cable operators are in operation in Bangladesh and are importing bandwidth from India and their supply is currently around 200 Gbps. BSCCL also exports 10 Gbps bandwidth to seven northern states of India. Market experts also termed this growth as tremendous and said still there were opportunities left to give a boost to the market.

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Per capita data consumption was 250kbps in Singapore in 2012, while it was only 6.5kbps in Bangladesh in 2013. A senior BTRC official said the country would lead the data segment once the fourth generation (4G) mobile data service in launched. Officials of the BTRC said the data growth was much lower than the expectation, as many people used the internet for non-productive purposes. Although mobile operators have the maximum number of internet connections, they are using only 30 per cent bandwidth of the countrys total consumption, said a top official of the Internet Service Provider Association Bangladesh. Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/30717/internet-bandwidth-use-grows-73pc

GP SEEKS MORE TIME FOR BSEC NOTICE REPLY Grameenphone Limited has requested Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission to extend time by around three weeks for submission of reply to a show-cause notice served by the regulator for not keeping provision against disputed outstanding VAT. BSEC on December 7 sent the show-cause notice to GP asking it to reply in seven working days. The stock market regulators move came after large VAT payers unit of NBR had sent a letter to BSEC to ensure GP kept provision against disputed outstanding VAT worth Tk 2015.27 crore. GP in a letter on December 14 said that it started to review the show-cause notice after it had received it on December 13. Seeking extension of submission deadline till January 7, 2018, the mobile operator said that it needed more time to ensure appropriate representation after necessary research. GP has eight tax disputes with LTU involving Tk 2,015.27 crore. GP owes the amount to National Board of Revenue as SIM replacement tax, VAT on rent for space and establishments, VAT and supplementary duty on SIM cards and unlawfully taken rebate. The listed company, however, has not maintained provision for the amounts in its accounts despite having pending cases on the amounts with different courts including the Appellate Division and the High Court Division of Supreme Court and Customs, Excise and VAT Tribunal of the NBR while the verdict from the lower courts came in favour of the tax authorities. The LTU has also informed the BSEC about the latest situation of the cases with arguments that the verdicts may come in favour of the government side as per the merits of the cases. LTU feared that it would be difficult for the company to pay the revenue to the government exchequer if the verdict of the cases went in favour of the government as the mobile operator company was not maintaining provisions against the huge amount of balance. Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/30718/gp-seeks-more-time-for-bsec-notice-reply

DHAKA STOCKS SEE MARGINAL GAIN RIDING ON BANKS, GP Dhaka stocks increased marginally on Monday despite a fall in the share prices of most of the scrips as banks and Grameenphone gained at an otherwise dull market ahead of year-end. DSEX, the key index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, added 0.18 per cent, or 11.51 points, to close at 6,224.60 points on the day after losing 16.92 points in the previous session. The market opened upbeat but slowed down after the morning session as investors kept selling shares as year-end is approaching, market operators said. Despite the fall in most of the traded scrips, the market ended positive as investors turned their focus on large capitalised scrips including banks, Grameenphone and British American Tobacco that saved the market from negative ending. The average share prices of banks rose by 1.0 per cent with holding 26 per cent of the days total turnover that contributed most to the rebound of the market on Monday.

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Out of the 30 traded bank scrips, 24 advanced, three declined and three remained unchanged. Besides banks, an increase in the share prices of telecommunications and food sectors also helped the market gain on the day. Among the large capitalised scrips, the share prices of British American Tobacco, Grameenphone and BRAC Bank were the highest positive index movers on Monday. On the other hand, the average share prices of cement, non-bank financial institutions and energy sectors declined by 0.7 per cent, 0.3 per cent and 0.2 per cent respectively. The share prices of Lafarge Surma, Investment Corporation of Bangladesh and United Power Generation Company lost most on the day. Many investors went for selling shares, especially from small and medium capitalised scrips after their recent gains, stockbrokers said. The market extended its sluggish period to another session as the daily average turnover remained at Tk 400 crore for last seven sessions. The turnover, an important indicator of the market participation, increased a bit to Tk 455.30 crore on Monday compared with that of Tk 338.27 crore in the previous session. The market started with positive vibe and maintained its positive momentum throughout the session with some volatility in between, said EBL Securities in its daily market commentary. Investors exerted buying pressure on sector specific stocks especially from bank, food and allied and telecommunication sectors, it said. Of the 331 companies and mutual funds traded, 178 declined, 99 advanced, and 54 remained unchanged. DS30, the blue-chip index of the DSE, gained 0.23 per cent, or 5.25 points, to finish at 2,244.54 points. Shariah index DSES added 0.02 per cent, or 0.33 points, to close at 1,373.56 points. Grameenphone led the turnover chart on the day with its shares worth Tk 28.38 crore changing hands. Alif Manufacturing Company, Shahjalal Islami Bank, Square Pharmaceuticals, National Tubes, City Bank, Islami Bank, Aamra Networks, BRAC Bank and LankaBangla Finance were the other turnover leaders. National Tubes increased most with a 5.67-per cent rise in its share prices, while Dulamia Cotton Spinning was the worst sufferer, shedding 7.40 per cent. Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/30715/dhaka-stocks-see-marginal-gain-riding-on-banks-gp

SET UP 12 ECONOMIC ZONES FIRST The owners of private economic zones have urged the Bangladesh government to complete at least a dozen out of 100 proposed new zones on a priority basis, in order to build up the confidence of investors as well as to attract more investment from both foreign and domestic sources. In addition, they suggested that Mirsarai Economic Zone be developed as the flagship for the upcoming zones, as it has already generated significant hype among local and global investors. The remarks were made on Monday by speakers at a seminar titled Economic Zones: Transforming Bangladesh into a Manufacturing Hub- Key Policy and Regulatory Issues, organized by the Policy Research Institute (PRI) in Dhaka. If Bangladesh can present a dozen or even just five economic zones as models, it will draw the attention of global investors, said ASM Mainuddin Monem, managing director of Abdul Monem Economic Zone Ltd. Monem said Honda recently invested in the economic zone of which he was in-charge, and about 10 spare parts manufacturers were observing the venture in order to also invest, if it was successful.

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He added that infrastructural support should come from the government, although public-private partnerships were acceptable in cases of power generation. Furthermore, AK Khan Economic Zone Project Director M Shahadat Hossain said: The establishing of 100 new economic zones sounds good. But the question is whether it is possible to implement them all at the same time. Md Abul Kalam Azad, principal coordinator for the sustainable development goals at the Prime Ministers Office, said the government would be able to complete all of the zones as similar doubts over the scale were expressed regarding electricity generation projects. Source: http://www.dhakatribune.com/business/economy/2017/12/19/set-12-economic-zones-first/

GOVT TO REVIVE 13 TEXTILES MILLS UNDER PPP The government has decided to restart 13 textiles mills that were shutdown 25 years ago due to huge losses and run them under a public-private partnership (PP) initiative, according to an official of the Ministry of Textiles and Jute. The official said this would be the textile sectors largest project, with Tk15,200 crore set to be allocated to purchase new machineries, to replace the existing ones, to run these mills. The project will also ensure proper use of 380.47 acres of land allocated for the sector, said the official, adding that the land currently has a value of Tk1,592 crore. The proposal of Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation (BTMC), which works under the ministry, to restart the 13 mills would be placed before the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday. State Minister for Textiles and Jute Mirza Azam told the Dhaka Tribune: Our textiles industry will stand on its feet again now that we have taken the initiative to revive the mills under PPP. He said the ministry has already completed the process to restart three of the mills. The 13 mills up for overhaul are RR Textile Mill, Amin Jute and Textile Mills and The Asiatic Cotton Mill in Chittagong; Rangamati Textile Mill at Ghagra, Rangamati; Magura Textile Mill in Magura; Bengal Textile Mill at Noapara, Jessore; Rajshahi Textile Mill at Sapura, Rajshahi; Sundarban Textile Mill in Satkhira; Dinajpur Textile Mill and Jalil Textile Mill in Dinajpur; Darwani Textile Mill in Nipharmari; Dost Textile Mill at Ranirhat, Feni; and Afsar Cotton Mill at Savar, Dhaka. According to the proposal, the PPPs duration will be 30 years, but could be renewed. Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation will be the major partner of the PPP while rest of the shares will go to private parties. It says the private parties will implement the project, maintain the mills and market the textile products. Of the 86 state-owned textile mills, BTMC handed over 60 mills to the Privatisation Commission between 1977 and 2013, and runs 24 factories across the country at present. A little over one year ago, the government had taken another initiative backed by Chinese funding to modernise 24 state-owned jute mills, with the expectation of yielding an annual net profit of around Tk975.8 crore and create 24,000 new jobs. The jute mills have been incurring losses for several years now, and in FY2015-16 alone their losses amounted to Tk588 crore. Source: http://www.dhakatribune.com/business/economy/2017/12/19/govt-revive-13-textiles-mills-ppp/

CHITTAGONG PORT MOVES 27 NOTCHES UP IN CONTAINER-HANDLING The countrys main seaport has set a record by advancing 27 notches in container-handling over the period of last eight years.

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A handout on Monday said Chittagong port was ranked 71st in 2016 among top 100 ports across the world, according to the recently-released Lloyds List survey report. The rank of the port, however, was 98 in the year 2008, said a handout. BSS said the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) will observe the achievement on Tuesday through a function at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in the capital. Finance Minister AMA Muhith will remain present at the function as the chief guest while Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed will attend as the special guest. Editor of the Lloyds List Liton Nightingle will hand over a certificate of the recognition to the CPA during the function. The listed 100 ports handled about 555.6 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) containers in 2016, which was 2.20 per cent higher compared to the same in 2015. China and India stood first and second respectively. Twenty ports from China, three from India and Karachi port of Pakistan took position in the list. Source: http://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/economy/bangladesh/chittagong-port-moves-27-notches-up-in-container-handling-1513608737

PRIVATE-SECTOR CREDIT, IMPORT SURGE AWAKENS REGULATORS A significant surge in private-sector credits, particularly in October, nudged the regulators into stocktaking and they spotlighted a splurge from nine banks. Among the nine generously-lending banks are seven fourth-generation private commercial banks (PCBs), a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE. The growth in credit flow to private sector rose to 18.63 per cent in October 2017, year on year, from 17.80 per cent a month before, according to the central bank's latest statistics. Such credit growth has already crossed the target set by the BB in its latest monetary policy statement (MPS). Earlier on July 26 last, the central bank of Bangladesh projected in its first half-yearly (H1) monetary-policy statement for the current fiscal year (FY) 2017-18 that the private-sector credit would grow at 16.2 per cent by December 2017 and 16.3 per cent by June 2018 respectively. The private-sector-credit growth showed a somewhat overshooting tendency in the recent months, according to the central banker. "Reviewing bank-wise data of private-sector-credit growth, it has been observed that an increase in credit by the banks contributed to scoring such growth," he explained. He also said the issue was discussed at BB's board-of-directors meeting held at the central bank headquarters in Dhaka on December 04 with BB Governor Fazle Kabir in the chair. "The central bank is taking action against the banks after scrutinizing their overall credit activities," another BB official told the FE while replying to a query. Besides, implementation of different infrastructures along with mega- projects gave a nudge to the overall private-sector-credit growth, they added. The total outstanding loans with the private sector rose to Tk 8126.80 billion in October last from Tk 8012.25 billion in September 2017. It was Tk 6850.81 billion in October 2016. Senior bankers, however, said the overall private-sector-credit growth had increased significantly during the period under review due to higher trade financing by the banks. The overall imports increased nearly 29 per cent to $17.14 billion during the July-October period of the ongoing fiscal year from $13.32 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal, BB data showed. Explaining the situation on the monetary front, the bankers said lower interest rates on lending and political stability encouraged the entrepreneurs to borrow in a bigger way from local sources to meet their growing demand for funds to invest.

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The weighted average interest rates on lending came down to 9.39 per cent in October 2017 from 9.45 per cent a month before. It was up the double-digit mark, at 10.15 per cent, in September 2016. MA Halim Chowdhury, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Pubali Bank Limited, said higher imports of food-grains alongside capital machinery pushed up the overall private-sector-credit flow in the recent months. He thinks the uptrend in capital-machinery import may continue in the coming months, too, following remediation and expansion activities in the country's apparel and clothing sector. "Most of the readymade garment factories are now using modern technology through BMRE (balancing, modernisation, rehabilitation and expansion) as per remediation programme," the senior banker noted. Implementation of mega-projects, like the Padma Multipurpose Bridge, also contributed to overall higher private-sector-credit growth during the period under review, he explained. Currently, the government is implementing nine projects under a Fast- Track Project Monitoring Committee, headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Talking to the FE, Syed Mahbubur Rahman, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Dhaka Bank Ltd, said the credit flow to the private sector might continue to grow in the coming months to meet a growing demand for investment particularly in power and infrastructures across the country. The senior banker also suggested that the banks take effective measures to improve deposit growth for making LC (letter of credit) payments smoothly in the near future. Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/last-page/private-sector-credit-import-surge-awakens-regulators-1513614992

GOVT BORROWS $1.097B FROM THREE INT'L LENDERS The government has borrowed over US$ 1.097 billion from three international lenders in favour of its different entities, officials said. The standing committee on non-concessional loan of the government early this month approved three loan deals in this regard. Of the total, International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) would lend US$ 700 million while Exim Bank, China US$ 282 million and Agence Franaise de Development (AFD) 115 million. The government has approved US$ 700 million borrowed from ITFC to import fuel oils for the calendar year 2018. In this regard, a meeting was held between a high-powered Bangladesh delegation and ITFC at Jeddah in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) on October 11-12. The amount of loan and the rate of interest were fixed at the meeting. The tenure of the loan is six months from the date of corresponding disbursement and the rate of interest is 3.8 per cent annually. Letter of Credit (LC) issuance fee was set at 0.20 per cent, the officials added. Besides, over US$ 282 million has been approved to build a dual fuel (gas and furnace oil) combined cycle power plant, having the generation capacity of 330MW of power, in Khulna through bidder's financing in single stage-single envelope process. The tenure of the loan is 15 years with a three-year grace period. The rate of interest is six-month Libor+280 bps. The rate of commitment and management fees is 1.0 per cent. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) already approved the project in December 2016. The government expects that the project will be completed by 2019. State-owned Power Development Board (PDB) will implement the project with the loan to be taken out from Exim Bank of China. Besides, Agence Franaise de Development (AFD) of France would bankroll 115 million to development of Saidabad Water Treatment Plant project (Phase III). Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) has taken up the project.

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The maturity period of the loan is 20 years with a seven-year grace period. The rate of interest is six-month Euribor +margin. Three more foreign lenders will finance the Saidabad Water Treatment Plant project (Phase III). Signing of a deal in this regard is now under process, according to Economic Relations Division (ERD). Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/govt-borrows-1097b-from-three-intl-lenders-1513613367

IMAM BUTTON INCURS RETAINED LOSS OF ABOVE TK 33.01 MILLION Imam Button Industries has incurred a retained loss of above Tk 33.01 million as of June 30, 2017 due to under-utilisation of production capacity, the company's auditor said. The qualification paragraph of the auditor said the company has been able to utilise only 26 per cent of its production capacity during the year ended on June 30, 2017, according to Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE). "The under-utilisation of production is due to machine break-down, frequent power failure, failure to locate new buyer and so on," the auditor's opinion said. The under-utilisation of production is primarily responsible for the company's recurring loss. The company has maintained current assets of Tk 0.45 against Tk 1 of current liabilities. "The effect of such poor ratio expose that the company may not be able to pay its debt, whether current or non-current liability, if demanded by the debtor," the auditor said. The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the company will continue as going concern but considering the above effects described in the basis of qualification paragraph herewith has exposed significant doubt of survival of the company for foreseeable future, the auditor said. Imam Button Industries, a 'Z' category company, was listed with the stock exchanges in 1996. The company's sponsor-directors hold 31.53 per cent shares, while institutions own 9.03 per cent and general public hold 59.44 per cent shares as of November 30, 2017. The company's board of directors has recommended no dividend for the year ended on June 30, 2017. The company issued 10 per cent stock dividend issued in 2010. Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/imam-button-incurs-retained-loss-of-above-tk-3301-million-1513612138

FOREIGN AID INFLOW RISES The foreign aid flow to Bangladesh during the first five months (July-November) of the current fiscal year (FY18) continued its encouraging trend as it was $824.51 million higher than the corresponding period of the last fiscal year (FY17), reports BSS. According to the Economic Relations Division (ERD), the overall foreign aid disbursement in July-November this year totaled $1,727.69 million against $903.18 million during July-November period in the last fiscal year. Out of the disbursed amount in July-November, the portion of loan was $1,600.95 million while the grant was $126.73 million. The ERD data showed that of the total disbursed amount of $903.18 million aid in July-November in the last fiscal year, the portion of loan was $806.66 million while that of grant was $96.52 million. Against the disbursement, the overall foreign aid commitment for the period of July-November this year was $6,713.89 million of which $6,571.20 million came as commitment for loans while the rest of $142.69 million as grants. However, the foreign aid commitment for July-November period of the last fiscal year was much higher as it then totaled $13,422.77 million including $91.01 million in grants and $13,331.76 million in loans.

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During this July-November, Bangladesh made a repayment of $524.84 million including $414.62 million in principal amount and $110.21 million in interests. On the other hand, the country made a repayment of $433.08 million in July-November period of the last year including $339.33 million in principal amount and $93.75 million in interests. Talking to the news agency, ERD Additional Secretary Farida Nasreen said that the target of realising foreign aid disbursement in the current fiscal year is around $7 billion. To attain this goal, she said the ERD has been continuing communication with the other ministries and the executing agencies to ensure timely utilisation of the foreign aided projects. "We're now witnessing higher foreign aid disbursement due to the higher commitments and we're hopeful of achieving the fiscal target of foreign aid disbursement," Nasreen added. According to the ERD, the commitments of foreign aid increased to a record high of $17.86 billion in FY17, 153.33 per cent higher than that of the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year ($7.05 billion). The increase was mainly due to the single largest $11.36 billion state credit commitment by the Russian government for the Rooppur nuclear power plant project. During the FY16, a total of US $7.05 billion of external assistance was committed. In the FY16, a total amount of $3.56 billion was disbursed of which $530.56 million was grant and $3033.03 million was loan. Of the total amount, food aid and project aid are $31.87 million and $3531.72 million respectively. Multilateral donors disbursed lion's share of the total disbursement amounting to $2322.28 million and bilateral donor disbursed $1241.31 million. Up to June 30, 2016 a total of about $99.20 billion of external assistance was committed to Bangladesh. Source: http://www.theindependentbd.com/post/128774

JUTE GOODS EXPORTS TO INDIA FALL IN WAKE OF ANTI-DUMPING DUTIES The value of the exports of jute goods to India have dwindled by at least Tk 775.79 crore in the period from January to November compared to the corresponding period last year after New Delhi imposed anti-dumping duties on certain jute products from Bangladesh, disclosed sources at the Benapole Customs House on Sunday. Year on year, jute goods exports slumped 52 per cent to 1.4 lakh tonnes during January to November. This figure was 2.7 lakh tonnes during the corresponding period last year, according to data from the Benapole Customs House. Total export earnings from jute exports were around Tk 944.79 crore while the amount was Tk 1,720.13 crore last year. Sources said the export earnings came only from raw jute exports this year as the exports of jute products have already declined drastically following anti-dumping export duties imposed by Indias finance ministry on certain jute productsjute yarn/twine, hessian fabric and jute sacking bagsfrom Bangladesh and Nepal on January 5 this year. The anti-dumping dutieswhich would be in force for five yearsranged from US $6.30 to $351.72 per tonne, depending on the producer and country of exports. Talking to The Independent, an official of the Benapole Customs House said, During the last three months, the value of exports of jute products have fallen by at least Tk 775.79 crore. He further said 30 to 40 trucks carrying jute products for exports would pass through Benapole port every day, but this number has come down to 20 trucks per dayat the most. He also said shipments from Benapole land port, which handles over 90 per cent of Bangladesh's jute exports to India, fell in both January and February this year. Jute is the third-largest export sector of Bangladesh in terms of earnings, after garments and leather, and India is one of the biggest markets for these goods.

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According to the data of the Directorate of Jute, Bangladesh exported 17 per cent, or 1.41 lakh tonnes out of 8.25 lakh tonnes of jute goods, in the financial year 201516. Considering that the overall exports to India were worth $689 million, the share of jute and jute goods was 37 per cent in the fiscal year 201516, according to data from the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI). Earlier, the joint secretary of the commerce ministry (FTA), AHM Ahsan, told The Independent that India imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of jute goods to basically save its own industry. He also said Bangladesh can provide quality jute yarn/twine, hessian fabric and jute sacking bags at cheaper rates compared to India. Bangladesh usually exports processed jute-made goods like yarn, twine, sacks and bags worth around USD 700 million a year to many world destinations. Of this, the Indian market accounts for 20 per cent, which is equivalent to 8 per cent of the entire Indian local market share. The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) made these observations while expressing its concern over the anti-dumping duty on the exports of Bangladeshi jute to the Indian market. In October, at a business talk with the Indian finance minister, Dhaka urged New Delhi to lift the anti-dumping duty imposed on exports of Bangladeshi jute and jute-made products, saying that the measure contributed to a further widening of the bilateral trade imbalance. Commerce minister Tofail Ahmed called on the visiting Indian finance minister, Arun Jaitley, during the bilateral business meeting during the latters visit to Dhaka last October. "I really hope the Indian government will review the matter," Ahmed said while reflecting on the trade scenario between the two next-door neighbours. Ahmeds request came at a time when Bangladesh's jute exports to India are undergoing a downturn because of the aforementioned antidumping duties imposed on the natural fibre-based products coming from Bangladesh. Source: http://www.theindependentbd.com/post/128762

LICENCES OF 8 FIRMS SELLING INTL SIMS TO BE CANCELLED The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has decided to repeal the licences of eight firms that are authorised to sell international SIM cards and internet cards due to irregularities and security threats to the country. The BTRC has taken the initiative at a meeting, which was held in the first week of this month. The errant companies are: Intraco Limited, UGI Trade Co, 4DL Bangladesh Limited, Hello Telecom Limited, M/S Bijoy Bangla Telecom, OK Mobile, Wings Tours and Travels Limited, and Sanchita Enterprise. BTRC chairman Dr Shahjahan Mahmood said the approval of the companies would be revoked immediately after the ministry accepts the proposal. Well take appropriate action if the firms provide services even after their licences are annulled, he added. When the BTRC had sent letters to these companies asking how many connections they have sold to their customers, only three firms provided the data and the rest did not submit any information. Among these firms, Intraco had sold SIM cards to one lakh customers who had gone to perform Hajj. The UGI had sold 219 SIM cards, while 4DL had sold 53 SIM cards. Bijoy Bangla and OK Mobile did not respond to the letters sent by the BTRC. Hello Telecom, Wings and Sanchita have not yet started selling SIM, Removable User Identity Module (RUIM) or data cards. On Sep-tember 7, the National Telecommuni-cation Monitoring Centre (NTMC) and the BTRC at a meeting informed the Posts and Telecommuni-cations Division that the approved SIM, RUIM and data card-selling organisations had flouted the guidelines of the regulatory body. It will pose a security threat to the country, the Posts and Telecommunication Division was told.

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The NTMC representatives said militants and terrorists sometimes use international SIMs, RUIMs and data cards by taking advantage of the uncontrolled an unsupervised trade which is a big security threat to the country. After three months of the meeting, BTRC took the decision to cancel the licences of the 8 companies. Source: http://www.theindependentbd.com/post/128777

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Documents

Daily News Flash, 19th December, 2017 - eblsecurities.com€¦Daily News Flash, 19th December, 2017 1 DSEX 11.52 Gold (Ounce) $1261.70 Dollar 82.60 (Buy) 82.60 (Sell) CSCX 18.99 Oil