No gas price hike for now: BERC
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has kept the existing natural gas tariff unchanged, saying price hike is not necessary now, as the current volume of LNG import is lower than expected. State-run Petrobangla and its subsidiary gas companies sought a hike in natural gas tariff, calculating import of LNG to the tune of 1,000 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd). The waiver of supplementary duty (SD) and customs duty (CD) at consumers’ end as well as lowering of advance income tax (AIT) by National Board of Revenue (NBR) also helped a lot for taking the decision. The commission also announced a 0.25 per cent rebate on monthly tariff, if the owners of industries and captive power plants keep their co-generation scheme continuously operational for three months. The non-hiking of gas tariff will cost the government paying subsidy worth Tk 31 billion to Petrobangla during this fiscal year, 2018-19, until June 2019. Currently the weighted average gas price is Tk 7.17 per cubic metre, and BERC had to increase the price by Tk 1.46 per cubic metre, if the NBR’s actions were not there. BERC earlier raised the natural gas tariff by 22.70 per cent for all types of consumers in phases with effect from March 01, 2017 and June 1, 2017 respectively. Petrobangla and its subsidiary gas companies sought raising natural gas tariff to Tk 12.95 per cubic metre from the existing Tk 7.17.
Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/first-page/no-gas-price-hike-for-now-berc-1539712130
BSEC approves MF prospectus
The securities regulator has approved the draft prospectus of Shanta Amanah Shariah Fund, an open-end mutual fund (MF). The approval came at a meeting at the office of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) on Tuesday. The initial size of the fund will be Tk 300 million. The sponsor will contribute Tk 30 million and the remaining Tk 270 million will be collected through selling the MF units. The offer price of the units of Shanta Amanah Shariah Fund will be Tk 10 each. Shanta Asset Management Limited is the sponsor and fund manager of the Shanta Amanah Shariah Fund. Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) is working as the trustee and custodian of the fund.
Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/bsec-approves-mf-prospectus-1539706618
Berger to splash out Tk 250cr on new plant
Berger Paints Bangladesh Ltd is going to invest Tk 250 crore to establish a new production unit at the Mirsarai Economic Zone in Chattogram. The Prime Minister’s Office has already endorsed the application for 30 acres of land for the company at the economic zone. A land lease agreement is going to be signed between Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza) and the paint maker. It will be a strategic initiative for the future business diversification and the potential setup to explore export opportunities in the future,” said Chowdhury, adding that the unit would create at least 250 jobs directly. Berger is the leading paint maker in Bangladesh. It has two production units in Dhaka and Chittagong each and has 11 home décor outlets in the country. It employs 1,000 people and has a countrywide distribution network of more than 3,000 dealers.
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/berger-splash-out-tk-250cr-new-plant-1647988
BRAC Bank strengthens financial and digital ecosystem
BRAC Bank has undertaken a number of projects aiming to become the best bank in Bangladesh using modern and world-class digital technologies by 2020. In partnership with different Fintech companies, BRAC Bank is aiming to replace the traditional platforms for service delivery though digital solutions based on the use of smartphones and laptops. These solutions are expected make financial services more accessible and convenient to the general public. The crowd that we today see at the branches will decline as more and more people avail banking services 24/7 via digital devices. Currently, BRAC Bank is maintaining a portfolio mix of 40 per cent in corporate and SME banking each while the remaining 20 per cent in retail banking. Bank’s SME segment from 32 per cent to 40 per cent in the last three years and now plan to increase this to 50 per cent within the next five years. The amount of NPLs in the country’s banking sector jumped by more than 20 per cent to Tk 893.40 billion as on June 30, 2018 from Tk 743.03 billion as on December 31 last year. The amount of classified loans was Tk 741.48 billion a year before.
Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/brac-bank-strengthens-financial-and-digital-ecosystem-1539706594
Agreement signs between Southeast Bank and Regent Airways
Managing Director of Southeast Bank Limited M. Kamal Hossain and Director (Marketing & Sales) of Regent Airways Sohail Majid exchanging documents of an agreement signed between the two companies in the capital recently. Under this agreement, the bank’s credit card members will get zero per cent EMI facility up to 06 months on the services offered by the airline
Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/standard-chartered-bank-signs-mou-with-bat-bangladesh-1539533741
Russia World Cup added $14b to economy: organisers
The 2018 World Cup added more than $14 billion to the Russian economy, more than one percent of the country’s gross domestic product. The figure was revealed in a report on the economic, social and environmental impact of the tournament by Alexey Sorokin, the CEO of Russia’s World Cup organising committee. The figure the report comes up with is quite surprising. It calculated that the impact of the World Cup on Russian GDP between 2013 and 2018 was 952 billion roubles ($14.5 billion, 12.5 billion euros). This was the equivalent of 1.1 percent of GDP. The report, prepared by Russian World Cup organisers, the tournament created up to 315,000 jobs per year in Russia and would still have an impact on the economy over the next five years. Despite warnings prior to the tournament over hooliganism and the political situation involving Russia and Western countries, the 2018 World Cup was considered a success.
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/global-business/news/russia-world-cup-added-14b-economy-organisers-1647790
Uber proposals value company at $120b in a possible IPO
Uber Technologies Inc could be valued at $120 billion when it finally goes public next year according to recent proposals made by U.S. banks, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The ride hailing company’s most recent valuation was pegged at $76 billion, following a $500 million investment from Toyota Motor Corp in August. Reuters reported in late September that Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were in pole position to secure top roles in Uber IPO. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley last month delivered the valuation proposals to Uber. Uber and smaller rival Lyft have been actively preparing to go public next year. While Lyft has hired IPO advisory firm Class V Group LLC.
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/uber-proposals-value-company-120b-possible-ipo-1647961
Cauliflower cultivation gains popularity in Joypurhat
Early winter cauliflower cultivation is gaining popularity across the district due to high market prices. More than 12,000 farmers of Akkelpur, Kalai, Khetlal, Panchbibi and Sadar upazilas of the district are now passing busy time tending vegetable field. According to the district Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) office source, some 500 hectares of land were fixed for the production of early winter cauliflower farming but the cultivators have exceeded the target. By planted 5,000 saplings of cauliflower on two bighas of land in mid-August spending around Tk 20, 000. Each cauliflower is being sold at Tk 30 to Tk 40 in the retail market while Tk 25 to Tk 30 in the wholesale market. Traders generally purchase the item from the farmers directly.
Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/country/cauliflower-cultivation-gains-popularity-in-joypurhat-1539701574
Local and Global Stock Indices *
Index Name | Close Value | Value Change | Percentage Change |
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DSEX | 5,399.8844 | ↑15.47241 | ↑0.28% |
DJIA | 25,798.42 | ↑547.87 | ↑2.17% |
FTSE100 | 7,059.40 | ↑30.18 | ↑0.43% |
Nikkei 225 | 22,907.73 | ↑358.49 | ↑1.59% |
World Commodities *
Commodity | Close Value | Value Change | Percentage Change |
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Crude Oil (WTI) | $ 72.00 | ↑0.08 | ↑0.11% |
Crude Oil (Brent) | $ 81.45 | ↑0.04 | ↑0.05% |
Gold Spot | $ 1,222.39 | ↓2.56 | ↓0.21% |
Major Currencies Exchange Rates Movement in Last Seven Days *
Exchange Rates |
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USD 1 | BDT 84.9285 |
GBP 1 | BDT 111.8678 |
EUR 1 | BDT 98.1689 |
INR 1 | BDT 1.1557 |
*CURRENCIES AND COMMODITIES ARE TAKEN FROM BLOOMBERG.