Bangladesh, Nepal to use Indian grid for power trade
Energy officials of Nepal and Bangladesh in a secretary level meeting have agreed to use the existing setup of Indian transmission lines to trade power in the short run. The decision came during talks between the two countries. The dedicated transmission line would pass through the Siliguri corridor in India. An agreement was signed to this end by Nepal’s Energy Secretary Dinesh Ghimire and his Bangladeshi counterpart Ahmad Kaikaus during the Joint Steering Committee meeting in Cox’s Bazar on Friday. In line with a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two countries on “Cooperation in the Field of Power Sector” last August, the authorities have also decided to study the prospect of building dedicated power lines in the long term. Discussions on the use of Indian transmission lines passing through the Siliguri Corridor, also known as “Chicken’s Neck”, emerged in the wake of recent amendments to the cross-border energy trading regulations by India.
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/backpage/news/bangladesh-nepal-use-indian-grid-power-trade-1761658
Jute refinance fund hiked by Tk 100cr, to run till 2024
Bangladesh Bank on Sunday enhanced the size of the refinance scheme for the jute sector by Tk 100 crore and extended its tenure for another five years. The Central Bank issued a circular in this regard on the day which also reduced the applicable interest rate for the borrowers — jute millers and exporters. Under the new circular, Banks, as like the earlier policy, would get fund from the Central Bank at Bank rate, while the jute millers and exporters would get fund from the refinance scheme at 8 per cent instead of existing 9 per cent. Enhanced size of the revolving fund would become Tk 300 crore. BB launched the refinancing scheme with a fund of Tk 200 crore in 2014 to support jute sector for bringing back its glorious past. After the extension of tenure of the fund, Banks would be able to get fund for the jute sector till June, 2024.
Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/76311/jute-refinance-fund-hiked-by-tk-100cr-to-run-till-2024
United Power to acquire 75pc stake of Leviathan Global
The board of directors of United Power has decided to acquire 75 per cent – equivalent to 3,00,000 ordinary shares – of Leviathan Global BD Ltd. (LGBDL) at a face value of Tk 10 per share each. Leviathan Global BD is a 50 MW IPP gas-fired power plant having a contract period of 30 years (extendable for further 30 years), built under joint venture with Leviathan Global BD Ltd, USA and United Enterprises & Company Ltd (UECL) respectively. United Enterprises & Company Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary company of United Power Generation & Distributions Company Ltd. The plant is located at Karnaphuli EPZ (KEPZ) in Chattogram and will be operated under an agreement with Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA). Shares will be acquired with effect from 1st July 2019 while the expected Commercial Operation Date (COD) of LGBDL is August, 2019.
Source: https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock/bangladesh/united-power-to-acquire-75pc-stake-of-leviathan-global-1561276351
Prices of 41 Companies up due to rise of institutional investments
Some 41 listed companies saw a rise of institutional investments ranging between 1.0 per cent and 8.0 per cent in May compared to April last, according to information of Dhaka Stock Exchange and Chittagong Stock Exchange. The share prices of these companies also rose up to 41 per cent in May last on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) following increased institutional investments. Of the companies, Prime Finance & Investment saw the highest rise in institutional stakes, while the City General Insurance Company witnessed the highest price hike of 40.80 per. At the end of May last, the stakes of institutional investments rose to 16.43 per cent at Prime Finance & Investment from 8.66 per cent observed in April. During the period, the company’s share price rose 20.88 per cent to close at Tk 11 each.
Source: https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock/prices-of-41-cos-up-due-to-rise-of-institutional-investments-1561264361
BSEC readies proposals before meeting with NBR Monday
The securities regulator BSEC will submit a set of ‘specific’ proposals to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) tomorrow (Monday) on the measures, including the tax on reserves, in the proposed budget for the fiscal year (FY) 2019-20. Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) Chairman Prof M Khairul Hossain said they almost finalised the set of proposals after scrutinising the budgetary measures. “We have already identified the inconsistencies in the measures included in the proposed budget for FY 2019-20. We’ll submit our specific proposals to the revenue board on Monday,” Professor Khairul said. The BSEC Chairman already called on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to apprise her of the impact of some of the proposed budgetary measures.
Source: https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock/bsec-readies-proposals-before-meeting-with-nbr-monday-1561264639
Asia Pacific General Insurance re-elects Chair, Vice-Chair
Aftab ul Islam has been re-elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Asia Pacific General Insurance Company. Kashmiri Kamal has also been re-elected as Vice-Chairman of the company for the next term. They were re-elected unanimously at the Board of Directors meeting held on June 20.
Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/76319/asia-pacific-general-insurance-re-elects-chair-vice-chair
Proposed VAT, Tax hike to hit Steel Industry hard
The price of rod is likely to go up by 10,350/- per MT, if the proposed VAT and tax is implemented as per 2019-20 budget proposal. Bangladesh Steel Manufacturers’ Association (BSMA) said at present Tk 1400/- per MT VAT is applicable on MS rod sales and Tk 200/- on retail sales. But as per new proposal it will be Tk 9050/- per MT (5 per cent on billet price of around Tk 35000/- per MT, Tk 2000/- on billet sales, Tk 2000/- on MS rod sales, 5 per cent on retail sales price of around 65000/-); increase is Tk 7600/- per MT.
Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/proposed-vat-tax-hike-to-hit-steel-industry-hard-1561312199
Skills training for 400 women by Citi UCEP
Some 400 underprivileged young women of the 2018 batch of the Citi UCEP Technical Education Programme have recently completed their training on industrial sewing operations and electronics assembling techniques. Citibank NA Bangladesh in partnership with the Underprivileged Children’s Educational Program (UCEP), a nongovernmental organisation, yesterday distributed certificates among the women aged between 17 to 25 years, at an event at UCEP’s Dhaka office.
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/skills-training-400-women-1761556
Local and Global Stock Indices *
Index Name | Close Value | Value Change | Percentage Change |
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DSEX | 5,383.89601 | ↓11.73084 | ↓0.22% |
DJIA | 26,719.13 | ↓34.04 | ↓0.13% |
FTSE100 | 7,407.50 | ↓16.94 | ↓0.23% |
Nikkei 225 | 21,255.37 | ↓3.27 | ↓0.02% |
World Commodities *
Commodity | Close Value | Value Change | Percentage Change |
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Crude Oil (WTI) | $ 57.82 | ↑0.39 | ↑0.68% |
Crude Oil (Brent) | $ 65.50 | ↑0.30 | ↑0.46% |
Gold Spot | $1,406.11 | ↑6.48 | ↑0.46% |
Major Currencies Exchange Rates Movement in Last Seven Days *
Exchange Rates |
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USD 1 | BDT 82.6770 |
GBP 1 | BDT 105.3090 |
EUR 1 | BDT 93.9904 |
INR 1 | BDT 1.1864 |
*CURRENCIES AND COMMODITIES ARE TAKEN FROM BLOOMBERG.<