UNGC, BRAC Bank join hands for sustainability of SMEs
United Nations Global Compact [UNGC] has launched the first ever SME Toolkit Pilot Project with BRAC Bank Limited with a commitment to work together with all the stakeholders to ensure sustainability of SME businesses in Bangladesh. Global Compact Network Bangladesh [GCNB] in partnership with BRAC Bank, UN Global Compact, UNICEF Bangladesh and ILO Bangladesh and DBL Group have observed ‘SME Sustainability Day’ on October 14 for the first time in Bangladesh. The event is aimed at promoting sustainable business through SME entrepreneurship development to gain access to local and international trade, according to a statement. As part of the initiative, 60 promising Bangladeshi SME entrepreneurs were given extensive training on SME Toolkit under the tutelage of UNGC, GCNB and BRAC Bank. In Bangladesh, there are over six million SMEs. They account for 75% of the domestic economy, employ 30% of the workforce and contribute more than 20% to GDP. In the technical session, Belinda Chanda, Operational & Program Support Specialist at ILO Bangladesh made a presentation on ‘Better Work Bangladesh Programme’ and Simon Pickup, CSR Specialist at UNICEF Bangladesh made a deliberation on ‘Children’s Rights & Business’.
Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/ungc-brac-bank-dev-partners-join-hands-for-sustainability-of-smes-1571161202
Banks still face threat of Data Breach
The country’s Banking sector is still facing threat of data breach despite installation of cyber security technologies and equipment in Banks and financial institutions, according to speakers at a seminar on Tuesday. The risk of cyber security in Local Banks continues mainly due to scarcity of IT professionals and lack of Bank officials’ awareness about cyber security. The observations came at a seminar on ‘Cyber Security-First Responder: Threat Detection and Response’ jointly organized by Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management [BIBM] and DigiSec Council at the BIBM auditorium. Threat detection and response is about utilizing data analytics to find threats across large and disparate data sets, find anomalies, analyze threat level and determine actions for response, according to Mr Sur Chowdhury. Tools used for threat detection and response are designed to collect and analyze forensic data while being configured to monitor and manage security threats. On an average, 197 days to identify a breach in the network system while 69 more days are needed to contain the breach in general. A data breach costs about an average of US$3.86 million of an organization while the average cost per lost or stolen record is around $148. Around 57 per cent of business leaders said it’s taking longer to resolve cyber incidents and 65 per cent said cyber-attack severity is increasing.
Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/Banks-still-face-threat-of-data-breach-1571161951
Defaulters require more Loans to pay Bad Debt
Defaulters need further loans to repay their outstanding debts, said Bangladesh Association of Banks [BAB] lawyer Shah Monjurul Hoque on Tuesday. The High Court [HC] heard a Bangladesh Bank [BB] circular that allowed defaulters to reschedule loans upon a down payment of 2.0 per cent of the total loan amount up to 10 years and get further loans. Formation of an enquiry commission to probe irregularities will contrast BB Order and Banking Companies, Anti-Corruption Commission, Artha Rin Adalat and Money-Laundering Prevention Acts. On July 23, HC asked BB and government authorities concerned to explain in 10 days why the May 16 circular in favor of defaulters should not be declared illegal. Earlier on May 21, it issued a status quo on the BB circular until June 24. On July 08, the Supreme Court [SC] extended for two months its stay on the HC order that halted the circular. On July 08, the Supreme Court [SC] extended for two months its stay on the HC order that halted the circular.
Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/defaulters-require-more-loans-to-pay-bad-debt-1571161817
Electrical Products’ Market growing fast
The domestic market of electrical products and wiring solutions is growing fast thanks to the rapid urbanization, increased availability of electricity and rising purchasing power of the general mass. Such products now have a market of Tk 5,000 crore, which was hardly around Tk 1,500 crore in 2010, according to Kamruzzman Kamal, director for marketing of Pran-RFL Group, the owning entity of a major market player RFL Electronics. MM Arslan, head of marketing at Bangladesh Lamps Ltd, thinks increasing power generation and massive electrification in rural areas have played the vital role for the market to grow in the last 10 years. On May 29, Bangladesh produced 12,893 megawatts of electricity, the highest ever and a straight fourfold increase from what it was in fiscal 2009-10, according to the power division. The government data says a staggering 93 percent people now have access to power and the number of beneficiaries has doubled within a decade. Moreover, per capita income more than doubled during the period, from $751 in 2009-10 to $1,909 last fiscal year, according to budget documents. RFL Electronics started its operation in 2012 and it currently meets about 10 percent of the total demand for electrical products and its annual growth is around 15 percent.
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/electrical-products-market-growing-fast-1814353
NCC Bank, MoneyGram arrange Workshop
NCC Bank & MoneyGram jointly arranged a day long workshop on “MoneyGram Operational Procedures, AML & CFT Compliance” for Sub-agent Banks and NGO at NCC Bank Training Institute on Monday, according to a statement. Dr. Syed Zaved Md. Salehuddin, Faculty Member of Training Institute Co-ordinated the workshop. A total number of 40 officers of different Banks participated in the workshop. The chief guest Khondoker Nayeemul Kabir in his speech expressed hope that this type of workshop will create positive impact on augmenting foreign remittance through proper Banking channel and distribute among the beneficiaries safely, promptly & conveniently complying with all regulatory requirements.
Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/ncc-bank-moneygram-arrange-workshop-1571161278
Inflation rate up in Sept
The rate of inflation went up by 0.05 percentage points to 5.54 per cent in September over the previous month due to rise in the prices of some non-food items, official data show. The rate of non-food inflation increased by 0.10 percentage points to 5.92 per cent last month, with higher trend seen in rural areas, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics [BBS] data. In August, the point-to-point non-food inflation rate was 5.82 per cent. The BBS data show that the rate of inflation in the case of non-food items in rural areas increased by 0.17 percentage points to 5.42 per cent in September from 5.25 per cent in August. The food inflation rate rose due to an increase in prices of some items, including onion, ginger, garlic, dry chili, vegetables, eggs and broiler chicken. World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, in their recent development outlook, have forecast that the inflation in Bangladesh would increase.
Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/07m-mobile-phone-users-switch-networks-in-one-year-1571075731
Local and Global Stock Indices *
Index Name | Close Value | Value Change | Percentage Change |
---|
DSEX | 4821.64514 | 0.00 | 0.0% |
DJIA | 27,024.80 | ↑ 237.44 | ↑ 0.89% |
FTSE100 | 7,211.64 | ↓ 1.81 | ↓ 0.03% |
Nikkei 225 | 22,545.74 | ↑ 338.53 | ↑ 1.52% |
World Commodities *
Commodity | Close Value | Value Change | Percentage Change |
---|
Crude Oil (WTI) | $ 52.94 | ↑ 0.13 | ↑ 0.25% |
Crude Oil (Brent) | $ 58.90 | ↑ 0.16 | ↑ 0.27% |
Gold Spot | $ 1,483.42 | ↑ 2.41 | ↑ 0.16% |
Major Currencies Exchange Rates Movement in Last Seven Days *
Exchange Rates |
---|
USD 1 | BDT 83.0973 |
GBP 1 | BDT 105.411 |
EUR 1 | BDT 91.6089 |
INR 1 | BDT 1.16504 |
*CURRENCIES AND COMMODITIES ARE TAKEN FROM BLOOMBERG.<