Exports surge 41pc in Jan

Earnings from merchandise exports from Bangladesh surged 41.13 per cent year-on-year to $4.85 billion in January, the second-highest single month receipts, on the back of rebounding garment shipments. Shipments soared 30.34 per cent year-on-year to $29.54 billion in the first seven months of the current fiscal year, data from the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) showed yesterday.Exports from Bangladesh are hovering around higher levels as western economies are turning around from the severe fallouts of the coronavirus pandemic. In December, exporters raked in $4.9 billion, an all-time single-month high.The takings were $4.16 billion in September, $4.72 billion in October, and $4.04 billion in November, thanks to the government’s bold decision to allow factories to run most of the time during the pandemic, as it fetched more orders. As usual, apparel shipments, which account for about 85 per cent of the national overseas earnings, contributed to the higher receipts in January. Garments brought home $4.09 billion in the month, up 42.5 per cent from the $2.87 billion posted in the same month a year ago.Apparel shipments swelled 30.3 per cent to $23.98 billion during the July-January period. Of the sum, $13.27 billion came from knitwear shipments, up 32.89 per cent year-on-year, and $10.71 billion from woven exports, an increase of 27.23 per cent.Non-leather footwear exports was up 25.84 per cent to $249 million, cotton yarn and fabrics grew by 45.79 per cent to $127.49 million, terry towel by 25.10 per cent to $29.16 million and home textile by 30.01 per cent to $831.31 million, according to the EPB.However, jute and jute goods, a promising export item, did not fare well as shipments declined 9.13 per cent to $695.73 million during the seven-month period.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/exports-surge-41pc-jan-2953331

 Listed textile makers’ profits more than double

Listed textile manufacturers logged a staggering 152 per cent higher profits year-on-year in the October to December period of the current financial year of 2021-22. Analysts reason higher yarn prices, unexpended stocks of cotton, higher exports and devaluation of the local currency against the dollar.Among the 58 listed textile and garment companies, 44 properly disclosed their earnings data for the last two years. The total profits of the 44 companies rose to Tk 250 crore in the second quarter of the financial year while it was Tk 99 crore in the same period of the previous year.In the 2021 calendar year, Bangladesh imported 8.5 million bales of cotton, spending more than $3 billion. One bale equals 480 pounds or 218 kilogrammes (kg). The price of the widely consumed 30 carded yarn had increased to $4.71 per kg in December last year while it was $3.9 per kg a year ago.Between July and December, the first six months of the current fiscal year, garment exports grew by 28.02 per cent year-on-year to $19.90 billion.The interbank exchange rate hit a record high of Tk 86 per dollar on January 10, according to central bank data. The local currency is trading at more than Tk 90 per USD in the kerb market.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/listed-textile-makers-profits-more-double-2953286

DSEX gets past 7000 mark

Stocks extended rally for the second straight session on Wednesday, with the key index of the main bourse crossing 7,000-mark after three days. The market opened on a high note and the core index rose about 58 points within the first hour of trading. But the morning optimism later wiped out most of the early gains as the cautious investors went for profit booking. Finally, DSEX, the core index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went up by19.15 points or 0.27 per cent to settle at 7,016. The benchmark index added over 90 points in the past two trading days.Stocks kept the winning streak pushed by investors’ buying spree as they cheered over better earnings growth reported by companies in their most recent quarterly earnings reports, said EBL Securities. Two other indices also edged higher with the DS30 index, comprising blue chips, rising 4.20 points to finish at 2,592 and the DSE Shariah Index gaining 6.50 points to close at 1,503. Turnover, an important indicator of the market, stood at Tk 12.66 billion, which was 6.36 per cent lower than the previous day’s tally of Tk 13.52 billion.The Chittagong Stock Exchange also ended marginally higher with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI) rising 43 points to close at 20,566 while the Selective Categories Index – CSCX– gained 24 points to close at 12,353.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/dsex-gets-past-7000-mark-1643823877

Four firms get nod to invest abroad

The Bangladesh Bank has given permission to four private business entities to invest $10 million in foreign countries, in a major leap forward for reining in capital flight alongside easing global marketing of local products. One of the permitted companies, Square Pharmaceuticals Limited, a subsidiary of Square Group, will invest $1 million in The Philippines, opening up an opportunity for the company to gain a foothold in the import-dependent $6 billion pharmaceutical market – the third largest in the Asean region. Square looks to get hold of the $30 million drug market in Kenya and five other East African countries – Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and South Sudan – and fulfil the unmet demands of medicines in those countries.Renata Pharmaceuticals, is going to invest $2 million in Ireland as part of increasing the paid-up capital in its already established subsidiary. The approval for this equity investment will allow the drug-maker to sell its medicines directly instead of hiring a third party.On the other hand, Venture Capital Limited sought permission to invest $10,000 to acquire 0.85% stake in BrioAgro, a Spanish agro-tech based startup. 

Source: https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/four-firms-get-nod-invest-abroad-365731