Import surge drives up nine-month trade deficit to $25b

The country’s trade deficit is growing sharply owing to a massive increase in imports compared to exports and the rise in prices of all kinds of products such as food items and fuels in the world market. In the first nine months of fiscal 2021-2022, the trade deficit was about $25 billion which was 9.25% higher than that of the full period of the previous fiscal year. The deficit is around 64% more than the July-March period. The trade deficit for the nine months of fiscal 2020-21 was $15.28 billion while it stood at $22.80 billion for the entire fiscal year. In April, the exports clocked the $4 billion mark with 51% year-on-year growth, raking in $43.34 billion in 10 months of the current fiscal year. During the July-March period, the deficit rose to $14.7 billion. At the same time previous fiscal year, this important indicator of Bangladesh’s economy had a deficit of only $555 million. On the other hand, during the July-March period of the current financial year, exporters earned $36.61 billion by shipping various products, which is 32.92% more than the same period of the previous fiscal year. As a result, the overall trade deficit stood at $24.91 billion in the first nine months of the fiscal year. In April last year, the price of fuel oil in the international market was $60 per barrel. The same oil sold for more than $112 on Sunday. It rose to $139 at the start of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Source: https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/import-surge-drives-nine-month-trade-deficit-25b-415766

Mr. A. Rouf Chowdhury re-elected as chairman of Bank Asia

Mr. A. Rouf Chowdhury has been re-elected as Chairman of Bank Asia at the 473rd meeting of the Board of Directors of the Bank held recently. He is the main sponsor of Bank Asia Ltd. Mr. Chowdhury is an eminent businessperson and industrialist of the country. He is the Chairman of Rangs Group and Sea Resources Group. He is also a Director of the Daily Star. He has established reputed organizations in transport, medicine, real estate, IT, banking, deep sea fishing and in other economic sectors of the country that are contributing immensely for country’s employment generation and economic development.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/a-rouf-chowdhury-re-elected-as-chairman-of-bank-asia-1652027121

BSEC gets first female commissioner

Prof. Dr. Rumana Islam has joined the securities regulator as its first female commissioner. Dr. Islam on Sunday joined the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) for a period of four years through a gazette notification issued by the financial institutions division of the ministry of finance. The newly-appointed commissioner Dr. Islam is a Professor of Law at University of Dhaka. She joined Dhaka University as a faculty in 2008 as an Assistant Professor. She has acted as the Assistant Director of Research (Law) (part-time) in Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA), the leading think tank of law in the country from September, 2015 to September 2019. Dr. Islam was nominated as a Panel Arbitrator designated by the Government of Bangladesh to the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in April 2021 for a term of six years.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/bsec-gets-first-female-commissioner-1652027010