$5.91 billion in offshore wealth held by Bangladeshis

Bangladeshi citizens held 1.3% of Bangladesh’s GDP, or $5.91 billion in offshore tax havens in 2022, according to a report by Atlas of the Offshore World. Of this amount, 84.6% was held in Asian tax havens, with American, European and Swiss accounts holding the remainder. This resulted in tax revenue of $350 million being lost in non-EU havens and $140 million being lost to EU havens. This is a decline from 2021 when an estimated $8.14 billion was held in offshore accounts, with $7 billion being held in Asian tax havens such as Singapore, the UAE and Hong Kong.  Additionally, the report estimates that up to $660 billion in offshore real estate wealth is being held across Singapore ($290 million), Dubai ($260 million), London ($89 million) and Paris ($5.6 million), with the remaining $15.6 million held elsewhere.

Source: https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/591-billion-offshore-wealth-held-bangladeshis-854106

 Bangladesh likely to raise food grain import budget by 34%

The government is going to increase funds by 34% for imports of food grain in the upcoming fiscal year 2024-25 while reducing allocation by nearly 18% for domestic procurement. Senior officials say the government wants to increase allocation for imports of food grains amid fall in global food production and dollar rate increase against the taka so that it can spend the fund when needed to ensure food security. In comparison to the main budget allocation for rice and wheat imports from abroad in the current fiscal year, there will be an additional allocation of more than Tk1,704 crore while the funding for domestic procurement is being reduced by Tk1,623 crore, according to the minutes of a meeting of the food ministry’s budget management committee. During the meeting, it was proposed that the government allocate Tk3,862 crore for rice import in FY25. The allocation for rice import in the original budget for the current fiscal year was Tk2,592 crore. On the other hand, Tk2,834 crore has been proposed for allocation for wheat import from abroad in the upcoming fiscal year. The allocation for the sector in the current fiscal year was Tk2,398 crore.

Source: https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/budget/bangladesh-likely-raise-food-grain-import-budget-34-853916

Gold price rises by Tk1,178 per bhori on 18^th May, 2024

The Bangladesh Jewellers Association (Bajus) on 18 May increased the price of gold by Tk1,178 per bhori, followed by a price hike in the local bullion market. According to a Bajus statement, 22-carat gold will now cost Tk1,18,460 per bhori (11.664 grams). Apart from this, the price of 21-carat gold has been set at Tk1,13,082 per bhori and 18-carat gold at Tk96,916 per bhori. Besides, for the traditional method, the price of gold will be Tk80,131 per bhori. The new rate will be effective from Sunday. The apex body of gold traders increased the gold price for the 5th time in May so far.

Source: https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/gold-price-rises-tk1178-bhori-854421

What IMF’s $14.76b reserve ceiling means for Bangladesh economy

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its latest review under the $4.7 billion loan package has cut the ceiling for June net foreign exchange reserves to $14.76 billion from the earlier target of $20.1 billion, giving the central bank a great relief. It can be surmised from the drastic cut in the reserve ceiling that economic activities will continue to shrink in near future. The reason for such an inference is that the new ceiling is lower than the coverage of three months’ import bills if the current import trend is continued. The IMF uses the rule of thumb that countries should hold foreign exchange reserves covering the import bills of three months to consider adequacy of reserves. The monthly import is now slightly above $5 billion, which means the country needs to hold reserves of at least above $15 billion. However, reserve requirements will decline if import falls further. When the IMF set the new floor in its third review conducted in the first week of May for the fourth instalment, the country’s net reserve was $13.22 billion.

Source: https://www.tbsnews.net/analysis/what-imfs-1476b-reserve-ceiling-means-bangladesh-economy-854041

Internet subscriber base sees massive boost

The number of internet subscribers in Bangladesh spiked by a massive 43.5 lakh in March, the biggest jump in recent years, with mobile data users making up a bulk of the new customers. There were about 13.47 crore internet users in March, up from 13.03 crore previously, according to the latest data of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). Of the 43.5 lakh new subscribers, 36 lakh are mobile internet users with their numbers growing to 12.12 crore in March from 11.74 crore in February. This is the highest growth since at least August 2021 as data prior to that is not available on the BTRC website. The mobile internet subscriber count increased in the consecutive two months since February. However, the subscriber number had declined for five months straight till January amid the regulator’s bar on the sale of packages with short validity periods while persistent inflationary pressure also affected their demand. Meanwhile, the broadband internet subscriber base increased by around 7 lakh month-on-month in March to 1.23 crore. Broadband subscribers account for 9.98 percent of the country’s total internet subscriber base. The rest avail mobile internet.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/internet-subscriber-base-sees-massive-boost-3613076