Apparel exports to US decline

Bangladesh’s apparel exports to the US, its single largest destination, declined 1.96% year-on-year to USD 5.49 billion, due to the volatile US economy and the recent presidential election. Bangladesh exported USD 5.92 billion worth of goods to the US in 2016, down from USD 6 billion a year ago, according to data from the US Department of Commerce. Garment items account for 95.0% of the goods exported from Bangladesh to the US market. Moreover, businessmen and traders adopted the “wait and see” strategy in 2016 for the probable changes to the major US policies relating to tariffs. Furthermore, there is a change in the attitude of the US consumers, who now prefer spending more on electronic gadgets compared to clothes, exporters said. Global apparel exports to the US declined 6.44% year-on-year to USD 104.72 billion in 2016 due to a fall in the buying capacity of the US consumers, said Mohammed Nasir, vice president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association. More electronic gadgets are now sold in the US compared to the clothing items, he said. The US election has also impacted retail sales negatively, he said. All 9 out of 10 top apparel exporting nations of the world experienced negative growth in shipment to the US in 2016, according to the US Department of Commerce. Among the top 10, only Vietnam’s apparel export increased 0.30% year-on-year to USD 11.32 billion in 2016. Businessmen believe that the apparel export from Vietnam to the US may face stricter rules as the Trump administration abandoned the mega trade agreement of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Retail-industry sales are predicted to grow between 3.7% and 4.2% this year over 2016, the National Retail Federation (NRF) in the US forecast. Bangladesh’s garment exports to the UK, the third largest destination for the Asian country, declined 5.19% year-on-year to USD 1.53 billion in the July-December period of the current fiscal year.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/apparel-exports-us-decline-1360366

Grameenphone returns unused balance of blocked SIMs to regulator

Grameenphone yesterday deposited BDT 73.3 million with the telecom regulator against the unused balance of connections that were blocked in between 2008 and 2014. Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission had blocked 2,540,666 SIMs of the market leader in the six years to December 31, 2014. Those SIMs were barred for allegations of use in illegal call termination and most had unused credit balance stored in them. In a letter to BTRC, Grameenphone said the total unused balance of the SIMs blocked in the six years was BDT 93.7 million, of which, it has already deposited BDT 12.2 million to the government exchequer as 15% VAT. The operator also deducted BDT 81.44 lakh — 10% of the amount — as different taxes that they have already paid to different government authorities, reads the letter signed by Hossain Sadat, a director of the company. But it changed the decision last month and formed a committee to explore the option of reselling blocked SIMs. As of October last year, Grameenphone has 55.7 million active subscribers out of the country’s total of 127.4 million.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/gp-returns-unused-balance-blocked-sims-regulator-1360354

The future smells rosy in Godkhali

Bangladesh’s biggest flower market in Jhikargachha, Jessore, is witnessing significant changes that will see it gain a modern market infrastructure with help from the US Army. Specifically, the world-renowned US Army Engineering Corps, not combatants. For the growers who have turned a stretch of land off the Jessore-Benapole highway into a piece of Holland in Bangladesh, the initiative led by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) couldn’t come soon enough. The growth of the industry they built from scratch has recently outpaced the rest of the economy, and looks set to continue.

Source : http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/02/13/61705/The-future-smells-rosy-in-Godkhali-

Tourism gone wild

Mismanagement, lack of a strategy and enforcement of law are killing tourism in Bangladesh. For example the natural forest of Jaflong is disappearing rapidly due to dumping of stone illegally excavated from the Dawki and Sari rivers by a group of profit mongering traders. No wonder tourism in this scenic hill station, home to subtropical mountains, rainforests, tea gardens and the Khasia ethnic group is on the decline.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/other-words/tourism-gone-wild-1360078

Government to sign exploration deal with Posco Daewoo despite criticism

The government is all set to sign a deal with South Korean company Posco Daewoo Corporation to lease a major deep sea block for gas and oil exploration after getting approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. The committee approved the proposal on February 8 allowing Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation (Petrobangla) to sign the contract under the Speedy Supply of Power and Energy (Special Provision) Act 2010. Under the contract, Posco Daewoo will explore deep sea block 12 (DS 12). If gas is found in the block, the company will sell 1,000 cubic feet of gas at USD 6.5 per unit. The South Korean company has already invited tender applications from third parties to conduct a two-dimensional seismic survey in the block. The deadline for submission is on February 16. The contract is a first of its kind in the country as Posco Daewoo has been selected directly under the special act, instead of through the traditional tender procedure, sources said. The government has decided to bypass the usual bidding rounds and purchase oil and gas explored by international oil companies (IOCs) in the Bay of Bengal at a competitive price, they added.

Source: http://www.dhakatribune.com/business/economy/2017/02/13/govt-sign-exploration-deal-posco-daewoo-despite-criticism/

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