Government set to finalise Tk 1.04t RADP today

The government may downsize the Annual Development Programme (ADP) by 6.0 per cent to nearly Tk 1.04 trillion today and bank heavily on domestic resources. Officials said Monday the Prime Minister-led National Economic Council (NEC) in its meeting in Dhaka today (Tuesday) is likely to finalise the draft Revised ADP for the rest of the current financial (FY), 2016-17, with cut-down foreign funds for spending inabilities of the government agencies. Planning Commission (PC) officials said although they were going to trim down the funds by a significant amount of Tk 70 billion from the development partners’ committed available project aid (PA), they are likely to allocate finally the record-highest Tk 712 billion from the internal resources in the upcoming RADP. In the proposed RADP, the allocation from the internal resources for the first time is crossing the mark by Tk 5.0 billion to Tk 712 billion. The original ADP outlay was Tk 707 billion. After the trimming, the project aid (PA) stands down by Tk 70 billion to Tk 330 billion in the RADP from Tk 400 billion worth of original ADP outlay.

Source: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/02/28/62958/Government-set-to-finalise-Tk-1.04t-RADP-today

Muhith renews pledge to enforce new VAT law this year

Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday renewed his pledge to implement the new VAT law from July this year to boost revenue receipts.
“VAT collection will become easy if the new law becomes effective,” he told reporters after a meeting with the visiting deputy managing director of International Monetary Fund, Mitsuhiro Furusawa, in the capital. The IMF has long been urging the government to go for a new VAT regime. The government, in line with the IMF prescription, framed the VAT and Supplementary Duty Act 2012 and had planned to implement it in 2015. But the government deferred the plan amid opposition from businessmen to accept a 15 percent ‘universal’ VAT rate instead of multiple rates effective now. Muhith said the IMF official wanted to know about the progress in the implementation of the new law.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/muhith-renews-pledge-enforce-new-vat-law-year-1368559

Investors bag profit on fuel, power issues

The Dhaka bourse witnessed mild correction Monday with falling turnover value as cautious investors bagged some profit, especially on fuel and power issues. Brokers said although the market observed marginal correction by the end of the session, DSEX remained above 5,600 points ground. AT Capital Partners, an asset management company, said, “Investors’ profit booking sentiment pulled stocks down.” The market opened higher and kept the positive mood during the first trading hour, but declined 25 points in the subsequent 30 minutes. After a minor recovery in the mid-session, the DSEX, the core index of the major bourse, again moved sideways till the end of the session. Eventually, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went down marginally by 14.87 points or 0.26 per cent to close at 5,620.25. “For the first hour of the day’s trading session, index stayed positive. However, index started moving downward from the mid-session and closed at 5,620 level,” said LankaBangla Securities, a stockbroker. The two other indices also edged lower. The DS30, comprising the blue-chips fell 7.67 points or 0.38 per cent to finish at 2,029.68. The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) lost 4.61 points or 0.35 per cent to finish at 1,307.46.

Source: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/02/27/62928/Investors-bag-profit-on-fuel,-power-issues

Stocks fall on profit-taking sales

Dhaka stocks declined on Monday with prices of most of the scrips traded on the day falling as investors continued selling shares to book profit. The key index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, DSEX, finished at 5,620.24 points, shedding 0.26 per cent or 14.86 points after a 9-points gain in the previous trading session. In line with Sunday’s session, the losers outnumbered the gainers on Monday on a profit-taking selling pressure, stockbrokers said. Of the 327 companies and mutual funds traded on the day, 175 scrips declined, 102 advanced and 50 remained unchanged. A 259-points surge of the DSEX in the last three weeks might have prompted investors to book some profit, they said. Of the companies that made negative ending in the session, the share prices of Singer Bangladesh and Titas Gas Transmission dropped following disclosures of price sensitive information of the entities.

Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/10102/stocks-fall-on-profit-taking-sales

LankaBangla leads DSE turnover chart

LankaBangla Finance Monday dominated the premier bourse’s transaction chart while Baraka Power was the most-traded issue on the port city’s bourse. LankBangla Finance, Islami Bank, Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company, Active Fine Chemicals and Baraka Power were the most-active shares in terms of value on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE). According to the statistics available with the DSE, about 7.62 million shares of LankaBangla were traded, generating a turnover of Tk 484 million on the day. It was 4.74 per cent of the day’s total turnover value. he non-bank financial institution’s share price hovered between Tk 61.60 and Tk 64.20, before closing at Tk 63.90 on Monday, advancing 4.24 per cent over previous day. Market insiders said the investors remained active on LankaBangla’s shares following its recent year-end corporate declarations. LankaBangla has recommended 15 per cent cash and 15 per cent stock dividend for the year ended on December 31, 2016. LankaBangla also witnessed earnings growth of 50.3 per cent year-on-year basis while the consolidated earnings per share (EPS) stood at Tk 2.87 for the year ended on December 31, 2016 against Tk 1.53 in the previous year.

Source: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/02/27/62929/LankaBangla-leads-DSE-turnover-chart

Foreign aid utilisation to go up: Minister

The militant attack at a Gulshan café at the beginning of the current fiscal year slowed down the utilisation of foreign aid-funded projects, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said yesterday. Foreign aid utilisation will gain momentum soon as confidence is being restored, he said. Many foreigners, especially those who were involved in mega projects like mass rapid transit and Padma bridge, had left the country after the attack in July last year, he added. “So, the implementation of the projects was hampered. It’s not that we do not have the capacity to utilise the funds,” Kamal said at a press meet at the planning ministry. He was explaining the ministry’s position after media reports on unused foreign aid in the pipeline that reached a new high of $36.54 billion. The government has tightened the security system at every donor-funded project after the Gulshan attack, he said. “They have come back after the situation has improved. Implementation of the projects has resumed, and so, the utilisation scenario will improve.” In the first seven months of the current fiscal year, $14.67 billion was received in new commitments, while $1.47 billion was disbursed and $13.2 billion remained unused.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/foreign-aid-utilisation-go-minister-1368562

Slow exports, remittance new challenges for Bangladesh: IMF’s DMD

Slowdown in exports and weak remittance growth are the new challenges for Bangladesh’s economy, said Mitsuhiro Furusawa, deputy managing director of International Monetary Fund. Furusawa, who came to Dhaka on Sunday on a two-day visit, talked to The Daily Star in an exclusive interview at the IMF office in the capital. Bangladesh should implement the VAT law and boost investment to attain sustainable growth.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/slow-exports-remittance-new-challenges-bangladesh-1368526

64 receive CIP cards

Some 164 businessmen have received CIP (commercially important person) cards for the year 2013 under export and trade categories for their significant contribution to the country’s economic growth. Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed handed over the cards to the businessmen at a programme, jointly organised by Ministry of Commerce (MoC) and Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) at a city hotel on Monday. MoC Senior Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamoon presided over it. Of the total, 125 businesspeople have been given the CIP cards under product (export) category, and 39 under trade category. The minister at the card distribution ceremony said the rules of awarding CIP cards should be changed, so that the businessmen can get the cards quickly. In the present system, distribution of the cards gets delayed for verification of the recipients’ status.
Source: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/02/27/62951/64-receive-CIP-cards

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