Important Business News Extract – September 05, 2017
BB sends team to Manila to push for heist money recovery
Bangladesh’s central bankwill send a team of officials to the Philippines on Tuesday to push for the recovery of more of the $81 million stolen from its account at the New York Federal Reserve last year and routed through a bank in Manila. Bangladesh Bank has been able to retrieve only about $15 million of the money stolen in one of the world’s biggest cyber heists. A Bangladesh Bank lawyer, Ajmalul Hossain, told Reuters on Monday the bank was working on “various ways” to get back the rest of the money from institutions in the Philippines.
July import payment soars on the back of rice inflow
Import payments in July, the first month of this fiscal year 2017-18, increased by 44.3% year-on-year due to a substantial amount of rice import amid crop losses caused by floods this year. According to the latest Bangladesh Bank data, the total import bill payments stood at USD 4.0 billion in July this year, while the figure was USD 2.8 billion in the same month of 2016. The BB data showed that rice import increased to USD 71.3 million in July from USD 1.3 million during the same month a year ago. Higher back-to-back imports for readymade garment products and capital machinery also contributed to the rise in the import payments, a BB official told New Age on August 31. The rising import of food grains, practically rice, may continue in the coming months to keep the prices of the staple stable on the local markets by boosting its supply, he said.
Government retakes eight mills as private operators fail
The government has taken back eight jute and textiles mills from their private entrepreneurs as the latter breached the major terms and conditions of privatization, officials said. Failure to create jobs, keeping mills closed for long time, converting some of the divested mills into different production units and even selloff of land are construed as a gross breach of the deals. In 2017, a total of six mills were taken back with the latest reacquisition of Fouzi Jute Mills at Ghorasal in Narsingdi and Madaripur Textile Mill in mid-July. The rest of the re-nationalized mills are Kokil Textile Mills Limited in Brahmanbaria, A R Hawlader Jute Mills Limited in Madaripur, Eagle Star Textile Mills Limited in Chittagong, Jalil Textile Mills Limited in Fouzdarhat, Chittagong, Dhaka Jute Mills Limited and Gausia Jute Mills Limited in Dhaka. The last two were taken back in 2015, according to the officials. One of the main objectives of handover of the mills to private sector is to create employment, which has not been met for long closure of the mills, a ministry official said.
Business and economic activities in cities including capital Dhaka remained dull on Monday, the first working day after Eid-ul-Azha vacation, as city dwellers were still in holiday mood. The government offices, most of the private offices and commercial establishments opened on the day after a three-day holiday on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha, one of biggest religious festivals for Muslims, with as usual low presence of officials, workers and service seekers. A good number of officials and employees at Bangladesh Secretariat, banks and financial institutions and private offices were yet to join their workplaces after the Eid which was celebrated on Saturday. Most of the retail shops, restaurants, shopping malls and kitchen markets, however, remained closed and those which opened on the day experienced a very thin turnout of customers. Volumes of transaction at banks other financial institutions were also very insignificant with few clients seeking services as the overall economic and commercial activities were yet to get momentum after the vacation.
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has initiated a move to file cases against a number of public switched telephone network operators to recover the government’s long pending dues from the operators. The telecom regulator initiated the move following a decision taken at a recently-held meeting presided over by BTRC chairman Shahjahan Mahmood. A BTRC official said that the commission has been preparing files to lodge cases against the private land phone operators as the enteritis’ dues to the government have remained unpaid for years. Although the companies’ dues to the BTRC have been on the rise, the entities have no initiative to make any payment, prompting the regulator to take legal move, they said. The PSTN operators which would face cases include National Telecom, Dhaka Telephone Co, World Tel and SA Telecom.
The prices of rawhide and skins have dropped significantly this year as a section of tanners and traders were reluctant to raise its prices. Many believe the government’s announcement on keeping its prices unchanged is one of the key reasons behind the fall in the prices of rawhide and skins. The prices should be increased by at least 5.0% considering the average inflation rate, they added. The prices of rawhide, if the market forces work, will be higher as hide traders believe that the number of sacrificial animals was at least 10% lower this year compared to than that of last year due to floods and non-availability of cattle in many parts of the country a day before Eid-ul-Azha.
Major Currencies Exchange Rates Movement in Last Seven Days
*CURRENCIES AND COMMODITIES ARE TAKEN FROM BLOOMBERG.
AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM
EMRANUL HUQ
MANAGING DIRECTOR & CEO OF DHAKA BANK LIMITED
Dear Valued Patrons,
At the very onset, let me express my heartiest gratitude for allowing us to serve you and I also wanted to reach out to you directly with an assurance that Dhaka Bank is fully equipped to support you during this difficult time.
Last couple of weeks ago we all were living in a peaceful condition, performing our daily tasks freely and perfectly. Entire economy and business environment was also in a good shape, until COVID-19 put a forceful stoppage to the overall life style and economy of the world. We all know that social distancing and cleanliness are the keys to prevent this pandemic. Hence, we urge your conscious effort to limiting public interaction and suspending wherever possible.
YOUR SAFETY MEANS EVERYTHING TO US In this current situation, Dhaka Bank and its employees are beside you where we are fully online, either working from home or at our offices under a robust Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to serve you with limited branch banking and a full-fledged alternate delivery channel services.
WE WILL TAKE CARE OF YOUR BANKING NEEDS Our state of the art Mobile App, Dhaka Bank GO (Click https://bit.ly/2WVfieu) and Internet Banking - Dhaka Bank Direct gives you the freedom of banking online anytime from anywhere. You can check the balance and transfer money to any designated Banks including any Dhaka Bank or bKash Account, make utility bill payments and mobile top-up through our Mobile App and Internet Banking Services. Our ATMs are also running efficiently with availability of sufficient cash for your convenience where you can make cash withdrawals whenever the need arises. Mentionable, the withdrawal of cash from any ATMs within Bangladesh with Dhaka Bank Debit Cards are absolutely free of charges up till April 30, 2020 (Dhaka Bank will bear the cost). Our corporate customers can also use our completely safe and secured online platform Dhaka Bank C-Solution for Payments, Inter Bank Fund Transfers, etc.
Moreover, to fulfill your urgent requirement, we have a limited no. of branches up and running by ensuring all kinds of precautionary and safety measures for you.
GET IN TOUCH IF YOU ARE IN EXTREME EMERGENCY In case of extreme emergency and facing difficulties in conducting banking transactions, please let us know through our 24/7 Contact Center number 16474 (or, dial +8809678016474 for ISD/Overseas Calls). We are always with you to combat your difficulties.
WE WILL FREQUENTLY UPDATE YOU As you know we are going through a critical phase and the situation is novel to all of us. We are getting lot of new information from various sources everyday about COVID-19 which will be shared at www.dhakabankltd.com.
Thank you for your trust and continued support to us. I firmly believe that jointly we will be able to combat this situation and win against all the odds.
Please stay home, stay safe and take care of yourself and family.
Best regards,
Emranul Huq Managing Director & CEO Dhaka Bank Limited