BB decides not to mop up funds

Bangladesh Bank yesterday decided not to mop up any money from the market as a part of its efforts to ease the ongoing liquidity crunch in the banking sector. Bankers welcomed the central bank decision, terming it time befitting, saying it will help loosen the ongoing liquidity pressure in the banking sector. The BB decided to mop up excess liquidity on August 5 as the demand for loans nosedived during the period. Between August and November, the central bank mopped up Tk 68,971 crore through the BB bills. There are three categories of the bill based on their maturity: 7-day, 14-day and 30-day. The surplus fund totalled Tk 220,880 crore in October, up 0.6 per cent from that the month before. Of the total excess fund, Tk 168,508 crore is concentrated among only a dozen banks, accounting for 76 per cent of the additional liquidity. The call money rate stood at 4.49 per cent on November 18, up from 2.25 per cent on October 31. The central bank did not mop up any money from a scheduled auction for the BB bill held last week. The central bank yesterday took a decision to discard the auction.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/banks/news/bb-decides-not-mop-funds-2907026

DP World to invest $1.0b in BD

DP World, a Dubai-based multinational logistics company, will invest $1.0 billion in Bangladesh’s supply chain infrastructure, including ports, rail network and inland container terminals, reports UNB. This is within the scope of the government-to-government agreement entered into in 2019 for public-private participation on infrastructure projects, said a press release of the company on Tuesday. The assurance came when a high-level delegation of the Bangladesh government led by State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, visited Jebel Ali Free Zone and the Jebel Ali Port in Dubai on November 21-23. During the tour, they also visited the DP World Pavilion at the Expo 2020 Dubai. The visit represents a key step in reinforcing DP World’s commitment to partner with the government of Bangladesh in enhancing its supply chain infrastructure and processes. The delegation members witnessed a demonstration of BoxBay, the new intelligent High Bay Storage (HBS) system, toured the Jebel Ali Free Zone and visited the DP World Cruise Terminal. Visitors to the five-floor DP World Flow pavilion, which has four main galleries, have an opportunity to explore the movement of commerce around the world that drives the global economy, giving a unique insight into the innovative technology of supply chains.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/dp-world-to-invest-10b-in-bd-1638295834

HSBC voted ‘market leader’, ‘best service’ in Bangladesh by Euromoney

HSBC has been voted “market leader” and the “best service” in Bangladesh in the Euromoney Cash Management Survey 2021. With this, HSBC has been voted ‘market leader’ for the 12th time and the ‘best service’ for four years in a row in Bangladesh while globally, this is the 10th year in a row that the organisation has taken the top spot for corporates. HSBC Bangladesh has a wide range of liquidity management products across payables, receivables, clearing and foreign currency, liquidity, liability and investments. In addition, to support the digital banking requirements of the clients, HSBC Bangladesh has already launched smart digital propositions like Enhanced Virtual Account, Direct Debit, eVAT, eDuty etc, it added.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/banks/news/hsbc-voted-market-leader-best-service-bangladesh-euromoney-2906931

 Tax return submission deadline now Dec 31

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) yesterday extended the deadline for income tax return submission by a month. It means that taxpayers would be able to furnish their tax returns by December 31, according to a notification from the NBR. The extension comes on the last day of the official deadline for return filing on November 30, also termed as Tax Day as a big number of taxpayers are yet to file their income, expenditure and wealth statements. Currently, filing of income tax returns is compulsory for all taxpayers, except for credit cardholders with no taxable income, people who registered for a taxpayer identification number (TIN) to sell land and non-residents who do not have any fixed base in Bangladesh. At present, roughly 70 lakh persons are registered as taxpayers and nearly 40 per cent of the taxpayers file returns.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/industries/tax-customes/news/tax-return-submission-deadline-now-dec-31-2906996