Garment exporters see moderate recovery in 2023

Local apparel suppliers are expecting moderate recovery in exports in the upcoming year as sales in the Western world are gradually gaining pace with a new normal arising from the Russia-Ukraine war and falling prices of petroleum products. This in turn is causing inflationary pressure in the Western world to subside gradually, effectively leaving more money in the pockets of the consumers, enabling them to start spending behind the purchase of clothing items. One variant of the crude oil was selling at $79.56 per barrel in international markets yesterday whereas it had surpassed $123 at one point in the outgoing year because of the severe fallout of the war. As a result, Christmas sales were also upbeat, with old stockpiles of clothing of international retailers and brands worth billions of US dollars being sold off. This has prompted international clothing retailers and brands to start coming up with new work orders for factories and make inquiries for future purchases. November retail sales dipped from a surge of early holiday shopping the month before but still saw solid year-over-year growth that marked a strong start to the holiday season, according to the US-based National Retail Federation (NRF). The trade association contributes $3.9 trillion to the annual GDP of the US and supports one in four US jobs – 52 million working Americans.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/garment-exporters-see-moderate-recovery-2023-3205941

Revenue collection posts 13.06pc growth in July-Nov

The revenue collection by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) witnessed a healthy growth of 13.06 per cent in the first five months (July-November) of the current fiscal year (FY23) fetching Tk 1.15 trillion. The revenue collection by the revenue board during the July-November period of the last fiscal year (FY22) was Tk 1.02 trillion. According to NBR, the revenue collection during this five-month period from customs totalled Tk 380.6 billion, from VAT Tk 0.44 trillion and from income tax and travel tax Tk 0.33 trillion, reports BSS. The NBR data also showed that revenue collection from customs increased by 12.54 per cent during this July-November period as the revenue collection from such sector was Tk 0.33 trillion in July-November last year. Besides, the revenue collection from VAT in this July-November enjoyed a 16.18 per cent growth as Tk 0.38 trillion were collected from VAT in July-November last year.

Source: https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/economy/revenue-collection-posts-1306pc-growth-in-july-nov-1672068220

Bangladesh signs $628.29m loan deal with ADB

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the government have signed loan agreements worth $628.29 million for the implementation of development, urban transport and climate resilience projects. Sharifa Khan, secretary, Economic Relations Division (ERD), and Jiangbo Ning, deputy country director and officer-in-charge of Bangladesh resident mission, ADB, signed the agreements on behalf of their respective organisations on Monday, reports BSS citing a press release. The release said ADB will provide $278.29 million in loan for ‘Third Public-Private Infrastructure Development Facility – Tranche 2, $100 million for ‘Greater Dhaka Sustainable Urban Transport Project (BRT- Gazipur), $246 million for ‘Coastal Towns Climate Resilience Project’ and a grant of $4 million for the ‘Coastal Towns Climate Resilience Project’. Alamgir Morshed, executive director and CEO of Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL); Quazi Muhammad Ferdous, chief engineer of Bangladesh Bridges Authority, nominated representatives of designated municipalities and Jiangbo Ning, deputy country director and officer-in-charge of Bangladesh resident mission, ADB, signed the respective project agreements.

Source: https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/economy/bangladesh-signs-62829m-loan-deal-with-adb-1672059933