First industrial park for shoes shaping up

A top footwear manufacturer is setting up a shoe industrial park, the first of its kind in Bangladesh, to supply import substitute raw materials and accessories to producers, boost exports and attract foreign investment. The Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida) gave the permission for the establishment of the Bangladesh Shoe City Ltd in September.The park, which is being set up in Gazipur, would cost around $100 million, or Tk 900 crore. Of the sum, Khan’s equity is 46 per cent and a global lender will provide the rest.The park is located over 35 acres of land where 24 factories could be accommodated. The land has been developed.The footwear sector needs at least 152 items to manufacture a piece of shoe. Of them, 50 major items will be produced in the park. The park has received investment proposals from foreign investors involving Tk 450 crore and this may go up to Tk 1,000 crore. It will create 26,000 jobs, directly.The sector earned $941.67 million from the shipment of leather, leather goods and footwear in the financial year of 2020-21.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/first-industrial-park-shoes-shaping-2955451

Farmers to get smart cards

The government is going to introduce smart cards for farmers with an aim to provide area-based and demand-based agricultural services. The smart cards will be given to 1.09 crore farmers across the country. It will be used as the farmers’ digital identity, which will help them get government incentives as well.To this effect, a pilot project involving Tk 107.921 crore is in the pipeline to provide the digital service for farmers in 14 agricultural zones of nine districts.The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) will implement the project with government finances by September 2024. The project proposal has been sent to the planning ministry, which will place it before the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) for approval.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/farmers-get-smart-cards-2955441

Global equity funds see biggest inflow in three weeks

Global equity funds lured big inflows in the seven days to Feb. 2 on optimism over strong earnings from US technology companies and on hopes that inflation would ease later this year. Strong earnings from tech firms including Apple Inc, Alphabet and chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, boosted investor appetite during the week. Investors purchased European and Asian equity funds of $15.44 billion and $3.16 billion respectively, while selling US equity funds of $7.9 billion. Tech and consumer discretionary sector equity funds posted outflows of over $1.1 billion each, while financials obtained inflows worth $0.64 billion.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/global-equity-funds-see-biggest-inflow-in-three-weeks-1644074548