$

TT-Clean: 77.1 | TK BC-Selling: 78.1
TK OD-Sight: 76.88 TK | TC-Selling: 78.1 TK

TT-Clean: 77.1 | TK BC-Selling: 78.1
TK OD-Sight: 76.88 TK | TC-Selling: 78.1 TK

£

TT-Clean: 77.1 | TK BC-Selling: 78.1
TK OD-Sight: 76.88 TK | TC-Selling: 78.1 TK

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Rate last updated: 02/01/2014 11:15:04 AM

Daily Business News Flash January 18, 2021

BB buys record $5.49b to keep taka stable

The central bank purchased greenback worth a record $5.49 billion in the first half of the current fiscal year to keep stable the exchange rate of the local currency. The previous highest was recorded in 2013-14 when the Bangladesh Bank bought $5.15 billion from local banks. The central bank was forced to smash all previous records of dollar purchase in just six months in the wake of higher flow of remittance and lower imports caused by the economic slowdown brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Although the dollar purchase is helping the export sector and swelling the foreign exchange reserve, the buying spree has flooded the financial sector with excess liquidity. But lower credit demand from borrowers amid the slowdown in business has put an adverse impact on the cost of funds for banks as liquidity has largely remained idle. The excess liquidity in the banking industry stood at Tk 182,990 crore in October, up 202 per cent year-on-year. The interbank exchange rate has been hovering around Tk 84.80 per US dollar since July. The rate was Tk 84.95 on March 25, a day before the country declared a countrywide lockdown to contain the virus. For instance, the Indian rupee was at 73.12 per dollar on January 11 this year, up from 71.37 on January 1 last year, according to data from the Reserve Bank of India.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/bb-buys-record-549b-keep-taka-stable-2029681

Tk 1,000cr fund to help exporters upgrade tech

Bangladesh Bank yesterday formed a Tk 1,000 crore fund to provide cheap loans to export-oriented industries to upgrade technologies they currently use. The eligible industries are of 32 types, all falling under top-priority and special development sectors, according to a central bank notice. The fund will run under a refinancing scheme, meaning banks will first give out the loans before being reimbursed by the central bank. Interested banks and non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) will have to sign a participation agreement with the central bank. Managing the bank rate is a method by which central banks influence economic activity. Lower bank rates can help expand the economy by lowering the cost of funds for borrowers. Currently, the rate is 4 per cent. If a bank happened to have availed the fund now, it would have been charged 3 per cent. It is 5 per cent for less than five years, 5.5 per cent for between five years and less than eight years, and 6 per cent for eight years to 10 years. A 7:3 debt to equity ratio will have to be maintained, which means that a borrower can avail 70 per cent of the upgradation cost from the lender while the remaining 30 per cent has to come from his/her own pockets.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/tk-1000cr-fund-help-exporters-upgrade-tech-2029661

Wheat import declines

Wheat imports declined 2 per cent or 72,000 tonnes in the first six months of fiscal 2020-21 compared to the corresponding months of the previous year as prices rose amid a shortage of supply in the international market. This is a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, during which large countries increased their stocks of wheat, leading to price volatility in the international market, according to importers. The price of wheat has gone up by $50 to $60 per tonne in the last three months. Besides, Russia, one of the world’s top wheat exporters, recently announced imposing export duty of €50 per tonne from next March. The DAE estimates show that this year about 13 lakh tonnes of wheat would be produced on 3.5 lakh hectares of land while it was 12.45 lakh tonnes from 3.29 lakh hectares of land in 2019-20. According to sources at Chattogram Customs, some 30.99 lakh tonnes of wheat worth Tk 6,731.18 crore was bought in the first six months of fiscal 2020-21. It was just 31.70 lakh tonnes in the same period of fiscal 2019-20, the NBR data shows. Wheat was imported at an average price of Tk 235 per tonne in the last financial year but the current average price is Tk 256 per tonne. At present, the supply of baked goods to the international markets is low while prices have become unstable due to the increase in wheat stocks in several large countries, including China. Last Thursday, wheat from Russia and Canada was traded at $330 per tonne while it was $320 per tonne in Ukraine and $315 per tonne in the Indian market. The price of wheat had already risen globally even before the €50 export tariff was announced by Russia, Bashar said. According to an United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) report published on November 8 this year, Bangladesh has set the annual food grain production target for wheat at 13 lakh metric tonnes for fiscal 2020- 21. If realised, the harvest would be a 4.2 percent increase over the 2019-20 harvest. In consumption, Bangladesh comes 20th while China takes top spot with an annual 1.3 crore tonnes. In production, Bangladesh placed 31st in the last financial year and again, China heads the leader board with 1.37 crore tonnes.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/wheat-import-declines-2029677

New MD for Citizen Bank Citizens Bank

recently witnessed the appointment of Mohammad Masoom as its managing director and chief executive officer. Prior to the new role, Masoom served Midland Bank as additional managing director. Masoom made his debut in the banking profession with AB Bank and subsequently served in Southeast Bank, Trust Bank and National Bank. He also served at the Bangladesh Finance and Investment Company (BD Finance) as managing director and CEO.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/bd-to-export-bandwidth-to-saudi-telecom-1610555638

Local and Global Stock Indices *

Index NameClose ValueValue ChangePercentage Change
DJIA$ 30,814.26
↓ 177.26↓ 0.57 %
FTSE100$ 6,735.71↓ 66.25↓ 0.97 %
Nikkei 225$ 28,292.94↓ 226.24↓ 0.79 %

World Commodities *

CommodityClose ValueValue ChangePercentage Change
Crude Oil (WTI)$ 51.96 ↓ 0.40↓ 0.76 %
Crude Oil (Brent)$ 54.63↓ 0.47↓ 0.85 %
Gold Spot$ 1,827.89↓ 0.56↓ 0.03 %

Major Currencies Exchange Rates Movement in Last Seven Days *

Exchange Rates
USD 1BDT 84.8030
GBP 1BDT 115.2432
EUR 1BDT 102.4554
INR 1BDT 1.1524

*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

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