Online tax returns can bring $32b extra revenues annually

Bangladesh can raise an additional $32.6 billion in revenues annually within the next four years if the electronic filing of tax returns can be ensured, said the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). This is around 5 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). In other words, $167 billion can be generated in the form of tax revenue by FY2030 through digitalization. Bangladesh’s revenue-to-GDP ratio declined from 10.99 percent in FY2010 to 8.26 percent in FY2023. The target for FY2024, set at 9.9 percent, is also unlikely to be achieved.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/online-tax-returns-can-bring-32b-extra-revenues-annually-cpd-3613841

PM opens SME fair in Dhaka to showcase local products

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday inaugurated the weeklong 11th National SME Product Fair to showcase products made by local small and medium enterprises. The fair at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) has jointly been organised by the Industries Ministry and SME Foundation. The objective of the fair is to promote, disseminate, sell, and the market expansion of products made by small and medium-scale entrepreneurs at local and international levels. According to the organisers, the fair is exhibiting products from various sectors, like readymade garments, jute, handicrafts, leather goods, processed foods, light engineering, IT services, jewellery, and furniture. Around 50 entrepreneur service-providing organisations, including 30 banks, and 15 government, and non-government organisations, are also participating in the event. Moreover, 42 stalls will be set up by jute product organisations, 38 handcraft industries, 32 leather-made product industries, 27 agri-processing product sectors, and 23 light engineering industries, while 14 food products, 13 ICT firms, 12 SME cluster entrepreneurs from all over the country, 5 each from the herbal and jewellery industries, 4 plastic products, 3 electrical, and electronics and furniture industries and 19 government organisations. Moreover, about 25 banks and financial institutions, that disburse SME loans, will participate in the fair.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/pm-opens-sme-fair-dhaka-showcase-local-products-3613456

BB to apply moral suasion to keep lending rate within

Businesses’ worry over interest instability prompts the central bank to weigh playing the morality card to peg bank lending rate within 14 per cent, in an exigent paradigm shift. Officials say the Bangladesh Bank (BB) is now considering applying ‘moral suasion’ on the commercial banks to keep the maximum lending rate within 14 per cent on the money market. Moral suasion mechanism comes into play to prevent any possible act of unusual hike in the lending rate by banks taking the opportunity of the market-oriented interest regime, just pivoted to through the lift of limits. Welcoming the BB’s moral-suasion move as right and timely one, the experienced banker said the banks need to act sensibly in this market-driven interest regime so that the market is not overexposed and underrated. But money-market analysts term such option ‘very conflicting’ with the central bank’s recent policy switch from managed to completely market-driven rate reintroduced on May 8, 2024 after discarding a reference rate called SMART.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/first-page/bb-to-apply-moral-suasion-to-keep-lending-rate-within-14pc-1716141351

Prime Bank has launched PrimeAcademia

Prime Bank has launched PrimeAcademia, a banking solution tailored for academic institutions, teachers, students, and parents across Bangladesh. Primeacademia has been designed to address the diverse financial needs of the academic community, offering features such as fees collection for simplified and efficient fee management for institutions, payroll banking for a more streamlined payroll services for academic staff, student savings accounts with special benefits for student savers, institutional accounts with attractive interest/profit-bearing options for schools and colleges, teacher savings accounts with added insurance coverage for teachers, loan facility for financing solutions for parents to support their children’s education, institution loan/investment facility for financial support for the development and growth of academic institutions and student file service for providing assistance with higher studies abroad.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/prime-bank-has-launched-primeacademia-1716137243

Premier Bank launches branch ‘QR Teller’ service

Premier Bank has launched a new branch service called ‘QR Teller’, which replaces traditional branch transactions using cheque books or debit cards with a faster and more secure method that utilises QR code scanning technology. Mohammad Abu Jafar, managing director and CEO of the bank, and M Imran Iqbal, member of the Board of Directors and chairman of the Risk Management Committee, officially launched the service at the Premier Bank head office recently.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/premier-bank-launches-branch-qr-teller-service-1716137417

Southeast Bank distributes special CSR fund

Southeast Bank distributed a special CSR fund to support farmers with cultivation and the purchase of farming machinery. The financial assistance was handed over to grassroots farmers at the bank’s head office in the presence of Nuruddin Md Sadeque Hossain, managing director of Southeast Bank. Md Masum Uddin Khan and Abidur Rahman Chowdhury, deputy managing directors of the bank, also attended the ceremony. The bank channelled the financial assistance through non-governmental development organisation Alternative Development Initiative (ADI). Fahad Rahman, executive director of ADI.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/southeast-bank-distributes-special-csr-fund-1716137451