Bangladesh brimming with investment opportunities

Investment opportunities have opened up in Bangladesh for its competitive wages, strategic location, stable policies, exchange rate and political situation, developing infrastructure and huge youth population, said Ahmad Kaikaus, principal secretary to the prime minister. In tune with its higher growth aspirations, Bangladesh has set a target to lift foreign direct investment to 3 per cent of its gross domestic product by 2031. The Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida) organised the event, sponsored by the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The government created the Bida, the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority, Bangladesh Export Promotion Zones Authority, and the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority to ensure adequate investment facilities and a conducive environment. The country has achieved immense economic development in the past 12 years and created apt investment scopes. The country even attained 5.4 per cent GDP growth despite the Covid-19 fallout. Anwar also said the IFC provided $2.5 billion in the past five years to different sectors to build up the private sector’s confidence.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/industries/investments/news/bangladesh-brimming-investment-opportunities-2905361

 Olympic to invest Tk25cr to expand bakery business

Olympic Industries Ltd, the maker of popular biscuit brands such as Energy Plus, Tip and Nutty, has announced that it would invest Tk 25.65 crore to expand its production capacity to meet growing demands. The top bakery and confectionery product manufacturer in the country disclosed the information yesterday in a regulatory filing on the website of the Dhaka Stock Exchange. Its stock rose 1.25 per cent to Tk 162.1. The company has retained earnings of Tk 723 crore, said the financial report for 2020-21. Of the Tk 25.65 crore planned investment, Tk 6.49 crore will be invested in the first phase to import and set up cupcake making line to produce plain and custard cakes, along with buying packaging line, nitrogen generator, metal detector, and other items from China. Thanks to the investment, the plain cake production capacity would be 475.2 lakh pieces annually and custard cake production capacity would be 316.80 lakh pieces. The line will be established in its factory in Lolati, Narayanganj. Its sales rose 11.86 per cent to Tk 1,803 crore in 2020-21. It logged profits of Tk 203 crore, slightly up from the previous year’s Tk 202 crore. The export of biscuits and confectionery items rose 8 per cent to Tk 25.65 crore in 2020-21. It will invest around Tk 8.50 crore to construct a 5-storey building with a total 73,000 square feet floor area and undertake an extension of 7,300 square feet tin shed area in its Kutubpur unit. It plans to invest around Tk 1.66 crore to enhance the production capacity of the corrugated carton unit at Kutubpur from 6-6.50 million cartons to 8 million cartons per month.

 Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/bangladeshi-products-have-huge-potential-market-thailand-envoy-2901036

Green Delta Insurance partners with Robi

Green Delta Insurance’s health insurance package ‘Hospicash’ is now available countrywide through Robi Axiata Ltd’s digital sales channel, namely, rStore. Now, the customers can purchase the popular hospicash health insurance packages from the nearby network of 10,000+ rStores. Robi Axiata Limited and Green Delta Insurance Company Ltd have recently signed an agreement in this regard. Two exclusive hospicash packages will be sold at a very competitive price through rStores under this partnership. The packages will cover disability, hospitalization, surgery, OPD costs, hospicash and accidental cash with a reasonable annual premium. By removing the hassle of traveling long distances and filling up numerous forms, the initiative promises to benefit both retailers and end users in multiple aspects.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/green-delta-insurance-partners-with-robi-1638117620

Core index tumbles to four-month low on fresh virus scare

Stocks witnessed yet another big fall on Sunday, with the key index of the prime bourse falling below 6,800-mark, as worried investors continued to dump their holdings to avoid further erosion in their investments. DSEX, the prime index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), slid 78.19 points or 0.82 per cent to settle at 6,773, which is the lowest in nearly four months since August 19 of this year. The core index eroded more than 318 points in just six trading days while the index shed 594 points since reaching its recent peak at 7,367 on October 10 this year. Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, also fell to a fresh seven months low to Tk 8.37 billion on Sunday, in a further decline by 1.41 per cent over the previous day’s tally of Tk 8.49 billion. General insurance lost the most of 2.10 per cent, followed by financial institutions with 1.90 per cent, power 1.0 per cent, banking 0.90 per cent, textile 0.80 per cent, pharma 0.70 per cent and food 0.20 per cent. More than 78 per cent traded issues lost their price, as out of 372 issues traded, 291 declined, 66 advanced and 15 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor. Beximco was the most traded stock with shares worth Tk 917 million changing hands, followed by ONE Bank (Tk 571 million), IFIC Bank (Tk 464 million), Paramount Textile (Tk 435 million) and First Security Islami Bank (218 million).

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/core-index-tumbles-to-four-month-low-on-fresh-virus-scare-1638117427