Bangladesh’s RMG export to US rises 53.54pc

Bangladesh’s garment shipment to the country’s single largest export destination, the USA, rose 53.54 per cent year-on-year to $6.64 billion in the January-August period of the current year, according to data from the USA’s Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA). Bangladesh remained the third largest apparel import source for the USA, the report said. In the January-August period, the United States of America imported $69.27 billion worth of apparels from the world, registering 37.35 per cent rise year-on-year, the data also said. In the first eight months of 2022, USA’s imports from China grew by 37.17 per cent to hit $15.56 billion. At the same time, imports from Vietnam stood at $12.80 billion, posting a 33.62 per cent year-on-year growth, the OTEXA data also said. Among the top 10 apparel suppliers to the USA, imports from India, Indonesia, Cambodia, South Korea and Pakistan increased by 56.9 per cent, 56.48 per cent, 51.64 per cent, 42.96 per cent and 42.16 per cent year-on-year respectively.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/bangladeshs-rmg-export-us-rises-5354pc-3141456

BB instructs banks to tighten monitoring of cryptocurrency transactions

Bangladesh Bank has once again directed authorities to monitor cryptocurrency transactions after finding that people are still using bank accounts for the buying and selling of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, bdnews24.com reports. The central bank issued a circular on the matter and sent it out to the managing directors of all banks on Wednesday. The national bank had recently noticed that different foreign Virtual Asset Service Providers or VASPs are carrying out “transactions, buying and selling, re-selling, p2p/exchange/relocate/trade activities” of virtual currencies using customer accounts of scheduled banks through their websites and apps, the circular read. Bangladesh Bank instructed all financial service providers to “increase monitoring maintaining proper caution” to prevent such activities.

Source: https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/economy/bb-instructs-banks-to-tighten-monitoring-of-cryptocurrency-transactions-1665628430

Lending rates likely to go up

The central bank is mulling an increase in lending rates as interest rates on deposits have kept rising amid soaring inflation. In a meeting with the representatives of four state-run commercial banks on Wednesday, the Bangladesh Bank discussed the matter, meeting participants told The Business Standard.  Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Farah Nasser, Sonali Bank Managing Director Md Afzal Karim, Agrani Bank Managing Director Md Murshedul Kabir, Rupali Bank Managing Director Mohammad Jahangir and Janata Bank Managing Director Abdus Salam Azad were present, among others, at the event. According to the central bank’s policy, interest rates on deposits of a three-month term or above must be higher than the average inflation of the previous three months. In June 2021, when the central bank capped the lending rates at 9%, deposit rates were above 5.64% – the average inflation. Interest rate spread – lending rate minus deposit rate – was okay then. 

Source: https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/banking/lending-rates-likely-go-512706