IMF also projects 7pc economic growth, lower than govt estimate

International Monetary Fund has retained its projection for Bangladesh’s economic growth at 7 per cent, 0.65 percentage points lower than the government’s estimate, for the current fiscal year 2017-2018. The global lending agency made the projection in its latest World Economic Outlook-April 2018, released in Washington on Tuesday. According to the provisional estimate of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, the country’s gross domestic product growth would be 7.65 per cent, higher than the government target of 7.4 per cent made in the national budget for the FY18. IMF’s projection is, however, higher than the forecast of World Bank and similar to Asian Development Bank.

Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/39227/imf-also-projects-7pc-economic-growth-lower-than-govt-estimate

Undisclosed money legalisation with penalty to stay in next budget

The existing provision of legalising undisclosed money through investment in construction and purchase of residential building and apartment would continue in the next budget to prevent money laundering, National Board of Revenue chairman Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said on Tuesday. He said this in reply to a proposal of Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh seeking indemnity in income tax law for investment of untaxed money in the sector. ‘There are scopes of investment of undisclosed or black money in real estate sector after paying penalty and they will continue in next budget,’ he said. Untaxed money holders would launder such money if they closed the option, he said, adding that the government, however, would consider whether investors would get the indemnity. Mosharraf also assured the realtors of examining the proposal of introducing secondary market for housing sector.

Source:
http://www.newagebd.net/article/39229/undisclosed-money-legalisation-with-penalty-to-stay-in-next-budget
http://www.theindependentbd.com/post/146169

Realtors propose cutting registration fees by half

The country’s realtors proposed that the government should reduce registration charges to 7.0 per cent from existing 14-16 per cent to help ease housing crisis being faced by middle and lower middle income people. Due to high registration fees, they said, buyers have lost their interest to register their units. So, the government is also being deprived of a significant amount of revenue from this sector, they added. Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) made its suggestion at a pre-budget discussion for the fiscal year (FY) 2018-19 with National Board of Revenue (NBR) at the NBR office in the city on Tuesday. They also demanded allowing investment of undisclosed money in the real estate sector for the next five years without any conditions. NBR chairman Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, REHAB vice president Liakat Ali Bhuiyan, and directors Mohiuddin Shikdar and Jahiruddin, among others, were present at the meeting.

Source:
http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/last-page/realtors-propose-cutting-registration-fees-by-half-1523988062
https://www.thedailystar.net/business/realtors-call-cuts-property-registration-fee-1563943

$2.67b Padma Rail Link Project loan deal on April 28

The much-awaited loan agreement for Padma Rail Link Project will be inked in Beijing on April 28, paving the way for receiving the Chinese government’s highest ever loan facility for establishing rail link with Padma bridge. Sources said, the date and place of signing US $ 2.67 billion loan agreement were finally confirmed after getting response from EXIM Bank, a Chinese state-owned bank Tuesday. Economic Relations Division (ERD) sent an email to the Chinese state-owned bank on Monday soon after the Prime Minister signed the draft agreement. Under the loan arrangement, the Chinese government will provide 80 per cent of the project’s construction cost to be implemented by Bangladesh Railway under preferential buyer’s credit line. Source said ERD and the EXIM Bank will sign the agreement.

Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/first-page/267b-padma-rail-link-project-loan-deal-on-april-28-1523987389

DTCA, DMTC are at odds over ownership of metro rail projects

Conflict has arisen over the ownership of all metro rail projects and future control over the mass transit system in the city as the metro rail company refused to work under Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority (DTCA). Sources said the Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Company (DMTC) Limited has already stopped communication with DTCA, which has so far been maintained, since the formation of the company in 2013. They said the company has requested the Planning Commission to consider it the executing agency instead of DTCA. After getting the request, sources said, the Planning Commission also raised a query to the DTCA in this regard. It asked DTCA as a coordination authority of city transport sector to report on what regulation the DMTC is considered the executing agency and what the extent of delegation of financial power it has.

Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/last-page/dtca-dmtc-are-at-odds-over-ownership-of-metro-rail-projects-1523988116

‘Remove sectoral constraints to raise export competitiveness’

The 5th SME Development Working Committee (SMEDWC) Meeting of Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) put thrust on removing sectoral constraints for raising export competitiveness. The meeting took place at the conference room of the Ministry of Industries recently, said a statement. Chaired by Muhammed Abdullah, Secretary of Ministry of Industries, the meeting discussed SME issues and policy simplification, including regulatory barriers with a view to make the SMEs of leather, plastics and technology competitive for doing business. BUILD CEO Ferdaus Ara Begum presented four papers based on research pointing to the SMEs for which MoI is the parent ministry to administer.

Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/remove-sectoral-constraints-to-raise-export-competitiveness-1523981467

Ctg port choked by container congestion

The Chittagong Port Authority plans to impose additional rents for container storage as it has been suffering from acute container congestion in the last few weeks because of a surge in imports ahead of Ramadan. On Monday, the CPA in a meeting urged the port users to take steps to clear the congestion in seven days. Otherwise, it will impose additional charges for container storages along with the regular charges. Every container enjoys four-day storage service for free once it reaches the port. After the period, the CPA daily charges $6 for a 20-foot container and $12 for a 40-foot container. As of Monday, the port was burdened with 36,726 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of import-laden containers, much higher from its capacity of accommodating 26,857 TEUs. Containers brought in through FCL (full container load) shipping have worsened the situation.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/ctg-port-choked-container-congestion-1563988

Remediation of left-out RMG factories to cost $1.2b: Apparel leaders differ on factory numbers

An estimated US$1.2 billion would be required for remediating the safety hazards in the readymade garment factories left out of the safety inspection and remediation process so far, according to a report of the NYU Stern Centre for Business and Human Rights. Most of them are subcontracting factories where no inspections were carried out and others are monitored by the government under a national initiative. The report released on April 11 said some 7,000 factories, including garment, textile, dying and washing units, are operating across the country and some 3,000 of them are subcontracting units. The remaining 4,000 factories are currently overseen under three initiatives. The report proposed forming a multi-stakeholder taskforce to fund and oversee the remediation efforts in those factories and subcontracting units where safety issue still remains a cause for concern.

Source:
http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/remediation-of-left-out-rmg-factories-to-cost-12b-1523981301
http://www.newagebd.net/article/39148/workers-at-3000-subcontracting-rmg-units-in-danger

Relief for realtors: Rod price falls by Tk 3,000 a tonne

Rod prices, which have been spiralling since the turn of the year, have dropped by at least Tk 3,000 per tonne this week in a development that is set to bring a huge sigh of relief from realtors. “We have brought down the prices by Tk 3,000 per tonne upon Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed’s request,” said Manwar Hossain, president of the Bangladesh Auto Re-rolling and Steel Mills Association (BARSMA). Each tonne of 60-grade rod was selling for Tk 67,000-Tk 68,000 in Dhaka yesterday. Two weeks ago, they went for Tk 71,000-Tk 72,000, according to data from the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/relief-realtors-1563946

Survey on women-owned businesses: 48pc find it difficult to contact corporate buyers

Forty-eight per cent of women-owned businesses in Bangladesh experience difficulty in making connections to corporate buyers, according to a survey. During interviews, they noted that establishing networks in the sourcing departments of large corporations is complex and non-transparent. WEConnect International conducted the survey to identify potential points of market entry for women-owned businesses in Bangladesh, and to find opportunities to connect them to local and global corporate value chains. Key findings from the survey were discussed at a roundtable on ‘Strengthening Market Access and Integration into Corporate Value Chains’ held at a city hotel recently, says a press statement.

Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/48pc-find-it-difficult-to-contact-corporate-buyers-1523981195

Tissue paper industry thrives on growing demand

The tissue paper industry, mostly led by local factories, has kept booming in the country due to a change in the people’s lifestyle with rising incomes. The paper napkin turned into a Tk 15.0 billion market from Tk 500 million in the past 10 years with 80 per cent of the people using tissue papers at least once a month, according to the Bangladesh Paper Mills Association (BPMA). And 50 per cent of the factories are now producing its raw material ‘paper pulp’ locally which helped the sector raise maximum value addition, sector insiders said.

Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/tissue-paper-industry-thrives-on-growing-demand-1523981102

Bangladesh has nearly 150 million cell phone users

The total number of Bangladesh’s mobile phone subscribers reached nearly 148.76 million at the end of February. The number of subscribers of the mobile operators, Grameenphone, Robi Axiata, Banglalink and Teletalk stood at 66.47 million, 45.59 million, 32.72 million and 3.98 million respectively at the end of February, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) data showed.

Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/bd-has-150m-cell-phone-users-1523981569

Flat call rate, price ceiling for mobile data on cards

The government has moved to fix a flat call rate for mobile phone operators to eliminate the existing off-net and on-net charge gap with a view to helping smaller operators survive in the era of intense competition. Off-net charges are applicable to calls made within a similar network while on-net charges are applied to calls from one operator to another operator. The telecom regulator will also fix the lower and higher prices of data for mobile internet. The decisions came at a meeting at Gono Bhaban on Monday chaired by Sajeeb Wazed Joy, ICT affairs adviser of the prime minister.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/flat-call-rate-price-ceiling-mobile-data-cards-1563949

Low income employment replacing jobless growth

The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) has questioned the outcome of GDP growth saying the country has entered into income-less employment from an era of jobless growth. CPD explained what they meant by “income-less employment” by saying that previously jobless growth accompanied GDP growth. Now there is low income employment growth. The independent think-tank said, according to the latest labour force survey, around 1.3 million additional jobs were created between 2015-16 and 2016-17. However, the real income of people has declined. CPD revealed the above at a budget recommendation press conference at CIRDAP Auditorium on Tuesday.

Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/economy/2018/04/17/low-income-employment-replacing-jobless-growth/

Int’l tourism fair begins tomorrow

A three-day international tourism fair begins in the capital’s Bangabandhu International Conference Centre tomorrow with the participation of 11 countries, aiming to expedite and promote tourism in Bangladesh. The Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (Toab) is organising the “Biman Bangladesh Travel & Tourism Fair 2018”. The Bangladesh Tourism Board (BTB), the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, the Nepal Tourism Board, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Ministry of Tourism of India are taking part along with 50 foreign organisations, said the organiser at a press conference in Dhaka yesterday. National and international tourism organisations, authorities and operators, travel agents, airlines along with hotels and resorts from Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Bhutan, the United Arab Emirates, China, Cambodia, the Maldives, and Vietnam are scheduled to participate.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/intl-tourism-fair-begins-tomorrow-1563931

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