ADB praises efforts to build economic zones

A new report from the Asian Development Bank has given a thumbs-up to Bangladesh’s efforts in setting up 100 special economic zones as dedicated industrial districts help attract foreign investment and boost exports. SEZs are associated with more foreign affiliates in the economy that exports, said the Asian Economic Integration Report 2016, which was released earlier this month. The ADB report, which covers 48 countries in Asia and the Pacific, examines current trends in trade, finance, migration, remittance, and other regional cooperation and integration issues, with a special chapter on the factors behind the growth of FDI in the region. In 2014, Bangladesh had only eight special economic zones (known as export processing zones) that facilitate exports compared to 14 in Cambodia, 199 in India, 10 in Kazakhstan, 1,475 in China, 312 in the Philippines and 12 in Sri Lanka.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/adb-praises-efforts-build-economic-zones-1332421

UK willing to invest in BD’s mega infrastructure projects

The United Kingdom is eager to invest in Bangladesh’s mega infrastructure projects, as the island nation is looking to play a greater role in the country’s ongoing infrastructural expansion, the UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy Rushanara Ali has said. “One thing that is common for all the developing countries, including Bangladesh, is the need to have good infrastructure,” Rushanara Ali said during an interview on Sunday. The Bangladesh-born British politician, who is on her first visit to the country since taking over as the British premier’s trade envoy for Bangladesh, shared her views on the upcoming avenues for trade and investment between the two countries.

Source: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/12/20/56853/

Grameenphone to lose exclusive rights to Bangladesh Railway’s fiber network

The telecom regulator has asked Bangladesh Railway and mobile operator Grameenphone to amend an agreement in a bid to open up BR’s unused fibre optic network for all operators, which is currently used exclusively by GP. Officials of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission said that BR and GP had formed a committee to analyze the agreement under which GP is using 1,600 kilometres of BR’s fiber optic network exclusively. ‘After the analysis, both the parties would submit a proposal to the commission. We have asked the parties to amend clauses of the agreement which are conflicting with Railway’s NTTN license and GP’s cellular license,’ a senior BTRC official told New Age. He said that once the amendments were completed, the unused portion of the leased fiber optic network would be open for other entities. In 1989, BR under a modernization project of signaling system installed optical fiber network at 300 stations with the financial assistance of the Norwegian government. As the capacity of the fiber optic remained mostly unused, BR leased out its optical fibre network through an international tender to GP, owned by Norwegian company Telenor, in 1997.

Source:
http://www.newagebd.net/article/5199/gp-to-lose-exclusive-rights-to-brs-fibre-network
http://www.thedailystar.net/business/railways-fibre-optic-network-open-all-telcos-1332418

Steel building materials see limited growth, despite potentials: Experts

The use of steel building materials in the country’s construction sector is still limited mainly due to higher import tax, speakers said at a programme Sunday. They said the sector has the potential to grow further if the rate of tax is reduced and the quality of materials is ensured. The view came at an international seminar on ‘Steel structures: Prospects and Opportunities in Bangladesh’ jointly organized by Engineers’ Institution, Bangladesh (IEB) and Steel Building Manufacturers Association of Bangladesh (SBMA) in the capital. The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) president Abdul Matlub Ahmad attended the function as chief guest, presided over by IEB, Dhaka chairman Mesbahur Rahman Tutul. International steel structure engineering experts David Peterkin Kettlewell from the United Kingdom and Selami Gurel from Turkey also spoke on the occasion, among others. The FBCCI president said many iconic establishments across the globe are being built with steel materials. The current market value of the steel building manufacturers is around BDT 40.0 billion while the sector has created 0.2 million jobs, he informed.

Source: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/12/20/159796

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