$

TT-Clean: 77.1 | TK BC-Selling: 78.1
TK OD-Sight: 76.88 TK | TC-Selling: 78.1 TK

TT-Clean: 77.1 | TK BC-Selling: 78.1
TK OD-Sight: 76.88 TK | TC-Selling: 78.1 TK

£

TT-Clean: 77.1 | TK BC-Selling: 78.1
TK OD-Sight: 76.88 TK | TC-Selling: 78.1 TK

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Rate last updated: 02/01/2014 11:15:04 AM

Important Business News Extracts December 30, 2019

Stocks keep gaining as year-end nears

Stocks extended the gaining spell for the second straight session on Sunday as bargain hunters continued to show their buying interest on sector-wise issues ahead of year-end. The investors were active from the beginning of the session and the upward trend continued till the end of the session with no sign of reversal. At the end of the session, DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, went up by 15.10 points or 0.34 per cent to settle at 4,433 over the previous session. Two other indices edged up with the DS30 index, comprising blue chips, gained 3.3.7 points to finish at 1,512 and the DSE Shariah Index advanced 2.18 points to close at 997. Turnover, another important indicator of the market, stood at Tk 3.0 billion, which was 1.63 per cent lower than the previous day’s turnover of Tk 3.05 billion. Food sector booked the highest gain of 1.40 per cent, followed by banking with 0.71 per cent, engineering 0.54 per cent, financial institutions 0.34 per cent and pharmaceuticals 0.11 per cent. The port city bourse, Chittagong Stock Exchange, also ended marginally higher with its CSE All Share Price Index – CASPI -advancing 22 points to settle at 13,486 and the Selective Categories Index – CSCX -gaining 13 points to finish at 8,176.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/stocks-keep-gaining-as-year-end-nears-1577640633

New ABB chairman zeroes in on discipline

Newly elected ABB Chairman Ali Reza Iftekhar has set his sights on recovering the image of the country’s banking sector by way of enhancing the capacity of lenders’ executives. The Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB) is a forum of managing directors of Bangladesh’s scheduled banks. The forum is dedicated to protecting the interest of both banks and customers by exchanging views with regulatory bodies and other related organisations. The banking sector is going through a challenging period of late. All types of rules and regulations should be drawn up in order to ensure the interest of both clients and banks,” said Iftekhar, who previously served as ABB’s chairman in 2014-15. The ABB will also arrange seminars, where renowned economists and bankers from both home and abroad will be invited. Such initiatives will help increase the skill of banks’ executives and play a role in improving corporate governance in the banking secto, who has a banking career spanning 34 years.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/new-abb-chairman-zeroes-discipline-1846969

Govt set to limit import of lead chromate

The government has decided to take measures to curb contamination of lead in turmeric. The committee will sit with licensed turmeric traders to resolve existing lead problem, according to the minutes of the meeting. The PMO also asked the commerce ministry to take necessary measures based on a confidential report prepared by the government that found the presence of lead beyond acceptable limit for human health, particularly children. According to the documents of the PMO, chemical analysis was conducted on 524 samples of turmeric, pigments, dust, and soil which were collected from different areas across the country. The research result found that lead level in collected samples is about 500 times higher than statutory levels. On an average, 690 micrograms of lead existed per gram of turmeric, the document showed. Acceptable level of lead in Bangladesh is 05 micrograms in per decilitre. Bangladesh, the fifth largest turmeric producing country in the world, supplies 3.0 per cent of global turmeric demand and it is gradually increasing. India alone produces over 80 per cent of turmeric in the world. Bangladesh produced over 0.182 million tonnes of turmeric in the last fiscal year, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/govt-set-to-limit-import-of-lead-chromate-1577641423

Realtors bag Tk 4.56b bookings as REHAB fair concludes

Realtors have received bookings for flats, plots and commercial spaces worth Tk 4.56 billion at the REHAB Winter Fair 2019 that concluded in the city on Saturday. The participating real estate companies received Tk 2.76 billion on sales and bookings of for apartments, Tk 530 million for plots and Tk 1.27 billion for commercial spaces, said a statement on Sunday. Besides, loan commitments worth Tk 17 billion were also made during the fair, the statement said, adding that the trade show drew 29,103 visitors in the five days. Some 160 business entities including financial institutions, real estate and building material companies took part in the expo.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/realtors-bag-tk-456b-bookings-as-rehab-fair-concludes-1577641476

BPDB gets new chairman

Sayeed Ahmed took over as the new chairman of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) on December 26. Prior to the appointment, Ahmed served the BPDB as its member (generation. Ahmed also served the Power Cell as a director and the BPDB as the director for system planning. He also worked for the Barapukuria coal power plant project and Barapukuria power plant, the statement added.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/bpdb-gets-new-chairman-184695

MTB, Mastercard to launch Bangla QR

Mutual Trust Bank Limited, in collaboration with Mastercard, announced the launch of ‘Bangla QR’, an interoperable Quick Response (QR) code-based payment acceptance solution. Making its debut in the country, Bangla QR will allow cardholders using Mastercard branded credit, debit and prepaid cards issued by Mutual Trust Bank (MTB) to carry out payments merely using a QR code generated by the MTB mobile banking application. In due course, the interoperable solution will be accessed by other banks and payment networks as well. In June 2018, a Working Committee (WC) on National Standard for QR Based Payments in Bangladesh, the WC, was established by Bangladesh Bank. The WC aimed to develop an interoperable standard QR code (Bangla QR) specification for retail payments in Bangladesh to facilitate merchants in using a single QR code and accept payments via different payment service operators.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/mtb-mastercard-to-launch-bangla-qr-1577640851

SIBL to raise Tk 5.0b through bonds issue

The board of directors of Social Islami Bank Ltd (SIBL) has decided to raise Tk 5.0 billion through issuance of mudaraba perpetual bonds, said an official disclosure on Sunday. The bank will issue the bond for raising fund as additional tier-1 (AT -1) capital to support the bank’s Basel III compliance in line with Bangladesh Bank guidelines on risk bases capital adequacy, said the disclosure. The bank’s share traded between Tk 12.10 and Tk 19.70 in the last one year. The bank’s consolidated earnings per share (EPS) stood at Tk 0.35 for July-September 2019 as against Tk 0.40 for July-September 2018. In nine months for January-September 2019, its consolidated EPS was Tk 0.74 as against Tk 0.78 for January-September 2018. The consolidated net operating cash flow per share (NOCFPS) was Tk 16.28 for January-September 2019 as against negative Tk 5.11 for January-September 2018. The bank’s consolidated net asset value (NAV) per share was Tk 18.41 as on September 30, 2019 and Tk 16.66 as on September 30, 2018. The sponsor-directors own 30.04 per cent stake in the bank, while institutional investors own 49.15 per cent, foreign 1.33 per cent, and the general public 19.48 per cent as on November 30, 2019.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/sibl-to-raise-tk-50b-through-bonds-issue-1577640903

Local and Global Stock Indices *

Index NameClose ValueValue ChangePercentage Change
DSEX4,433.94715↑15.10844↑0.34
DJIA28,645.26
↑ 23.87↑ 0.08%
FTSE1007,644.90↑ 12.66↑ 0.17%
Nikkei 22523,701.75↓135.97↓ 0.57%

World Commodities *

CommodityClose ValueValue ChangePercentage Change
Crude Oil (WTI)$ 61.78 ↑ 0.06↑ 0.10 %
Crude Oil (Brent)$ 68.36 ↑ 0.20↑ 0.29 %
Gold Spot$ 1,514.75↑ 4.19↑ 0.28 %

Major Currencies Exchange Rates Movement in Last Seven Days *

Exchange Rates
USD 1BDT 83.2791
GBP 1BDT 108.917
EUR 1BDT 93.0336
INR 1BDT 1.16412

*CURRENCIES AND COMMODITIES ARE TAKEN FROM BLOOMBERG.<