Opening a bank account now easier than ever
The central bank yesterday simplified the account opening form of banks as part of the government’s efforts to get people to come under the formal financial umbrella. Now, customers will have to fill only a two-page form instead of the previous six-page one to open an account, according to a Bangladesh Bank notice to lenders. People with a valid national identity card (NID) will not need any introducer to open an account. However, an introducer would be a must for those who do not have an NID. The banking regulator introduced a uniform account opening form for all banks in 2017. But this time it has revised the form to streamline the process. This will leave a positive impact on the banking sector as a whole as customers will now be able to easily fill up their account opening forms, said Md Arfan Ali, managing director of Bank Asia. As per the draft of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy, the government has taken a plan to ensure all matured people start using bank accounts within 2024. The latest initiative will help materialise the decision, he said. The BB simplified the Know Your Customer form a couple of weeks ago, which is another good step to bolster the financial inclusion agenda taken up by both the central bank and the government.
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/opening-bank-account-now-easier-ever-1872190
StanChart onto $75b project financing for SDGs
Standard Chartered yesterday committed project financing worth $75 billion by 2024 for Sustainable Development Goals. Of it, $40 billion will go towards infrastructure projects promoting sustainable development. The remaining is for merger and acquisition advisory and debt structuring services for renewables and clean tech projects such as those centring solar and wind. In a statement yesterday the bank also committed to “net zero” carbon emissions from its operations by 2030 by only sourcing energy from renewable sources and continuing to pursue energy efficiency measures. Over the past 18 months, we have made a series of commitments which are all geared towards supporting the Paris agreement on climate change and the transition to a cleaner, greener, fairer economy. The United Nations estimates that emerging markets face a $2.5 trillion annual investment gap in meeting the SDGs
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/stanchart-75b-project-financing-sdgs-1872178
Ctg region’s economic zones to get five jetties
Five jetties and necessary infrastructure will be set up in the economic zones in the country’s south-eastern part to ensure comfortable and safe movement of people as well as tourism and landing facilities. The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) will implement the project involving about Tk 1,923 crore in cooperation with the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza) between July 2020 and June 2023. The planned jetties will be built on Sandwip channel on the banks of the Naf river in Teknaf and in Maheshkhali island. The Mirsarai Economic Zone, which is located on the bank of Sandwip channel, will be the industrial hub where hundreds of thousands of workers will work, according to the Beza executive chairman. They will move between the zone and Sandwip island and adjacent areas. So, jetties will be required for their smooth movement. At Subrang-Jaliar Dwip in Teknaf and Sonadia island in Cox’s Bazar, eco-tourism parks are being set up with a view to attracting thousands of tourists every day in the future. Under the project, the BIWTA will dredge 3.67 lakh cubic metres of area for safe berthing of water vessels and acquire 25.86 lakh acres of land. It will construct 75,480 square feet in jetty space, 8,485 square metre in parking yard, 24,000 square metre access road, and 4,000 metre embankment to save river banks. The BIWTA will construct the 23,488 square metre port complex. The construction of several economic zones is going on in Mirsarai and Cox’s Bazar region.
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/ctg-regions-economic-zones-get-five-jetties-1872184
Stocks fall despite surge of GP price
Stocks slumped on Sunday despite Grameenphone (GP) added 48 points riding on the news to deposit Tk 10 billion to the telecom regulator. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), settled at 4,698, shedding 34.24 points or 0.72 per cent over the previous day. However, the GP added 48.71 points alone to the core index as its share jumped 8.12 per cent to close at Tk 319.60 on Sunday after the news that the company deposited Tk 10 billion to the telecom regulator. GP, the largest company by market-cap, saved the index from a big fall. The GP informed that they deposited Tk 10 billion on Sunday to BTRC, following the order of the Appellate Division. Two other indices also ended in the red. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, fell 1.04 points to close at 1,591 and the DSES (Shariah) index lost 3.81 points to settle at 1,085. Turnover, an important indicator of the market, stood at Tk 6.68 billion on the country’s premier bourse, falling further by 13 per cent over previous day’s mark of Tk 7.70 billion. Engineering sector witnessed the highest loss of 2.69 per cent, followed by power with 0.95 per cent, food 0.86 per cent, banking 0.76 per cent and pharma 0.41 per cent. Telecom sector posted the highest gain of 7.69 per cent riding on GP, followed by non-bank financial institutions with 0.08 per cent rise. Losers took a strong lead over the gainers as out of 356 issues traded, 263 closed lower, 70 ended higher and 23 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor. A total number of 158,563 trades were executed in the day’s trading session with trading volume of 207.02 million shares and mutual fund units. The market-cap of the DSE, however, rose to Tk 3,599 billion, from Tk 3,592 billion in the previous session.
Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/stocks-fall-despite-surge-of-gp-price-1582472857
Bashundhara Group launches its bitumen plant
Bashundhara Group, a leading business conglomerate in the country, launched Bangladesh’s first private sector bitumen plant at Pangaon in Keraniganj on Saturday. Built with state-of-the-art technology, Bashundhara Bitumen Plant will be able to produce 0.9 million tonnes of bitumen and asphalt annually by 2021. After meeting the country’s annual demand for 0.5 million tonnes, the plant will export the road construction material to other countries. Bituminous materials or asphalts are extensively used in road construction. Bangladesh is largely dependent on imported bitumen and its monthly demand is around 42,000 tonnes. The demand is growing at an average rate of 10-15 per cent annually. Addressing the event, Ahmed Akbar Sobhan said Bashundhara Group will soon create employment opportunities for 300,000 people in a new industrial unit. Mentioning that Bangladesh imports 90 per cent of its bitumen demand, Bashundhara Group has opened up a new opportunity to end dependency on bitumen import. Established in 1987, Bashundhara Group has become a large conglomerate directly employing a workforce not less than 50,000 and indirectly engaging the livelihoods of half a million people.
Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/bashundhara-group-launches-its-bitumen-plant-1582472002
Local and Global Stock Indices *
Index Name | Close Value | Value Change | Percentage Change |
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DSEX | 4,698.89 | ↓ 34.24 | ↓ 0.72 % |
DJIA | 28,992.41 | ↓ 227.57 | ↓0.78 % |
FTSE100 | 7,403.92 | ↓ 32.72 | ↓ 0.44 % |
Nikkei 225 | 23,386.74 | ↓ 92.41 | ↓ 0.39 % |
World Commodities *
Commodity | Close Value | Value Change | Percentage Change |
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Crude Oil (WTI) | $ 52.04 | ↓ 1.34 | ↓ 2.51 % |
Crude Oil (Brent) | $ 56.90 | ↓ 1.60 | ↓ 2.73 % |
Gold Spot | $ 1,660.83 | ↑ 17.42 | ↑ 1.06 % |
Major Currencies Exchange Rates Movement in Last Seven Days *
Exchange Rates |
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USD 1 | BDT 83.3155 |
GBP 1 | BDT 107.917 |
EUR 1 | BDT 90.3535 |
INR 1 | BDT 1.15702 |
*CURRENCIES AND COMMODITIES ARE TAKEN FROM BLOOMBERG.<