BD may become 26th biggest economy in 2030 : HSBC
Bangladesh, which currently occupies the 42nd position among global economies, in terms of size, is likely to improve its ranking, becoming the 26th largest in 2030. A long-term projection of the HSBC Global Research, unveiled recently, showed the possible economic development of the country. Bangladesh is set to replace Austria in 2030. According to HSBC projection, Bangladesh will outshine the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Pakistan, Austria, Nigeria, Ireland, Israel, Colombia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Africa, Denmark, Singapore and Finland. Titled ‘The World in 2030,’ the bank’s research report contains long-term projection for the current 75 top economies of the world. Bangladesh is the only country to maintain 7.0-plus growth rate annually up to 2030 and even beyond. India is projected to maintain 6.0-plus growth rate but not 7.0 during the period under review. It is notable, if not surprising — that four of our top six countries for projected growth- India, Pakistan, the Philippines and Bangladesh, top a list of 67 countries that our ESG analysts have estimated to be the most vulnerable to climate change.
Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/last-page/bd-may-become-26th-biggest-economy-in-2030-hsbc-1538588838
Saudi co to set up oil refinery plant in Ctg with $6.0b investment
Hi-Tech International Group (HTIG) of Saudi Arabia plans to set up an oil refinery plant in Chittagong with an investment worth $6.0 billion very soon. The project has already obtained green signal from the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA). According to the proposal approved by BIDA, the refinery will produce 2632500 MT of Octane, 661500MT of LPG, 5413000 MT of HSD, 17555000 MT of Bitumin and 62160000 MT of Kerosene annually. The project will be co-financed by UAE-based Rashid Al Hadi Trading company. The Refinery will be set up at Khankhanbad area under Bashkhali upazila in Chittagong which will create employment opportunity for 3050 people. The plant will be set up with 100 per cent foreign direct investment and it will import crude oil from Saudi Arabia. The entire final product will be exported to neighbouring counties, they added. According to the proposal, the production capacity of the proposed refinery will be more than three times of the state-run Bangladesh Eastern Refinery Limited (BERL), the lone refinery plant in the country. BERL, located at the port city of Chittagong with 1.5 million tonnes of refinery capacity of crude oil, supplies refined oil to three state-owned oil firms for distribution across the country.
Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/saudi-co-to-set-up-oil-refinery-plant-in-ctg-with-60b-investment-1538585165
Stocks gain for 4th day on energy, financial scrips
Dhaka stocks advanced on Wednesday, extending the gaining streak to four consecutive sessions, as investors increased their stakes in energy and financial scrips. Market operators said investors were buying shares as the prices of many scrips came down to more than a-year lows with the Dhaka Stock Exchange’s key index, DSEX, losing more than 4 per cent or 231 points in the month of September amid political worries ahead of the national election. On Wednesday, DSEX added 0.77 per cent, or 41.72 points, to close at 5,422.65 points. The key index gained 80 points in last four sessions. The average share prices of energy, bank and non-bank financial institution sectors advanced by 2.0 per cent, 1.91 and 1.9 per cent respectively on Wednesday. Out of the 30 traded bank scrips, 26 advanced, just one declined and three remained unchanged while out of the 23 traded NBFIs, 19 advanced, just two declined and two remained unchanged on the day. The turnover on DSE advanced to Tk 563.67 crore on Wednesday compared with that of Tk 488.40 crore in the previous trading session. Of the 336 companies and mutual funds traded on Wednesday, 170 advanced, 112 declined, and 56 remained unchanged. DS30, the blue-chip index of DSE, also added 0.35 per cent, or 6.79 points, to close at 1,899.46 points. BD Finance gained the most on the day with a 10-per cent increase in its share prices, while Western Marine Shipyard was the worst loser, shedding 16.53 per cent.
Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/52239/stocks-gain-for-4th-day-on-energy-financial-scrips
BPC to propose oil price hike
The Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) is set to send a proposal to power, energy and mineral resources ministry for a substantial hike in the prices of petroleum products. It aims to avoid losses in oil trading due to the sky-rocketing oil prices in the international market. In February 2018, the BPC sought a 31 per cent rise in the price of per-litre furnace oil to Tk 55. It also sought an 11 per cent rise in diesel and kerosene prices to Tk 72 per litre. The state-run BPC is currently incurring a loss of around Tk 270 million daily, according to the official. The loss is nearly Tk 17 per litre for trading in diesel and Tk 15 for furnace oil, considering the global oil prices on October 02. Officials said the BPC’s annual loss in oil trade would be roughly Tk 97 billion if the current oil prices in the international market remain unchanged. The price of brent crude — the benchmark in international oil price — climbed to $84.88 per barrel on October 02 from $71 in January 2018. It was $47 in June 2017 and below $30 in early 2016, according to official sources. In February, the BPC was incurring a loss of around Tk 100 million daily and brent crude price in the global market was hovering around $70 per barrel. The loss was Tk 9.80 per-litre furnace oil, Tk 5.24 for diesel and Tk 4.74 for kerosene, considering the January 2018 oil prices globally.
Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/first-page/bpc-to-propose-oil-price-hike-1538588511
Achieving agricultural sustainability
Food production in Bangladesh marked a consistent rise over the last few decades, riding on which the country is marching on its way to achieve agricultural sustainability. This result also involves significant development in every other sector of the economy. It is also maintained that the growth in rice production will continue to increase following various pragmatic steps of the government to further enhance its output by almost 1.5 times by 2050 to feed an estimated population size of 220 million by then. The farmers have started using developed and eco-friendly agricultural technologies and practices almost having no adverse effects on the environment. About 90 per cent of the total 745,000 hectares of cultivable lands have been brought under irrigation facilities using 252,000 irrigation machineries now as the irrigated land area was 65 per cent a decade ago in the Rangpur region. Though food production across the country shows a considerable rise, but still the country has to import every year a significant quantity of food from abroad. Even this year, about 4.5 million tonnes of food items had to be imported. A sustainable agriculture will mean doing away with such big quantity of food import.
Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/views-reviews/achieving-agricultural-sustainability-1538582115
Acme Lab recommends 35pc cash dividend
The board of directors of Acme Laboratories Ltd has recommended 35 per cent cash dividend for the year ended on June 30, 2018. The company has also reported earnings per share (EPS) of Tk 6.74, net asset value (NAV) per share of Tk 83.39 and net operating cash flow per share (NOCFPS) of Tk 7.46 for the year ended on June 30, 2018 as against Tk 6.61, Tk 80.13 and Tk 6.70 respectively for the same period of the previous year. Each share of the company, which was listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) in 2016 under the book building method, closed at Tk 89.70 on Wednesday, gaining 0.56 per cent over the previous day. The company’s paid-up capital is Tk 2.11 billion and authorised capital is Tk 5.0 billion, while the total number of securities is 211.60 million. The sponsor-directors own 40.12 per cent stake in the company, institutional investors 29.31 per cent, foreign 1.37 per cent and the general public 29.20 per cent as on August 31, 2018, the DSE data shows.
Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/acme-lab-recommends-35pc-cash-dividend-1538580236
Faridpur farmers make good profit by growing spinach in summer
A resident of Bilmamudpur village under Aliabad union, Bachchu Mollah, in his mid-30s, is now the hero in his neigbourhood. Spinach, a leafy green vegetable, is usually grown in winter, but Mollah did it in a different manner in summer and thus changed his life by making a good profit. It only takes only 20-25 days to go for harvest after sowing the seeds in the shadowed land. spinach is sold at Tk 10 to Tk 15 per kg, but in the off season, I sell spinach at Tk 100 to Tk 120 per kg, a very encouraging price. By investing some Tk 20,000 in his summer spinach venture he earned around Tk 80,000 to Tk 90,000. I’ve also started farming gourd and summer tomato this year.
Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/country/faridpur-farmers-make-good-profit-by-growing-spinach-in-summer-1538578869
India’s gold imports to jump as investors seek safer bets
India’s gold imports may rise in the fourth quarter as investors seek alternatives to faltering equity markets and a plunging rupee at the same time traditional buying will rise during the festival season, said multiple sources involved in the market. Increased buying by the world’s second-biggest gold consumer would support global prices that have traded roughly near $1,200 an ounce since late August, but also widen India’s trade deficit and add to pressure on the Indian rupee. The rupee has fallen 13 percent in 2018, increasing the price for dollar-denominated bullion in rupee terms even as gold has dropped 7.6 percent this year. Stocks have doubled in four years, but now investors think there is limited room for upside. So they are moving back to gold. If the government raises import tax by 3 percent as speculated, returns will go up by 3 percent. Gold becomes more attractive for investors.
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/global-business/news/indias-gold-imports-jump-investors-seek-safer-bets-1642255
Local and Global Stock Indices *
Index Name | Close Value | Value Change | Percentage Change |
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DSEX | 5,422.65948 | ↑52.75 | ↑0.98% |
DJIA | 26,828.39 | ↑54.45 | ↑0.20% |
FTSE100 | 7,510.28 | ↑35.73 | ↑0.48% |
Nikkei 225 | 23,939.34 | ↓171.62 | ↓0.71% |
World Commodities *
Commodity | Close Value | Value Change | Percentage Change |
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Crude Oil (WTI) | $ 76.30 | ↓0.11 | ↓0.14% |
Crude Oil (Brent) | $ 86.20 | ↓0.09 | ↓0.10% |
Gold Spot | $ 1,196.60 | ↓0.75 | ↓0.06% |
Major Currencies Exchange Rates Movement in Last Seven Days *
Exchange Rates |
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USD 1 | BDT 84.2750 |
GBP 1 | BDT 108.9760 |
EUR 1 | BDT 96.6634 |
INR 1 | BDT 1.1439 |
*CURRENCIES AND COMMODITIES ARE TAKEN FROM BLOOMBERG.