Government earnings from DSE soar 174.0% in Q1

The government revenue earnings from the Dhaka bourse marked a 174.0% rise in first quarter (Q1) for July-September period of the current fiscal year compared to the same quarter a year ago as trading volume was on the rise. Market insiders said the government earnings from the premier bourse jumped as trading volume increased substantially in the first three months of the FY 2017-18, which helped higher tax collection, as earnings is related to trading volume. The government bagged revenue worth about BDT 831.0 million in July-September period of FY 2017-18, which was only BDT 303.0 million in the same quarter a year ago, according to statistics from the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE). Of the total earnings in July-September period of FY 2017-18, BDT 604.0 million came from the TREC holders’ commission, popularly known as brokerage commission while BDT 227.0 million came from the share sales by sponsor-directors and placement holders, the DSE data shows. The month-on-month the government earnings from DSE also rose nearly 14.0% in September as total revenue collection stood at BDT 308 million in September which was BDT 271.0 million in August 2017, the DSE data shows.

Source:
http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/govt-earnings-from-dse-soar-174-per-cent-in-q1-1507475979
http://www.newagebd.net/article/25731/tax-collection-from-dse-rises-for-3rd-month

BB fines seven errant banks

The central bank fined seven commercial banks for their recent share-market activities by violating the legal sanction, officials said.
“We’ve imposed the fines with substantial amount of money on the banks for violating the rules of the existing Banking Companies Act and the central bank’s instructions on share-market investment,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE Sunday. He wouldn’t name the names of the errant banks and the amount of money which will be deducted from their accounts as penalty. Sources, however, said the central bank has already informed the banks concerned about the punitive action. One bank or two had exceeded their share-market-exposure limits on consolidated basis, they said, adding that the rest of the banks had provided fake information on their investment in stocks to the BB on weekly and monthly basis. Besides, the banks invested their funds further in the share market while having total investments above the prescribed limits, they added.

Source:
http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/first-page/bb-fines-seven-errant-banks-1507484464
http://www.thedailystar.net/business/seven-banks-fined-flouting-stockmarket-rules-1473529

A serial defaulter in BB

Provash Chandra Mallick, a general manger of the central bank, has defaulted on loans from 11 banks in a stunning case of misuse of position of power over a three-year period. He took out loans amounting to Tk 82.43 lakh from 15 banks, Tk 53.39 lakh of which has already become classified, according to central bank data. Not only that, he borrowed money, amounting to about Tk 1 crore, from several of his colleagues on an informal arrangement and never paid them back, said a BB official who preferred to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the matter in hand. The incident has tarnished the image of many central bank officials who work with integrity to regulate the banking sector such that depositors’ interests are safeguarded.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/serial-defaulter-bb-1473544

Bangladesh counts $1.81b trade gap in two months

Bangladesh counted a US$1.81 billion worth of merchandise trade gap with the rest of the world in the very first two months of this fiscal, for hugely higher import payments than export earnings. Statistics released by the central bank Sunday also showed that trade gap widened almost threefold and a half from the same period of the past fiscal year when it had amounted to $525 million. Huge jump in import payments against modest export earnings led to the ballooning of the volume of trade deficit. Import, in free-on-board (FoB) terms, registered almost 34 per cent growth while the export (in FoB value) posted 14.57 per cent growth in the July-August period of the current fiscal year (FY) 2017-18. Trade gap in services also widened to $778 million during the period as against $551 million.

Source:
http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/last-page/bangladesh-counts-181b-trade-gap-in-two-months-1507485199
http://www.newagebd.net/article/25728/trade-deficit-soars-by-245pc-in-july-aug

No board meeting at Grameen Bank in two and a half years

Nobel Prize-winning microcredit lender Grameen Bank has been operating without holding any board meetings for past 30 months. Several bank officials have confirmed that the board of directors has not officially convened since mid-2014. The Grameen Bank board of directors is a 12-member body with three government-appointed directors and nine borrower-directors, who are selected from the bank’s shareholders and borrowers. When the government took over the bank by implementing the Grameen Bank Act 2013, the nine borrowers were removed from their positions, which remain vacant to this day. However, the borrowers now demand to be reinstated since the bank did not announce the election schedule after amending the bank’s regulatory rules.

Source: http://www.dhakatribune.com/business/banks/2017/10/08/board-meeting-grameen-bank-years/