Poverty rate declines 8.3% in six years

Bangladesh’s national poverty declined to 23.2% in 2016 from 31.5% in 2010, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) in its latest survey said. The national statistical body in its quarterly estimates (April-June) from the ongoing Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) showed that the rate of poverty reduced by 8.3% over a period of last six years. The HIES also revealed that the country’s extreme poverty has fallen to 12.9% in 2016 from 17.6% in 2010. The BBS said the trend shows that Bangladesh is apparently continuing its impressive progress in poverty reduction. The government said the country was very much on track to reduce the poverty into “zero trajectory” by 2030 as targeted in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). Member of General Economics Division (GED) Prof Shamsul Alam told the FE that the poverty eradication trend in Bangladesh is impressive as it is on track to achieve SDG target of “zero poverty” by 2030. According to the HIES data, Bangladesh’s poverty has reduced at a fast rate during the period between 2000 and 2005 as the country cut hunger by 8.9% points.

Source: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/10/29/155319

Gas supply to Gazipur factories to resume soon

The gas crisis in the Konabari-Gazipur industrial belt will come to an end within a week as a local company is repairing the ruptured gas pipeline at Elenga point in Tangail. “The supply of gas through the repaired gas pipeline will resume within one week. The local company has almost completed its work,” said Mir Moshiur Rahman, acting managing director of state-owned Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company. Risal Mahmud, managing director of Pipeline Engineering and Associates Ltd (PEAL), which was assigned the repair work, said the gas pipeline will be ready for supplying gas by today. The pipeline leakage has severely affected gas supply to the industrial area, which is dominated by large export oriented factories, he said. Titas Gas stopped the gas supply from the ruptured pipeline on October 3 and supplied gas via an existing abandoned 12-inch pipeline. However, the gas pressure was insufficient and hampered production at these factories, Mahmud added. Titas appointed PEAL to repair the pipeline within 20 days, he said. PEAL began work on October 19.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/gas-supply-gazipur-factories-resume-soon-1305541

BIDA reviewing all FDI laws to increase competitiveness

The newly formed Bangladesh Investment Development Authority is reviewing the rules and regulations related to foreign direct investment in a bid to make FDI regulations more competitive, its executive chairman Kazi M Aminul Islam said on Thursday. ‘We are revisiting anything and everything related to FDI… we will make FDI regulations most competitive in the world,’ he said at the monthly luncheon of American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Bangladesh at a city hotel. Mentioning Bangladesh’s advancement of two steps into 176th position in the ease of doing-business environment, which was published by World Bank on Wednesday, he said BIDA’s goal is to bring Bangladesh’s position below 100. Aminul urged credible companies with good track records to come in the capital market to ensure discipline in corporate sector.

Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/1608/bida-reviewing-all-fdi-laws-to-increase-competitiveness

Government starts works to select design for new oil refinery

The government has finally started works to select a suitable design for construction of the proposed 3.0-million tonnes per year-capacity crude oil refinery at a cost of around BDT 89.5 billion (USD 1.2 billion), officials said. State-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has drafted a front-end engineering design (FEED) for the new refinery with help from Indian firm Engineers India Limited (EIL), a senior BPC official told the FE. The EIL has been acting as a project management consultant (PMC), as appointed by the BPC, to install the second unit of BPC’s wholly-owned subsidiary Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL). The contract value with the Indian firm is worth BDT 1.1 billion. Once the design is approved, the BPC would ink an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with the French firm for construction of the refinery in port city Chittagong, he said.

Source: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/10/28/155236

BTRC to review 2G guidelines to allow tech neutrality

The telecom regulator has initiated a move to review the 2G service guidelines in a bid to allow technology neutrality for 900MHz and 1800MHz band of spectrum. The decision was taken last week at a regular meeting of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, which was presided over by BTRC chairman Shahjahan Mahmood. Technology neutrality, long demanded by the mobile phone companies, is a permission to use any band of spectrum for any type of telecom services, both voice and data. The spectrum allocation in the country is service specific as 900MHz and 1800MHz band are assigned only for 2G services and 2100MHz band for 3G services. The 2100 MHz, however, is also allowed for 4G services but it [the services] will require separate guidelines which are yet to be formulated. BTRC officials said if technology neutrality is allowed, the country’s mobile operators can start 4G services with 1800MHz and that will be cost effective for the operators. They said mobile phone companies like Grameenphone and Robi are already sending to the commission queries about the 4G service guidelines. Allowing technology neutrality, however, can affect the prospect of 700MHz band, currently specified for 4G services, in the short run as the operators might not be willing to buy that spectrum, they said.

Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/1731/btrc-to-review-2g-guidelines-to-allow-tech-neutrality

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