Bangladesh market eyes Tk25bn 3G
handset sales a year (Dhaka Tribune, September 5, 2013)
With Bangladesh at the threshold of the third generation mobile broadband era, the market is predicted to consume at least 250,000 3G-enabled mobile phones every month. According to the analysts, given Bangladesh market’s growth rate of 10% per month, the country will become a market for at least 3 million phones. The average price of those would be around Tk 8,000 each. Besides, the market for 3G-enable tablets will expand with the launch of 3G service, the analysts predicted.
Rights activists demand law to control formalin use (The New Age, September 5, 2013)
Leading rights activists such as the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Bangladesh Environmental and Lawyers Association (BELA) and Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB) demanded severe punishment for the importer, seller and producer of formalin through Formalin Control Act by the next session of parliament. Formalin, a chemical solution is mainly used to preserve leather, animal specimens and tissue samples. The FBCCI is currently leading a campaign against the use of the chemical in edible items, to protect public health from fatal diseases like cancer.
Bangladesh 110th-most competitive country (Dhaka Tribune, September 4, 2013)
Bangladesh has been ranked 110th in the Global Competitiveness Index 2013-14 in a list of 148 countries worldwide. The index, prepared by a Switzerland-based organization World Economic Forum, saw Bangladesh slide three places since the 2012-13 ranking. India slipped one place to be ranked 60th this year and Pakistan dropped nine places to 133.
NBR shelves duty benefits for vehicle importers (The Daily Star, September 4, 2013)
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has decided against providing duty benefits to 30 reconditioned car importers, which would have helped them receive around 4,000 imported vehicles stuck at the ports for years. The importers had demanded a 45 percent depreciation rate which the government made effective from this fiscal year. However, as the ministry was informed that some importers had picked around 136,000 vehicles over the past three years by paying duty based on the 35 percent depreciation benefits, the government backed out fearing that those importers might seek refund which would amount upto Tk 1,650 crore, if the duty privilege was given.
Bangladesh tea prices dip for 4th week on poor demand (Reuters, September 3, 2013)
Tea prices in Bangladesh face losses for the fourth week due to lack of demand from local buyers. According to the National Brokers Limited, the average price fell almost 12 percent to 192.46 taka ($2.8) this week from the previous auction when tea prices dropped 7.6 percent. Around 2 million kg of tea was offered at Bangladesh's auction centre in Chittagong, with 25 percent remaining unsold, compared with around 1.93 million kg offered and 19 percent unsold at the previous one. The south Asian country produces around 60 million kg of tea a year against a demand of 56 million kg.
Jute takes a hit from Middle-East crisis, rupee slide (The Daily Star, September 2, 2013)
Nearly half a dozen jute mills suspended production as export demand plummeted following the depreciation of the Indian rupee and a crisis across the Middle East. According to industry insiders, more mills may have to slash production to survive. “We had to shelve production in the backdrop of deepening crises in Libya, Egypt and Syria, which led the prices to drop substantially over the past one year,” said managing director of Fatima-Alyaf Tala-e Jute Industries Ltd. The company had to pull back 11 containers of shipment from Syria following advice from buyers. Meanwhile, exports to India, another major market, has dropped significantly on the face of the falling value of rupee against the dollar.
Biman’s remarkable recovery (The Daily Star, September 2, 2013)
Biman Bangladesh Airlines has claimed to have cut its loss by around $50 million (around Tk 387 crore) in the 2012-13 fiscal year. According to the airline’s Managing Director Kevin Steele, the losses have come down to around $25 million [around Tk 193 crore].” He hoped that in the current fiscal year Biman would be able to bring its losses down to around Tk 77 crore and go into profit in the following year. Biman had lost around $75 million (around Tk 606 crore) in FY11-12 and has been in the reds since FY08-09.
Grabbing ‘legalised’ (The Daily Star, September 1, 2013)
The government’s attempts to rescue rivers are not quite working out as around 2,500 acres of foreshores and existing waterways in four rivers in greater Dhaka has been “given to land owners”. Legally no one can “own” foreshores and no authority can lease out such land either. Foreshore is the land lying between low water mark of dry season and high water mark of monsoon during normal tide and is vital for the navigability and port activities of the river. The Shitalakkhya river alone has lost 1,860 acres of land including 595 acres of foreshores due to faulty demarcation, according to official estimate of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA).
Software export crosses $100m (The Daily Star, September 1, 2013)
Bangladesh has exported software worth $100.63 million in the 2012-13 financial year up by 43.53 percent from the previous year’s $70.81 million, which is a milestone achievement for the country’s ICT sector. AKM Fahim Mashroor, president of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), said that if the current export flow continues, software export will cross $1 billion by 2021.
Yunus leads global effort for garment labour wages (The Daily Star, September 1, 2013)
Prof Muhammad Yunus has proposed an international minimum wage for garment workers to be worked out for each country separately, as part of a global effort to solve labour issues in all garment producing nations. The wage, he said, should be accepted as a compliance issue. International buyers will accept it as part of production cost and make sure price negotiation should not impact on this wage in any country, Yunus said. The Nobel laureate placed the proposal at a conference at the Humboldt-Viadrina School of Governance in Berlin to address the issues raised in Bangladesh after the Rana Plaza tragedy.
Defence purchase govt’s priority (The Daily Star, August 31, 2013)
The government has procured military hardware worth Tk 15,104 crore. Procurement of another Tk 10,000 crore military hardware and technology is in the pipeline under two deals — one signed with Russia in January and the other with Belarus last month. According to sources in the army, those already procured include radars, tanks, various types of aircraft, helicopters, missiles, frigates, survey ships and self-propelled guns. In addition, two maritime helicopters and five MK-2 missiles, two German maritime aircraft and three ships made by the UK were added to the navy force.
Wal-Mart to Lend $50 Million to Improve Bangladesh Safety (Bloomberg, August 30, 2013)
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has announced that it would provide up to $50 million loan to Bangladeshi factory owners, who would be joining global retailers in the drive for improving safety standards in the country's disaster-prone garment industry. The group has said that it will set safety standards by October and refuse to buy from factories deemed unsafe. Global retailers in Europe and North America, including the United States, have taken separate initiatives to improve workplace safety of Bangladeshi RMG units, following the Rana Plaza collapse that killed 1,129 workers and maimed many in April.
With Bangladesh at the threshold of the third generation mobile broadband era, the market is predicted to consume at least 250,000 3G-enabled mobile phones every month. According to the analysts, given Bangladesh market’s growth rate of 10% per month, the country will become a market for at least 3 million phones. The average price of those would be around Tk 8,000 each. Besides, the market for 3G-enable tablets will expand with the launch of 3G service, the analysts predicted.
Rights activists demand law to control formalin use (The New Age, September 5, 2013)
Leading rights activists such as the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Bangladesh Environmental and Lawyers Association (BELA) and Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB) demanded severe punishment for the importer, seller and producer of formalin through Formalin Control Act by the next session of parliament. Formalin, a chemical solution is mainly used to preserve leather, animal specimens and tissue samples. The FBCCI is currently leading a campaign against the use of the chemical in edible items, to protect public health from fatal diseases like cancer.
Bangladesh 110th-most competitive country (Dhaka Tribune, September 4, 2013)
Bangladesh has been ranked 110th in the Global Competitiveness Index 2013-14 in a list of 148 countries worldwide. The index, prepared by a Switzerland-based organization World Economic Forum, saw Bangladesh slide three places since the 2012-13 ranking. India slipped one place to be ranked 60th this year and Pakistan dropped nine places to 133.
NBR shelves duty benefits for vehicle importers (The Daily Star, September 4, 2013)
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has decided against providing duty benefits to 30 reconditioned car importers, which would have helped them receive around 4,000 imported vehicles stuck at the ports for years. The importers had demanded a 45 percent depreciation rate which the government made effective from this fiscal year. However, as the ministry was informed that some importers had picked around 136,000 vehicles over the past three years by paying duty based on the 35 percent depreciation benefits, the government backed out fearing that those importers might seek refund which would amount upto Tk 1,650 crore, if the duty privilege was given.
Bangladesh tea prices dip for 4th week on poor demand (Reuters, September 3, 2013)
Tea prices in Bangladesh face losses for the fourth week due to lack of demand from local buyers. According to the National Brokers Limited, the average price fell almost 12 percent to 192.46 taka ($2.8) this week from the previous auction when tea prices dropped 7.6 percent. Around 2 million kg of tea was offered at Bangladesh's auction centre in Chittagong, with 25 percent remaining unsold, compared with around 1.93 million kg offered and 19 percent unsold at the previous one. The south Asian country produces around 60 million kg of tea a year against a demand of 56 million kg.
Jute takes a hit from Middle-East crisis, rupee slide (The Daily Star, September 2, 2013)
Nearly half a dozen jute mills suspended production as export demand plummeted following the depreciation of the Indian rupee and a crisis across the Middle East. According to industry insiders, more mills may have to slash production to survive. “We had to shelve production in the backdrop of deepening crises in Libya, Egypt and Syria, which led the prices to drop substantially over the past one year,” said managing director of Fatima-Alyaf Tala-e Jute Industries Ltd. The company had to pull back 11 containers of shipment from Syria following advice from buyers. Meanwhile, exports to India, another major market, has dropped significantly on the face of the falling value of rupee against the dollar.
Biman’s remarkable recovery (The Daily Star, September 2, 2013)
Biman Bangladesh Airlines has claimed to have cut its loss by around $50 million (around Tk 387 crore) in the 2012-13 fiscal year. According to the airline’s Managing Director Kevin Steele, the losses have come down to around $25 million [around Tk 193 crore].” He hoped that in the current fiscal year Biman would be able to bring its losses down to around Tk 77 crore and go into profit in the following year. Biman had lost around $75 million (around Tk 606 crore) in FY11-12 and has been in the reds since FY08-09.
Grabbing ‘legalised’ (The Daily Star, September 1, 2013)
The government’s attempts to rescue rivers are not quite working out as around 2,500 acres of foreshores and existing waterways in four rivers in greater Dhaka has been “given to land owners”. Legally no one can “own” foreshores and no authority can lease out such land either. Foreshore is the land lying between low water mark of dry season and high water mark of monsoon during normal tide and is vital for the navigability and port activities of the river. The Shitalakkhya river alone has lost 1,860 acres of land including 595 acres of foreshores due to faulty demarcation, according to official estimate of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA).
Software export crosses $100m (The Daily Star, September 1, 2013)
Bangladesh has exported software worth $100.63 million in the 2012-13 financial year up by 43.53 percent from the previous year’s $70.81 million, which is a milestone achievement for the country’s ICT sector. AKM Fahim Mashroor, president of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), said that if the current export flow continues, software export will cross $1 billion by 2021.
Yunus leads global effort for garment labour wages (The Daily Star, September 1, 2013)
Prof Muhammad Yunus has proposed an international minimum wage for garment workers to be worked out for each country separately, as part of a global effort to solve labour issues in all garment producing nations. The wage, he said, should be accepted as a compliance issue. International buyers will accept it as part of production cost and make sure price negotiation should not impact on this wage in any country, Yunus said. The Nobel laureate placed the proposal at a conference at the Humboldt-Viadrina School of Governance in Berlin to address the issues raised in Bangladesh after the Rana Plaza tragedy.
Defence purchase govt’s priority (The Daily Star, August 31, 2013)
The government has procured military hardware worth Tk 15,104 crore. Procurement of another Tk 10,000 crore military hardware and technology is in the pipeline under two deals — one signed with Russia in January and the other with Belarus last month. According to sources in the army, those already procured include radars, tanks, various types of aircraft, helicopters, missiles, frigates, survey ships and self-propelled guns. In addition, two maritime helicopters and five MK-2 missiles, two German maritime aircraft and three ships made by the UK were added to the navy force.
Wal-Mart to Lend $50 Million to Improve Bangladesh Safety (Bloomberg, August 30, 2013)
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has announced that it would provide up to $50 million loan to Bangladeshi factory owners, who would be joining global retailers in the drive for improving safety standards in the country's disaster-prone garment industry. The group has said that it will set safety standards by October and refuse to buy from factories deemed unsafe. Global retailers in Europe and North America, including the United States, have taken separate initiatives to improve workplace safety of Bangladeshi RMG units, following the Rana Plaza collapse that killed 1,129 workers and maimed many in April.
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