IFC agrees
to finance $1bn for power projects (Dhaka Tribune, October 24, 2013)
International Finance Corporation (IFC) has agreed to finance $1billion to foster regional power trade by setting up LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal and therefore improving the overall power transmission and generation capacity in Bangladesh. The Power Division and a delegation of IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, had a meeting on Wednesday, agreeing on financing the projects. Bangladesh is keen to import hydro electricity from its neighbours and has requested IFC to finance the trade project to boost regional cooperation.
New hotels to get duty benefit for importing equipment (The Daily Star, October 24, 2013)
The revenue authority is set to boost the local tourism industry by allowing the import of capital goods at concessional duties to encourage the establishment of luxury hotels. In the budget for fiscal 2013-14, the government slashed the duty on equipment for recreational sports like scuba diving, paragliding and kite surfing, in a bid to attract more investment in the growing sector. Duty cut is also applicable to swimming accessories, camping and hiking tents, mountain climbing materials, hot air balloons, surfing boats, water bikes, jet skis, house boats, bowling items and pool tables.
2000 entrepreneurs to be given preference in getting BSCIC's plots (The Financial Express, October 23, 2013) Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) has taken an initiative to create new entrepreneurs by assuring that these entrepreneurs will get preference in getting plots of land in the BSCIC Industrial Area. DCCI and Small & Cottage Industries Training Institute (SCITI) will jointly provide support services to the entrepreneurs in holding seminars, training, orientation sessions and R & D support. DCCI President Md Sabur Khan also informed that a separate printing industrial area is being established and a new Craft Policy will be framed soon.
New RMG wage to be announced on Oct 27 (The Financial Express, October 22, 2013)
A new wage structure for garment workers will be announced on October 27, as the wage board members failed to reach a consensus till date. As a result, the owners’ representative sought additional time to mull over the workers’ demands. Though the workers’ representative on the wage board did not want to extend the time, they went ahead with it after the owners assured of an offer of a better pay scale in the meeting on October 27. The labour and employment ministry formed the six-member wage board in June. Originally, the workers’ representative bargained for a minimum salary of Tk 8,114 per month, while the owners’ representative was willing to provide a 20 percent raise to Tk 3,600.
Bangladesh, ILO launch $24 mn factory safety campaign (Global Post, October 22, 2013)
Bangladesh and the International Labour Organization (ILO) will launch a $24 million safety campaign in the latest effort to improve the horrendous working conditions at the nation's clothing factories. Experts will conduct safety inspections at more than 1,000 factories as part of the multi-year campaign, after Rana Plaza collapsed in April that killed 1,132 people, highlighting inadequate safety standards in the industry. The campaign will target factories that operate as sub-contractors or produce garments for lesser-known Western retailers, and have not signed safety accords established since the disaster.
Political unrest to hurt economic outlook (The Daily Star, October 22, 2013)
The impending political instability before the next national election would take a heavy toll on the economy. Businesses and professionals are also increasingly becoming worried about the lack of progress on the political front regarding the national election. Analysts suspect that it would hurt the manufacturing and services sectors of the economy. Quoting the Global Integrity Report, Mustafizur Rahman, executive director of Centre for Policy Dialogue said $1.4 billion on average was moved out of the country every year for the past 10 years. Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank in its latest economic outlook has already forecasted that the growth of the country’s services sector and industrial sector will go down a few notches.
North American retailers unveil list of 620 factories (New Age, October 20, 2013)
The North American retailers’ alliance has published a list of more than 620 Bangladesh factories, mostly garment units, for inspection and remedial support for building and workers’ safety. The list contains names of garment, textile, footwear, ceramic, and packaging and printing units. The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety made the list public on Tuesday. Key data points include factory name and address, the number of storeys of each structure, whether a building includes multiple apparel factories and whether it houses other types of businesses, the number of workers per factory, among other things. After the Rana Plaza disaster, which killed 1,131 workers, European and North American retailers formed separate alliances for factory inspection in Bangladesh amid the global outcry over the safety standards of the garment units.
Bangladesh moves 10 steps up in hunger index (Dhaka Tribune, October 18, 2013)
Bangladesh moves 10 steps up in the Global Hunger Index this year to the 58th position from the 68th in 2012, though the country’s hunger condition still stays “serious”. The October 2013 Global Hunger Index (GHI) has been jointly organised by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe. GHI combines three indicators:
• Undernourishment
• Child underweight
• Child mortality — to count the scores, and rank countries on a 100-point scale in which zero is the best score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst.
International Finance Corporation (IFC) has agreed to finance $1billion to foster regional power trade by setting up LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal and therefore improving the overall power transmission and generation capacity in Bangladesh. The Power Division and a delegation of IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, had a meeting on Wednesday, agreeing on financing the projects. Bangladesh is keen to import hydro electricity from its neighbours and has requested IFC to finance the trade project to boost regional cooperation.
New hotels to get duty benefit for importing equipment (The Daily Star, October 24, 2013)
The revenue authority is set to boost the local tourism industry by allowing the import of capital goods at concessional duties to encourage the establishment of luxury hotels. In the budget for fiscal 2013-14, the government slashed the duty on equipment for recreational sports like scuba diving, paragliding and kite surfing, in a bid to attract more investment in the growing sector. Duty cut is also applicable to swimming accessories, camping and hiking tents, mountain climbing materials, hot air balloons, surfing boats, water bikes, jet skis, house boats, bowling items and pool tables.
2000 entrepreneurs to be given preference in getting BSCIC's plots (The Financial Express, October 23, 2013) Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) has taken an initiative to create new entrepreneurs by assuring that these entrepreneurs will get preference in getting plots of land in the BSCIC Industrial Area. DCCI and Small & Cottage Industries Training Institute (SCITI) will jointly provide support services to the entrepreneurs in holding seminars, training, orientation sessions and R & D support. DCCI President Md Sabur Khan also informed that a separate printing industrial area is being established and a new Craft Policy will be framed soon.
New RMG wage to be announced on Oct 27 (The Financial Express, October 22, 2013)
A new wage structure for garment workers will be announced on October 27, as the wage board members failed to reach a consensus till date. As a result, the owners’ representative sought additional time to mull over the workers’ demands. Though the workers’ representative on the wage board did not want to extend the time, they went ahead with it after the owners assured of an offer of a better pay scale in the meeting on October 27. The labour and employment ministry formed the six-member wage board in June. Originally, the workers’ representative bargained for a minimum salary of Tk 8,114 per month, while the owners’ representative was willing to provide a 20 percent raise to Tk 3,600.
Bangladesh, ILO launch $24 mn factory safety campaign (Global Post, October 22, 2013)
Bangladesh and the International Labour Organization (ILO) will launch a $24 million safety campaign in the latest effort to improve the horrendous working conditions at the nation's clothing factories. Experts will conduct safety inspections at more than 1,000 factories as part of the multi-year campaign, after Rana Plaza collapsed in April that killed 1,132 people, highlighting inadequate safety standards in the industry. The campaign will target factories that operate as sub-contractors or produce garments for lesser-known Western retailers, and have not signed safety accords established since the disaster.
Political unrest to hurt economic outlook (The Daily Star, October 22, 2013)
The impending political instability before the next national election would take a heavy toll on the economy. Businesses and professionals are also increasingly becoming worried about the lack of progress on the political front regarding the national election. Analysts suspect that it would hurt the manufacturing and services sectors of the economy. Quoting the Global Integrity Report, Mustafizur Rahman, executive director of Centre for Policy Dialogue said $1.4 billion on average was moved out of the country every year for the past 10 years. Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank in its latest economic outlook has already forecasted that the growth of the country’s services sector and industrial sector will go down a few notches.
North American retailers unveil list of 620 factories (New Age, October 20, 2013)
The North American retailers’ alliance has published a list of more than 620 Bangladesh factories, mostly garment units, for inspection and remedial support for building and workers’ safety. The list contains names of garment, textile, footwear, ceramic, and packaging and printing units. The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety made the list public on Tuesday. Key data points include factory name and address, the number of storeys of each structure, whether a building includes multiple apparel factories and whether it houses other types of businesses, the number of workers per factory, among other things. After the Rana Plaza disaster, which killed 1,131 workers, European and North American retailers formed separate alliances for factory inspection in Bangladesh amid the global outcry over the safety standards of the garment units.
Bangladesh moves 10 steps up in hunger index (Dhaka Tribune, October 18, 2013)
Bangladesh moves 10 steps up in the Global Hunger Index this year to the 58th position from the 68th in 2012, though the country’s hunger condition still stays “serious”. The October 2013 Global Hunger Index (GHI) has been jointly organised by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe. GHI combines three indicators:
• Undernourishment
• Child underweight
• Child mortality — to count the scores, and rank countries on a 100-point scale in which zero is the best score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst.
No comments:
Post a Comment