Tanners to get Tk6bn funding this year (Dhaka Tribune, October 3, 2013)
The state-owned commercial banks will provide Tk 6 billion in loans to the tannery owners to purchase raw hides during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha, said official sources. Of the amount, Sonali Bank will disburse Tk910 million, Janata Bank Tk3.44 billion, Rupali Bank Tk500 million and Agrani Bank Tk1 billion. Last year, the figure was Tk3.65 billion. The tanners wanted more supply of loans this year as the prices of hide have increased.
Bad news for RMG makers (The Daily Star, October 02, 2013)
The indefinite shutdown of government services in the US, the country’s largest export destination for garment products, is not good news for Bangladesh RMG industry, said Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of Policy Research Institute (PRI). The Obama administration has decided to shut its non-essential services as the Congress was unable to agree on a budget size for fiscal 2013-14. This means that up to 1 million federal employees face unpaid leave with guarantee of back pay once the deadlock is over. The last time the politicians on Capitol Hill ran into a stalemate over the budget was back in 1995, during Bill Clinton’s first term, which ran on for a record 21 days. Bangladesh exports more than $5 billion worth of goods to the US market annually, of which 95 percent include apparel items.
IndustriAll demands $71m for Rana Plaza victims (The Daily Star, October 02, 2013)
The IndustriAll Global Union has demanded a compensation of Tk 28.32 lakh for each of the apparel workers who died or went missing in the Rana Plaza collapse on April 24. “Many victims are yet to be compensated,” said Roy Ramesh Chandra, general secretary of IndustriAll Bangladesh Council. IndustriAll estimated that $71 million (Tk 547 crore) would be needed to compensate and rehabilitate all the victims. The collapse of the building which housed five garment factories has led to 1,135 deaths, according to IndustriAll. Another 318 went missing and 1,723 were injured. Of the amount, 45 percent will have to be paid by retailers, 28 percent by owners, 18 percent by BGMEA and the remainder by the government.
Private jute mills beset by fund crunch as they don't get loans at low rate (The Financial Express, October 2, 2013) Private jute mill owners face fund constraints due to the unavailability of bank loans with low interest rate. The millers urged the government to provide facilities like pre-payment of loans with the interest rate at 8 per cent and grants to purchase machinery from abroad. The Indian government, too, offers such facilities to the jute industry in the private sector, they added.
Biman Bangladesh planning to operate to several Indian cities (Business Standard, October 2, 2013)
Biman aims to operate in several Indian cities and add flights to Kolkata in a few months, in an attempt to double its fleet and expand its network. According to its MD and CEO Kevin John Steele, Biman, which has eight aircrafts in its fleet, would have 12 planes by March next year. It will also retire four old aircrafts (DC 10), one of which land in a US aviation museum. Biman was also considering flying to markets like Iraq and Afghanistan, which are not frequented by most airlines. Bangladesh government has agreed to allow Biman to go public after attaining profitability.
Complainant to get 25pc of fine (The Daily Star, October 01, 2013)
Twenty-five percent of the amount fined against food adulterators will go to the plaintiffs if a new food safety bill is passed by parliament. According to the Safe Food Act, 2013 complainants against food adulteration will be rewarded with one-fourth the amount of fine to be imposed on perpetrators. However, officials related to food law enforcement will not get any share of the reward. Earlier on September 9, the cabinet had approved the proposed food law with a provision of a maximum of five years’ imprisonment or a fine of Tk 10 lakh or both for persons guilty of food adulteration.
Shutdown to cost US economy $300m a day (Bloomberg, October 1, 2013)
The US government began a partial shutdown on September 30 for the first time in 17 years, potentially putting up to 1 million workers on unpaid leave, closing national parks and stalling medical research projects. Federal agencies were directed to cut back services after lawmakers could not break a political stalemate that sparked new questions about the ability of a deeply divided Congress to perform its most basic functions. Federal agencies were directed to cut back services after lawmakers could not break a political stalemate that sparked new questions about the ability of a deeply divided Congress to perform its most basic functions. The US dollar slipped 0.2 percent against a basket of widely traded currencies.
Rajuk to cancel deals with firms building Uttara flats (The Financial Express, September 30, 2013)
Rajuk is likely to cancel the contracts for construction works of its Uttara apartment project as the work is progressing at a painstakingly slow pace. According to Rajuk officials, only 5% of the work has been done so far over the last 15 months. The contracts were given to two firms owned by ruling party lawmakers. The Rajuk-funded Tk 90 billion Uttara apartment project was initiated to help address the acute housing problem in the capital, by providing apartments to the people at costs lower than the prevailing market prices.
Supplier decries Tesco's threat to cancel order (The Daily Star, September 30, 2013)
A Bangladesh garment factory, Liberty Fashions Ltd has protested the decision made by the British company Tesco to cancel orders worth $20 million from the factory. The decision was based on an inspection report by Medway Consultancy Services, a British surveyor that called for immediate closure of the factory for safety reasons. However, this contradicted the assessment by local authorities and experts, including BUET and Rajuk which said that there was no immediate need to evacuate the building.
Banani footbridge to get escalator (Dhaka Tribune, September 30, 2013)
To facilitate crossing by the pedestrians the government is going to install an escalator in the footover bridge in Banani which is due to completed by November 30. The bridge will have an escalator for lifting only as there will be stairs on the other side to get off the bridge. The bridge has been constructed with the World Bank fund as part of Clean Air and Sustainable Environment Project which started in June 2009.
Bangladesh creates zinc-based rice to fight disease (Khabar South Asia, September 28, 2013)
The first ever zinc-based rice will hit the markets by the first quarter of 2015, which will help as a supplement for children prone to zinc deficiency. A decade of research by Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) scientists resulted in development of the new rice variety, known as BRRI Dhan 62. In addition to providing the new rice across Bangladesh, the new grain will be exported to Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam in the next three to four years, BRRI officials say.
How Not to Love Nature: Shove a Coal Plant Next to Earth’s Biggest Mangrove Forest (TIME magazine, September 26, 2013)
The proposed coal-fired power plant that is due to be constructed just 14 km away from the Sundarbans has alarmed environmentalists as it would be fatal to the biggest mangrove forest of the world. The government however, insists that construction of the 1,320 megawatt (mw) coal-fired thermal power plant, a joint venture with India's state-owned National Thermal Power Corp, is needed to bring affordable electricity amid rising demand and energy costs. But environmentalists counter that operating a coal-fired plant so close to the forests will devastate waterways and vegetation that support a range of extraordinary wildlife, from river dolphins to the endangered Bengal tiger.
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