Weekly News Clippings (December 26, 2013)

Garment sector: state banks' major defaulter (The Daily Star, December 26, 2013)
Around 30 percent of the state-owned commercial banks' default loans are tied to the garment sector, and the ratio is expected to increase further if the ongoing political turmoil continues. As of October 30, the four banks' (Sonali, Janata, Rupali and Agrani) outstanding loan to the country’s main export-earning sector is Tk 24,793 crore.

BTRC issues new directive on mobile banking fees (Dhaka Tribune, December 26, 2013)
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission posted a notice on mobile banking, fixing service charges on money transferred by mobile phones.  At present, the central bank allows mobile financial service providers to transact up to Tk 25,000, but according to the BTRC directive, transactions of more than Tk 100,000 can be made. The telecom regulator also introduced slab-based charges for different mobile banking services offered by the mobile phone companies.

EPZ RMG workers' minimum wage Tk5,600 (Dhaka Tribune, December 26, 2013)
The government has approved a new pay structure for the readymade garments workers of Export Processing Zones, increasing the minimum salaries by 45.83 percent to $70 (Tk 5,600) from $48 (Tk 3,350) a month with effect from December 1. The workers will be divided into five grades under the new structure. They will also enjoy food, medical, transport and attendance bonus. Of 3.82 lakh workers in the eight EPZs across the country, over 3 lakh are employed in the RMG factories. The government raised wages for RMG workers this month, following international pressure on the world's second largest clothing exporter after a string of fatal factory accidents that thrust poor working conditions and pay into the spotlight.

30pc banks exposed to high risks of online fraud: study (The Daily Star, December 25, 2013)
Around 30 percent of the banks are highly vulnerable to online fraud and security threats. According to a study by the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management, ATM and plastic card transactions account for 43 percent of the frauds, the highest, followed by mobile banking at 25 percent. The study was based on 50 fraud cases and on a total of 14 banks that have been offering centralized online banking through Data Centre (DC) and Disaster Recovery Site (DRS) over the last two years.  Around 40 percent of the surveyed banks believe that they have high risk of information loss at any moment.


Garment accessories sector loses $100m in 3 months (The Financial Express, December 24, 2013)
Manufacturers of Bangladesh’s apparel accessories have incurred financial losses of around US$ 100 million over the last three months due to frequent hartals and blockades. According to industry sources they have incurred losses worth $ 50 million as the foreign buyers are shifting their orders to other countries due to political instability. The accessories industry makes around 35 items including buttons, packaging material, elastic, drawstring, embroidery, labels, padding, sewing thread, zipper among others.


Buyers lift orders from Bangladesh (Dhaka Tribune, December 24, 2013)
International garment buyers have cancelled orders in Bangladesh crossing a threshold of $3.6m in 21 days. According to a survey conducted by Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) during December 1 to December 21, 30 factories faced the cancellations in spite of spending an additional sum of over $1.2m for air shipment and $1.7m for failing to deliver the products on time. Vandalism during the blockade also cost the exporters a sum of $2.3m.


$40 Million in Aid Set for Bangladesh Garment Workers (The New York Times, December 23, 2013)
Four prominent retailers and a number of labour groups have jointly created a $40 million (Tk 310 crore) compensation fund to aid the victims' families of Rana Plaza building collapse. Retailers Bonmarché, El Corte Inglés, Loblaw and Primark have pledged to contribute to the fund, which is intended to compensate the families of those who died in April 24 in what was the deadliest industrial disaster in Bangladesh. The fund will aim to aid the families of more than 1,130 workers killed and also hundreds of others who were seriously injured or maimed. Rock bottom wages and trade deals with Western countries made the garments sector into a $22 billion industry that accounts for four-fifths of Bangladesh's exports.


Furniture exporters demand 25 per cent cash incentive(The Financial Express, December 23, 2013)
The Bangladesh Furniture Exporters Association (BFEA) has demanded cash incentives against its export items instead of duty drawback to boost their outbound business. The BFEA leaders recently met with the ministry of commerce secretary and demanded the introduction of cash incentive system in lieu of duty drawback. At present, the industry gets duty drawback against exports for duty paid for imported goods. However, industry sources claim that they are unable to enjoy the benefits due to bureaucratic complexities.   The industry completely depends on imports for most of the raw materials.


Bangladesh Police Charge Factory Owners in Deadly Fire (Voice of America, December 22, 2013)
The police have charged two owners and 11 employees of Tazreen Fashions, a garment factory, with homicide for alleged negligence leading to the death of 111 people last year in the nation's deadliest garment factory fire. Owners Delawar Hossain and his wife, along with security guards and managers in connection with the blaze were charged. It is the first time Bangladeshi authorities have sought to prosecute factory owners in the world's second largest garment industry.  According to the public prosecutor, the factory, which produced clothing for global brands including Wal-Mart, had no emergency fire exits, while its location in a narrow alley meant firefighters were unable to reach the flames.


Bangladesh November exports rise 25 percent on garment sales (Reuters, December 22, 2013)
Bangladesh's exports rose 25 percent in November from a year earlier to $2.2 billion, boosted by stronger clothing sales, according to the Export Promotion Bureau, though political unrest ahead next month's election has severely hit manufacturing. In the first five months of the financial year, beginning July 1, exports totaled $11.96 billion, up 18 percent on the same period a year ago, said the export body. However, garment makers said that orders have slumped by as much as 40 percent in October from a year earlier due to political unrest ahead of an election set for January 5.


Govt to develop 20,000 youths as ITES professionals(New Age, December 21, 2013)
The government has taken an initiative to develop 20,000 young people as IT-enabled services professionals by providing them training on business process outsourcing, software development and corporate culture in line with the requirements of local and global markets. According to the project director of Leveraging ICT (LICT), they have plans to develop 34,000 IT professionals by providing world-class training within three years. Of them, 20,000 ITES professionals would be provided with foundational training, including basic PC, business process outsourcing, data skills and interpersonal communication. The World Bank has given $70 million in credit for implementing the LICT project of Bangladesh Computer Council under the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology to develop a total of 34,000 IT professionals and establish an e-government foundation.


Dhaka finalizes deals with Beijing (New Age, December 20, 2013)
Bangladesh has finalized a deal to buy two submarines from China as part of its plans to develop a three-dimensional navy.  The two Ming-class submarines, which would cost Tk 1,600 crore or USD 203.3 million, are expected to strengthen the navy's ability to protect maritime resources and territorial waters. The navy had acquired land on Kutubdia Island in southwestern Cox's Bazaar to set up a submarine base, where 17 officials had been trained to operate submarines. The submarine deal will be the second major defense agreement this year.