Weekly News Clippings (March 6, 2014)

Bangladesh inflation cools in February (Reuters, March 6, 2014)
Bangladesh's annual inflation cooled in February for the first time since November, although food prices picked up. According to the country's Statistics Bureau, February's inflation rate was 7.44 percent, down from 7.50 percent a month earlier. Food prices however, were 8.84 percent higher than a year earlier. In contrast, the prices of non-edible items eased to 5.37 percent from 5.53 percent the previous month.

WHO: Sugar intake 'should be halved' (Dhaka Tribune, March 6, 2014)
People will be advised to halve the amount of sugar in their diet. Under new World Health Organization guidance, the recommended sugar intake will stay at below 10% of total calorie intake a day. The suggested limits apply to all sugars added to food, as well as sugar naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit concentrates. Announcing the new draft measures, the WHO said in a statement: "WHO's current recommendation, from 2002, is that sugars should make up less than 10% of total energy intake per day.” The obesity study, published last year found that while sugar did not directly cause obesity, excess intake, particularly in the form of sweetened drinks, tended to put on weight.

Bangladesh may get 100 MW from OTPC’s Palatana unit (The Hindu Business Line, March 5, 2014)
India may have finally promised Bangladesh 100 MW of electricity from the ONGC Tripura Power Company, a 736.6 MW gas-based facility at Palatana in Tripura. The offer came in the backdrop of long standing demand of Bangladesh. India sells 500 MW of electricity a day to Dhaka through West Bengal border. Of the total, 250 MW is sourced from NTPC at Central Electricity Regulatory Commission determined tariff. The rest is traded through open market deals.

Bangladesh's Home Truth (The New York Times, March 5, 2014)
“Bangladesh has made extraordinary progress in the past 43 years. By the end of the 1990s, Bangladesh had closed the gender gap in primary education, and it is now one of the few countries in the world where the number of girls in high school is greater than the number of boys. Low-cost health-care initiatives have been responsible for a significant improvement in maternal and infant mortality rates, with the maternal mortality ratio (that is, maternal deaths per 100,000 live births) reduced to 240 today from 800 in 1990.”  Read more at: Bangladesh's Home Truth

Around 7% power price hike recommended (Dhaka Tribune, March 5, 2014)
The technical evaluation committee of the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) has recommended raising power tariffs at the consumer-level for the two distribution companies. The announcement of fresh electricity tariff hike might come by the end of this month. Since 2009, BERC has increased power tariffs six times. In the latest increment made in September 2012, retail price of electricity rose by 15%, from the previous rate of Tk5 per unit. The tariff at the bulk level was raised by 17% to Tk4.70.

Remittance drops 7% in February (Dhaka Tribune, March 4, 2014)

Bangladesh has received US$1.16bn in remittance in February, registering 7% fall from the previous month. According to Bangladesh Bank, the remittance inflow was $1.25bn in January, which was highest since last year. The slow growth in remittance has been identified as a risk factor for the near future as the central bank took steps for bringing remittance through formal banking channel. To address the risk, Bangladesh Bank proposed the government to take measures in increasing manpower export to offset the possible setback in the country’s foreign exchange balance. 

60% listed textile companies register Q4 profit (Dhaka Tribune, March 4, 2014)

Around 60% of the listed textile companies registered profits in the fourth quarter this year, despite the political unrest and industrial accidents. Of the 32 textile companies listed with the bourses, 23 disclosed their financial reports of fourth quarter. Companies which made profits more than 100% are Maksons Spinning Mills, Metro Spinning, Desh Garments, Muzzafar Hussain Spinning Mills, Delta Spinning, Rahim Textile and Tallu Spinning.

Bangladesh's Coal Delusion (The New York Times, March 4, 2014)

Bangladesh seems to be caught in a bind. With demand for electricity growing by 10 percent a year, it will need to more than triple production, to over 30,000 megawatts by 2030. About 80 percent of Bangladesh’s electricity comes from natural gas. But with gas resources waning and an inefficient subsidy system, the government has decided to promote coal instead. This shift comes with great risks: Coal power pollutes, and Bangladesh is at once the most densely populated country on earth and one of the most exposed to the effects of climate change. 

ILO hands over equipment worth Tk 1.5cr to BUET (New Age, March 3, 2014)

The International Labour Organisation on Sunday handed over RMG factory building safety assessment equipment worth Tk 1.5 crore to Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet).

The tools would be used for assessing the structural integrity of readymade garment factory buildings . These have been procured with the financial assistance of the Netherlands, Canada and the United Kingdom. An estimated 40 lakh workers are employed in the country’s RMG sector. The ILO will also provide equipment worth Tk 4 crore in the second phase, labour ministry officials said.

Alliance gives more time for relocation (New Age, March 2, 2014)

Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, a group of North American retailers, has agreed to the demand from the garment factory owners for more time to relocate factories from shared or rented buildings. Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, a group of European buyers, however, suggested immediate relocation of the factories located at shared buildings and some of the signatories of the group have already pull out their business from the factories located at shared buildings.