Goodbye to city's flood flow zones (The Daily Star, June 5, 2014)
A cabinet committee has approved alterations to Detailed Area Plan (DAP) to allow some private housing schemes on conservable flood flow zones of the capital much to the dismay of environmentalists. This move would legalise Jolshiri Abashan housing scheme of the Army in Rupganj, Protyasha of retired government officials (admin) on the Turag in Tongi, and portions of Bashundhara housing project in Baridhara. The Protyasha project and the portion of Bashundhara project had been declared illegal by the High Court in June 2011 along with 75 other real-estate projects and the government was asked to scrap the projects and remove all illegal developments done there. These would be built in DAP earmarked residential areas which have been altered to include institutions. The cabinet committees move is being seen as a win for influential real-estate companies and a loss for conservationists, environmentalists and town planners.
Dhaka to seek $4b Chinese loan (bdnews24.com, June 5, 2014)
Dhaka will ask China for loans and aid worth around $4 billion for six major infrastructure and energy projects during the prime minister's visit to China beginning tomorrow. The projects are: a 1,320-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Patuakhali, Rajshahi Wasa water treatment plant project, multilane tunnels beneath the Karnaphuli river, second Railway Bridge in Kalurghat of Chittagong, a rail-network through Chittagong and Info-government project. According to the sources at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Bangladesh would also seek China's assistance, along with other countries, in building the $14 billion Sonadia deep-sea port.
Pran, again! (The Daily Star, June 5, 2014)
The European Union has detained an export shipment of local food processor Pran after rat excrement was found in the consignment. The border control of Italy on May 21 refused entry to the shipment containing Pran food items such as noodles, pickles, mango chutney, puffed rice etc, and sent out a warning via the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed, a notification system operated by the European Commission to exchange information on identified hazards in food items between the member states. The incident comes just seven months after the US Food and Drug Administration detected high levels of lead in Pran's packaged turmeric and asked stores to recall the product.
WTO DG: Try best for duty-free market access (Dhaka Tribune, June 4, 2014)
World Trade Organisation Director General Roberto Azevedo has urged the government to engage with all stakeholders to get duty-free and quota-free market access in the developed and developing world. In the WTO Bali Ministerial last year, it was agreed by everybody that developed and developing world would open up their market for LDCs without any duty before the next ministerial. Many developed countries including members of European Union, Australia and Canada offered duty-free market access for Bangladesh but the biggest economy and the single biggest export destination of Bangladeshi products, the USA, is yet to provide duty-free access.
Return of political crisis will stunt growth: IMF (The Daily Star, June 4, 2014)
The main risk in the near future that would lower economic growth, push inflation up and put pressure on the foreign currency reserve is a resurgence of political crisis according to a report by the International Monetary Fund. The IMF released a report on Bangladesh's macroeconomic situation after approving the installment of the extended credit facility, a financial scheme that helps countries improve their balance of payments. After prolonged political unrest, calm returned following the January 5 elections; activities and domestic demand are expected to pick up and the trend will continue into the next fiscal year, IMF said. IMF has projected that the economy will grow by 6.25 percent in the next fiscal year, while the government aims for 7.3 percent growth.
Govt halts shutdown of 'unsafe' RMG factories (The Daily Star, June 4, 2014)
The Bangladesh government is refusing to shut down garment factories declared unsafe, following a row with independent inspectors over the strength of concrete used in the buildings. Inspectors hired by Western retailers, along with Buet, have been checking the structural safety of factories in the wake of the collapse of the Rana Plaza complex last year that killed 1,138 people. But a dispute has erupted between Bangladesh's Inspector General of Factories and engineers from the group of retailers called the Accord over the concrete strength in the buildings. The inspector general, Syed Ahmed, said his office has refused since April to review or close down six factories, employing hundreds of workers, deemed unsafe after inspections. The factory shutdowns have infuriated Bangladesh's influential garment manufacturers and resulted in more than 10,000 job losses, triggering labour protests and violence.
Mobile handsets to get pricier (The Daily Star, June 4, 2014)
Mobile phone users may see a rise in the prices of new phones in the coming fiscal year as the government is likely to slap a 15 percent value-added tax at the import stage, finance ministry officials said. Currently, a 10 percent customs duty is applicable on the import of mobile phones.The move comes at a time when handset imports are rising with growing numbers of mobile subscribers. The number of mobile phone subscribers rose to 11.56 crore in April from 9.06 crore two years ago, according to data from Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission.
Remittance continues to fall as manpower export drops (Dhaka Tribune, June 3, 2014)
Remittance inflow has continued to fall for the second consecutive month in May. According to the Bangladesh Bank data, bankers said the fall is due to decline in manpower export to Middle East – a market from which Bangladesh receives highest remittance. The country received US$1.20bn of remittance in May, marking a decline from the previous month’s $1.23bn. The remittance had dropped by 4.3% in April from $1.27bn in March. The major recruiting countries of Bangladeshi workers in the Middle East are now interested in “only skilled female workers” instead of male ones, said a senior executive of Bangladesh Manpower Export and Training (BMET).
24 RMG units lack fire safety requirements (The Financial Express, June 3, 2014)
The fire department has asked another two dozen readymade garment (RMG) factories to comply with safety requirements or face punitive actions as part of the government's effort to ensure workplace safety, sources said. It issued notices to the factories when its inspectors found a number of loopholes on fire safety issue. Most of the factories lack standby pumps, fire-proof doors, automatic fire sprinkler system, busbar tracking system, fire hydrant system, and fire extinguishers.
Bangladesh garment manufacturers earned at least $500 million in export orders to sew World Cup jerseys for fans across the globe in a major industry boost. The acting head of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) said the country's shipment of garments grew around 14 percent this year with World Cup orders playing a key role. BKMEA is a group of around 1,000 factories, which mostly make T-shirts. Bangladeshi plants supply clothing to the sportswear giants like Puma and Adidas and made jerseys for fans of almost all the World Cup's 32 teams, thanks largely to its low-cost reputation.
Revenue collection set to miss target (New Age, June 2, 2014)
The National Board of Revenue is set to miss its revenue target in the 2013–2014 financial year for the second consecutive time, affecting the implementation of development work for fund constraints. The revenue board, which had a big cut in the target for the year, could miss the target because of the sluggish economy, dismal investment situation and poor international trade, analyst and economists said. The government has already scaled down the revenue board collection target to Tk 1,25,000 crore from the original Tk 1,36,090 crore for the financial year. The board will now need to collect Tk 34,296.82 crore in the last two months of the fiscal year to achieve the revised full-year target of Tk 1,25,000 crore.
Restoring confidence, poor infrastructure major challenges: CPD(New Age, June 1, 2014)
The Centre for Policy Dialogue has called for an action plan to boost the declining investment and economic growth. The plan should look to restore investor confidence, undertake and enforce regulatory reforms, enhance service delivery capacity of institutions, take advantage of global market integration and address the ever-increasing infrastructure demands and political uncertainties. The observations were disclosed on May 31 at a press briefing on the think-tank's analytical review of Bangladesh's macroeconomic performance for the outgoing fiscal year. The analysis focused on five broad issues: overall macroeconomic scenario, public expenditure and its financing issues, power sector development and exports.
Europe should stick to reform path to secure growth (The Financial Express, June 1, 2014)
European policymakers should keep up their efforts in making their economies more efficient despite a strong protest vote in European Parliament elections, the ECB's Yves Mersch said on Saturday. With far-right, anti-EU parties sweeping to unprecedented victories in France, Britain and Denmark and populists gaining ground elsewhere, political leaders face tough questions about the future direction of European integration. Mersch, a member of the European Central Bank's Executive Board, said it was essential to move ahead with structural reforms now, to finish what was started in 1999 and make the euro zone work.
Bangladesh to be ‘$100bn trade economy soon’(Dhaka Tribune, June 1, 2014)
Bangladesh is going to be a $100bn trade economy in near future as it is growing up despite the unstable situation in 2013. The International Chamber of Commerce Bangladesh (ICCB) President Mahbubur Rahman also appreciated Bangladesh Bank for making a foreign exchange reserve of over $20bn and stressed the need for creating congenial environment to attract both domestic and foreign direct investment for setting up basic industries, without which Bangladesh cannot sustain its growth momentum and achieve our aim of becoming middle country within next few years.
Steps taken to explore regional export mkts (The Financial Express, June 1, 2014)
The government has taken measures to make a breakthrough in regional export markets to reduce the country's reliance on some selected markets and utilising the optimum potentials of local industries. According to some officials at the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), the initiative would also help reduce trade deficit of the country with major countries of the region including Pakistan, India, China, Japan and South Korea. The Ministry of Commerce has already taken a set of initiatives regarding the matter. According to the ministry, the initiative would also reduce the country's dependence on some selected markets like the USA, the EU and Canada.
Bangladesh considers export of arms, ammunition (Khabar South Asia, May 31, 2014)
Though "everything but arms" has defined Bangladesh's core export policy for the past 30 years, the Bangladesh Ordnance Factories (BOF) now hopes to change that. The state-owned weapons manufacturer, part of the Ministry of Defence, seeks governmental clearance to sell its line of munitions abroad. If granted, Bangladesh would become the third South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) member (after India and Pakistan) to export arms. For this to happen, the government must amend the country's Export Policy, which currently prohibits exports of munitions. Executive Director of anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International-Bangladesh Iftekharuzzaman, however, feels that Bangladesh should concentrate on poverty alleviation, food security, human resource development and political stability, instead.
India, Bangladesh work together towards boosting border trade (Business Standard, May 30, 2014)
In an effort to uplift the socio-economic conditions of people living on both sides of the border, both countries have been working constantly to develop 'border haats' or markets. Recently, members of Indo-Bangladesh Border Haat Management Committee laid the foundation stone for proposed border haats at Kasba in Tripura. Each border haat will have 25 vendors from each side, and will sell local commodities once or twice a week. The commodities sold in the border haats are exempted from custom duties. India's North East region shares 1,880-km-long border with Bangladesh, and has potential for developing cross-border trade.
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