Weekly News Clippings (August 23, 2014)

Flood heading for Dhaka from North (The Daily Star, August 23, 2014)
Several hundred thousand people in the North are marooned and continue to pass their days without food and drinking water. The government has allocated 1,500 tonnes of rice and Tk 20 lakh for people in the affected districts but the relief goods are yet to reach the people. Worse even, the authorities have yet to determine the number of affected people, particularly those in the 12 northern districts.  The monsoon flood is now heading for the capital. The onrushing flood is likely to submerge some of the low-lying areas around Dhaka and Narayanganj by Monday.

Bangladesh tea prices edge lower on ample supplies (Reuters, August 20, 2014)
Tea prices in Bangladesh dropped at the weekly auction on Tuesday as the volumes offered were the highest for the season so far, although sales rose on strong demand for quality leaf.

Bangladesh lags behind in 4 indicators: ADB (bdnews24, August 20, 2014)
Asian Development Bank has found Bangladesh to be lagging behind in education, ICT, innovation and knowledge economy compared to most of South Asian and Pacific nations, in a latest research. An ADB research conducted in 28 countries showed that, Bangladesh ranks 25th with Nepal, Cambodia and Pakistan close behind. In education Bangladesh scored 1.75 on a scale of 10, while South Asia’s average score was 4.66.

Dhaka 2nd worst city (The Daily Star, August 20, 2014)

Dhaka has been ranked as the second least liveable city among the world's 140 cities in this year's Global Liveability Index released by the Economist Intelligence Unit.  Only Damascus in war-torn Syria lags behind Dhaka, which won the same position last year too. The list is prepared based on the scores across a range of criteria, including health care, culture, environment, education and infrastructure. The capital of Bangladesh had been placed second from the bottom of the GLI index in 2012 and 2011. 

Bangladesh garment workers win overdue pay after 11-day hunger strike (Waging Non violence, August 19, 2014)

On August 11, over 1,600 garment workers in Bangladesh, who were in their 11th day of a hunger strike, won the overdue wages owed by their employer, Tuba Group. Striking workers were attacked by the police using tear gas and rubber bullets, and several activists and supporters were arrested. Activists believed that the Tuba Group did not pay their workers for months as part of a strategy to force the government to offer bail to the company’s former director, Delwar Hossain, who was imprisoned following the Tazreen fire. 

The urbanist's guide to Dhaka, Bangladesh: 'an unplanned sprawl' (The Guardian, August 19, 2014)

Dhaka is an uncontrolled and unplanned urban sprawl. Except for a few main artery roads and some small posh areas, the city consists of urban slums detrimental to the healthy growth of society. The road networks in Dhaka are inadequate, with only 7% of space dedicated to paved roads. The low to middle income group constitute 90% of the city’s population. No proper law exists for planning, and many buildings have been put up indiscriminately for the benefit of individuals at the expense of the community, according to Ershad Ahmed, a former government official.

Malaysia to recruit 12,000 workers from Bangladesh (The Daily Star, August 18, 2014)

Visiting Malaysian Human Resources Minister Richard Riot Anak Jaem said they will recruit 12,000 more workers from Bangladesh for the plantation sector. He however did not mention the specific date and time when the recruitment will take place. Jaem added that from now on his country will also recruit workers from Bangladesh for other sectors like construction, service and manufacturing.

Car sellers see better business as banks roll out more loans (The Daily Star, August 17, 2014)

The car market anticipates a pick-up in sales as the central bank has doubled the ceiling for auto loans.

Buyers will get more loans from financial institutions, said Khaan M Sakib Us Salehin, head of marketing for Rancon Motors, an automotive division of Rangs Group. The debt-equity ratio has recently been changed to 50:50 from 30:70 earlier, allowing banks to finance half of the price of a car. In other words, consumers can now buy cars worth up to Tk 80 lakh by availing Tk 40 lakh as bank loan.

Bangladesh 98th among 162 countries (The Daily Star, August 16, 2014)

Bangladesh is ranked 98th on the list of 162 countries, in the Global Peace Index 2014. There has been a significant improvement from last year's position of 105th. Put together by the Institute for Economics and Peace, the GPI takes into consideration three broad themes involving ongoing domestic and international conflict, militarisation, and social safety and security. In South Asia, Bangladesh is the third most peaceful nation, coming after Bhutan and Nepal which are placed 16th and 76th. Afghanistan, however, continues to be the least peaceful nation in South Asia.

Eurozone economy stalls on setback in Germany (The Daily Star, August 15, 2014)

Growth in the 18-country eurozone ground to a standstill in the second quarter, dragged down by France and Germany and casting a cloud over recovery in the crisis-battered region. Stagnation in the currency bloc, already threatened by deflation, fell short of analysts' forecast of 0.2 percent. The unexpectedly low growth figure was mainly the result of a surprise 0.2-percent shrinkage in Germany, usually the reliable eurozone growth engine, and stagnation in an already fragile French economy. However,  the setback reflects a combination of technical factors and external weakness, but not fundamental problems in the economy, according to officials. 

Weekly News Clippings (August 15, 2014)

Facebook vice president of product management resigns (The Economic Times, August 15, 2014)
Samuel Lessin, Facebook Inc's vice president of product management, said he would be leaving the company. Lessin said in a post on the social networking site that his departure would be effective August 29. He said he does not have any immediate plans but intends to help his wife Jessica Lessin with her publication.

2,500 industrial polluters to face green tax (The Daily Star, August 15)
The National Board of Revenue is set to impose green tax on about 2,500 polluting industrial units in a bid to compel them to cut back on their pollution. The industrial units will have to deposit 1.0 percent of the receipts from their products to the state exchequer. According to a senior NBR official the revenue authority has already gathered the list of polluting industrial units from the Department of Environment. The surcharge, introduced this fiscal year, comes as part of the government's move to encourage industries to set up effluent treatment plants.

City Bank wins 'Best Bank in Bangladesh' Award (The Financial Express, August 14, 2014)
City Bank has been named the 'Best Bank in Bangladesh' at Euromoney's Awards for Excellence 2014, according to a statement.  The award was announced at a ceremony in Hong Kong recently which was attended by 500 leading bankers from across the globe. Euromoney is the world's leading financial publication read by high-ranking financial decision makers in more than 100 countries.

Time to fortify institutions (The Daily Star, August 14, 2014)
Bangladesh needs to develop its weak institutions so that it can handle larger and more complex projects required for a middle-income country, as the existing ones are more inclined to fit a low-income nation, the World Bank said. According to Johannes Zutt, country director of the global lender, the country is now on the way to becoming a lower middle-income country though it still has institutions that are developed for a low-income country.

BB relaxes car loan policy (The Daily Star, August 14, 2014)

The central bank has doubled the ceiling for car loans to reflect the increased prices of motor vehicles and provide banks a channel to utilise their excess liquidity. Banks can now extend up to Tk 40 lakh as car loan according to a Bangladesh Bank notice. The previous ceiling for car loans was Tk 20 lakh. The move came in response to the higher market prices and demand for vehicles, said a deputy general manager of the central bank.

Four firms face ban on vegetable export to EU (The Financial Express, August 13, 2014)

The government has suspended export licenses of four business firms for exporting pest-infested fruit and vegetables to the European Union (EU) market. According to official sources, the action was taken after a warning from Brussels that it might ban the import of Bangladesh's agricultural produce if pest-free exports were not guaranteed by end of September this year.

BD airspace to get Wi-Fi as Swiss co bags contract (The Financial Express, August 13, 2014)

The government has awarded Switzerland-based OnAir powered by Airbus, a leading aircraft manufacturer, and SITA, another IT solution provider to the air-transport world the job for establishing internet connectivity to all incoming and outbound aircraft in Bangladesh.  Once the connection is given, the air passengers will enjoy the only data service across the country.

Export earnings see 1.37 percent down in July (Dhaka Tribune, August 12, 2014)

The country’s export earnings in the first month  of the current fiscal (2014-15) have seen a fall of 1.37 percent due to shaky performance of the key exports such as  woven garment, home textile, leather, jute and jute-made goods.  The figure is also 2.03 percent lower than the strategic target of $ 3,044.44 million, according to the latest figures released by the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), UNB reports. The export target for the current fiscal (FY15) was set at $ 33,200 million. Total exports during the last fiscal (FY14) reached $ 30,186.62 million.

Growth strong in UK, slips in Japan, eurozone on track: OECD (The Daily Star, August 12, 2014)

Leading economies are showing a steady growth trend overall, although Britain is doing particularly well and Japan and Germany are showing signs of losing pace, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), grouping 34 advanced democracies said on Monday.  The eurozone as a whole, and France, are on a stable growth path, the latest OECD data showed, contrasting with several recent indicators suggesting that France is lagging in the 18-member single-currency zone.

Organic products can be big forex earner for Bangladesh: minister (The Daily Star, August 11, 2014)

Bangladesh can easily earn $640 million a year by exporting organic products, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said on Sunday. The minister spoke at a workshop organised by Bangladesh Organic Products Manufacturers Association and the Agro Products Business Promotion Council in the capital. Majority of the 164 countries which export organic products are least-developed, a statement of the planning ministry quoted the minister as saying, adding that an agriculture-based country like Bangladesh has huge potential in export of such products.

Russia to import more Bangladeshi shrimp (Dhaka Tribune, August 10, 2014)

Russian authorities will approve five more Bangladeshi companies to export shrimp to the market as the country wants to increase shrimp import from Bangladesh, said official sources. Currently, five companies export shrimp to the country.  Russia is Europe’s largest importer in value of animals, meat, dairy products, fruits and vegetables, according to the European Union. Recently, the country faced economic sanctions from USA, Canada and EU over Ukraine crisis.

Amazon stops some Disney movie preorders (Dhaka Tribune, August 10, 2014)

Amazon.com Inc has halted pre-orders of some Disney movies, the Wall Street Journal reported, in what appears to be another contract dispute after the online retailer began a protracted spat with publisher Hachette Book Group this year. Physical copies of titles such as “Maleficent” and “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” were unavailable for order on Amazon.com on Sunday. Amazon.com did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment on the report. A Disney spokesman had no comment.

Visiting the Deadly Ship breaking Yards in Bangladesh (Vice News, August 9, 2014)

An estimated 150 to 200 ships get stranded on Chittagong’s coast annually. According to official figures, 20 workers died in the yards in 2013, but the actual death toll is estimated to be much higher, as most workers have never been officially registered. Young Power in Social Action (YPSA), a local watchdog group, estimates at least one worker dies each week. Shipbreaking Platform reported that four laborers were killed and three were seriously injured by a gas cylinder explosion in April of this year.