Currency swap with Sri Lanka by next month
Bangladesh’s currency swap agreement with Sri Lanka to replenish the island nation’s fast-depleting foreign reserves and ease pressure on its exchange rate will be completed by next month, according to a top official of Bangladesh Bank.
2 June 2021
50Th Budget of Bangladesh: Too weighed down to relish milestone
Today, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal unveils his third budget, which coincidentally is the 50th fiscal plan of independent Bangladesh.
2 June 2021
FY21 National Budget: A missed opportunity
The government in last year’s budget gave priority to several crucial sectors to protect people and their livelihoods amid the pandemic, but it could not achieve the desired results due to the Covid second wave and hurdles in implementing its initiatives.
1 June 2021
Tax cut galore in next budget
“Cuts, cuts, cuts!” -- would be the chorus of Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal’s third budget speech that he is due to deliver in the parliament tomorrow.
1 June 2021
Social safety net to widen
The allotment for other social protection programmes may go up to Tk 65,000 crore, up 41.47 percent year on year.
31 May 2021
‘Our people kept our economy strong ’
The Bangladesh economy has weathered the pandemic storm better than others and it is thanks to its citizens, said Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.
31 May 2021
Salary, Allowances of Civil Servants: Allocation rising, service quality not
With every passing year, the share of the budget going towards civil servants’ salary and allowance gets bigger. And the proposed budget for the incoming fiscal year, due to be unveiled in the parliament on June 3, is no different.
30 May 2021
Sri Lanka’s economic plight a caution for Bangladesh
That Bangladesh is in a position to bail out Sri Lanka, a middle-income country by the World Bank’s classification since 1997, by extending up to $500 million -- is a nice lift to the country’s morale.
29 May 2021
Interest burden 6pc heavier in next fiscal
The government’s interest burden is set to get heavier in the incoming fiscal year, thanks to its inability to better choose from its financing options.
26 May 2021
$200 million currency swap: Stepping up in Sri Lanka’s hour of need
In a first for Bangladesh, the country has extended a lifeline of sorts to the beleaguered Sri Lankan economy, offering to top up the island nation’s depleting foreign reserves by as much as $500 million.
25 May 2021
Small businesses see stimulus funds at last
The cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises, who were among the worst hit for the pandemic, appears to have started seeing the stimulus funds of late after initial reluctance from banks in disbursing credit to the sector.
24 May 2021
Record foreign aid use in next budget
Making hay while the sun, it appears, is the finance ministry’s mantra as it goes about preparing the budget for fiscal 2021-22, its second in the backdrop of the extraordinary challenges thrown by the pandemic.
22 May 2021
Legalising Undisclosed Assets: Scope to stay next year
The government will continue to offer the scope for legalising undisclosed money in the upcoming budget, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said yesterday.
19 May 2021
ADP gets 14pc bigger
It may take four to 12 years to complete 1,426 ongoing development projects because of slow implementation and meagre allocation, highlighting the need for the government to prioritise works and accelerate execution to avoid cost and time overruns.
18 May 2021
Govt moves to rein in willful defaulters
The government, for the first time, has moved to define habitual defaulters, a development that may stop delinquent borrowers from running businesses, travelling abroad, and participating in social and political activities.
17 May 2021
Mega projects to get Tk 47,283cr from new ADP
The government will allocate Tk 47,283 crore to 12 mega projects, including those on the fast-track list, from the development budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
17 May 2021
Health division spends only 26pc of ADP outlay
Despite giving special focus on the health sector, the government could implement only 26 per cent of the sector’s Annual Development Programme in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year.
16 May 2021
Left out in their hour of need
The government could not spend two-thirds of its around Tk 25,000 crore cash-food support packages for the poor and vulnerable, frontline health workers and low-income farmers in the last year after its announcement.
11 May 2021
Put fight against Covid at the heart of budget: economists
Rapid coronavirus vaccination, upgrading the creaking health system and expanding social protection should be the focus of the upcoming budget to bring the crisis under control, economists said.
11 May 2021
Pandemic to be budget mainstay
Keeping in mind the possible impacts of the second Covid-19 wave, the government is going to attach top priority to vaccination, economic recovery, and life and livelihood of the poor in the upcoming national budget.
10 May 2021