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Pay scale: When will govt employees get a pay hike?
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LNG terminal operational, but where is the gas?
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Sukanta Halder

Sukanta Halder is a staff correspondent of The Daily Star, covering insurance, agriculture, commodity markets, the private sector and consumers.

CNG.jpg

Gas supply improves, but industries still struggle

18 August 2026
Bangladesh’s gas supply situation has improved from the severe shortages seen last week, but industries are yet to see a meaningful recovery as a larger share of the limited supply is now being diverted to power plants.
18 August 2026
Bangladesh imports fish

Why Bangladesh, a global top producer, still imports fish

18 August 2026
By most measures, Bangladesh is one of the planet’s great fish-producing nations. It ranks second in the world for fish caught in rivers, lakes and wetlands, and fifth for farmed fish production, according to a June 2026 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
18 August 2026
Bangladesh LNG supply crisis 2026

LNG supply worsens, chokes power output

14 August 2026
The gas crisis, which is in its fourth week, took a turn for the worse after Summit’s floating LNG terminal ran out of gas around 5:00pm yesterday.
14 August 2026
health costs of cigarette

Health costs far exceed cigarette tax revenue

12 August 2026
Smokers increasingly switch to cheaper brands
12 August 2026
Increasingly severe heatwaves, driven by climate change, are taking a toll not only on worker income but also on their health and future livelihoods. Photo: Amran Hossain

Extreme heat costs workers Tk 77,000cr a year: study

12 August 2026
A recent study, titled “No escaping the heat: Health and economic impacts of heat stress on informal workers in urban Bangladesh”, found that workers exposed to extreme heat outdoors lose an average of 23.7 working days a year.
12 August 2026
Fertiliser.jpg

Fertiliser stocks drop below safe levels

10 August 2026
Reserves of some key fertilisers have fallen below safe levels, raising concerns about shortages during the upcoming cropping season amid the US-Israeli war on Iran and China’s ban on fertiliser export.
10 August 2026
rural-Bangladesh.jpg

Over half of all farmers earn below Tk 34,000 a year: BBS

5 August 2026
Bangladesh’s small-scale farmers, who make up more than half the country’s food producers, earn less than half the reported national average income, according to a new Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics survey published yesterday.
5 August 2026
gas.jpg

Gas crisis ripples across economy

4 August 2026
Over 3,000MW of loadshedding recorded yesterday
4 August 2026
FDI slips but stays above $3b

FDI slips but stays above $3b

Foreign direct investments to Bangladesh snapped its rising trend in 2023, highlighting the nervousness outside investors face in pumping money into a country whose foreign exchange regime is experiencing one of its worst periods in recent times
29 May 2024
economic potential of SMEs in Bangladesh

How much of SME potential have we realised?

Policymakers must work together in harmony and place a special focus on SMEs, which accounted for almost 25 percent of Bangladesh's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018, according to a Planning Division report.
25 May 2024
biz-plus.jpg

Challenges abound for aspiring entrepreneurs

Ashit Chowdhury, managing director of AAPON, a manufacturer of shataranji and various jute home decor products, applied for a loan of Tk 30 lakh from a private commercial bank.
24 May 2024
sme_fair_2024_daily_star_1.jpg

SMEs come together in a show of strength

Imagine walking into a shop and finding products that are identical to those at branded outlets but are being sold for only a fraction of the price levied by the well-known companies.
24 May 2024
Consumption stays low for two straight years as inflation bites

Consumption stays low for two straight years as inflation bites

According to a provisional estimate of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), consumption of goods and services grew 3.53 percent in 2023-24, up from 2.52 percent in the last fiscal year.
23 May 2024
21 life insurers failing to comply with securities investment rule

21 life insurers failing to comply with securities investment rule

Twenty-one life insurance companies in Bangladesh have failed to comply with the rule that makes it mandatory for them to invest 30 percent of their assets in government securities, the regulator has found.
21 May 2024
wadesh_islami_life.jpg

Administrator appointed at Swadesh Islami Life

The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) has appointed Sk Md Rezaul Islam, former additional secretary of the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs, as administrator of Swadesh Islami Life Insurance Company with immediate effect.
21 May 2024
Administrator appointed for Swadesh Islami Life Insurance

Administrator appointed for Swadesh Islami Life Insurance

Sk Md Rezaul Islam, former additional secretary, will be the new administrator with immediate effect
21 May 2024
Eastern Insurance fined Tk 5 lakh

Eastern Insurance fined Tk 5 lakh

The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) has fined Eastern Insurance Company Tk 5 lakh for not having the minimum investment required in government securities as per the Insurance Act 2010.
18 May 2024
Steel consumption to increase 25% by 2027: study

Steel consumption to increase 25% by 2027: study

Steel consumption in Bangladesh is projected to rise by 25 percent to around 1.06 crore tonnes in 2027 from 85 lakh tonnes in 2024 thanks to growing infrastructure development projects and individual consumption, according to Bigmint.
15 May 2024
uttara-development.jpg

Retailers, brands flock to Uttara

The consumer market in Uttara, a planned suburb in Dhaka city, has witnessed steady growth over the years, prompting many retailers and brands to expand their operations in the area.
10 May 2024
Residential and commercial hub in Uttara

Uttara: A city within a city

Before the 90s, Uttara offered little aside from open fields of green and waterlogged land.
10 May 2024
graph_of_insurance_claim_settlements.jpg

No commission or service fee for claim settlement

Insurance companies in Bangladesh will no longer be able to charge policyholders for commissions or service fees while settling claims, according to the “Insurance Claims Management Guideline 2024”.
8 May 2024
life_insurance.jpg

New entity wants to enter saturated insurance market

At present, there are 36 life and 46 non-life insurance companies in Bangladesh, which stands in stark contrast to just 24 life insurance companies in India, 10 in Pakistan, and 16 in Sri Lanka.
8 May 2024
Onion prices jump overnight

India lifts ban on onion export amid polls in Maharashtra

India yesterday removed the ban on onion exports subject to a minimum export price of $550 per tonne, a decision that can help boost the income of a large section of farmers and comes amidst Lok Sabha polls in key producing regions, including the state of Maharashtra.
4 May 2024
AC technicians facing backlog of installation orders

AC technicians facing backlog of installation, repair orders

Ferdous Hasan, who lives in the Motijheel area of Dhaka, recently purchased an air conditioner (AC) in a bid to find some respite from the ongoing heatwave sweeping across Bangladesh. However, he has been left frustrated by a prolonged delay in installation.
2 May 2024
Potato price surges during peak season

Potato price surges during peak season

Potatoes are at least 50 percent costlier than a year ago owing to lower production, tight supply, and the profiteering tendency among a section of people in the supply chain, dealing a blow to the consumers already reeling under higher inflation.
29 April 2024
Heatwave impact on poultry farming

Poultry farmers in a bind as chickens succumb to heatwave

Sumon Howlader, president of the Bangladesh Poultry Association (BPA), claimed that marginal farmers have suffered losses totalling around Tk 200 crore in the past 10 days due to the effects of the heatwave.
26 April 2024
Is commodity market competitive? Experts have different views

Is commodity market competitive? Experts have different views

Syndication has become a buzzword among consumers in Bangladesh, particularly in relation to the abnormal price hike of essential commodities over the past several years.
23 April 2024
New administrator appointed for Sonali Life

Administrator appointed for Sonali Life Insurance

Brig Gen (retd) SM Ferdous has already joined office: IDRA spokesperson
21 April 2024

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