The proposed budget’s tax exemptions and corporate tax reduction are welcome moves for job creation but regulatory environment improvements and ease of doing business are also important to attract investment in manufacturing, said a webinar’s discussants.

June 3 marked a remarkable date for Bangladesh as the finance minister presented the country’s 50th budget in parliament on the occasion of the 50th year of independence. As expected, the Tk 603,681 crore budget is the largest that has ever been proposed.

Bureaucrats, despite being well trained and educated, are not smart enough to implement the budget in a timely manner, for which this perennial difficulty may persist, Planning Minister MA Mannan said yesterday.

Bangladesh Bank has instructed banks to keep their doors open for customers from 10:00am to 3:00pm until June 16.

The Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) has demanded the provision of a long-term low interest fund in the proposed national budget for fiscal 2021-22 so that the country’s people can purchase their own homes on instalments equivalent to rent.

Textile millers yesterday demanded the withdrawal of value-added tax (VAT) and import duty on all kinds of manmade fibre for the potential growth of the non-cotton fashion industry to meet the global demand.

The government should ensure that stimulus funds for the cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises (CMSMEs) are quickly disbursed in order to facilitate sustainable recovery from the Covid-19 fallouts, according to speakers at a webinar yesterday.

The proposed budget has failed to offer fiscal measures to create jobs crucial to millions of the people in the informal sector who slipped to poverty because of the coronavirus pandemic, said experts yesterday.

Eleven banks faced a capital shortfall of Tk 24,783 crore in the first quarter of 2021, which highlighted the fragile health of the lenders.

The Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) today demanded the formation of a long-term fund with a low-interest rate in the proposed budget so that the people can afford their own dwelling place at the equivalent of house rent.

Only 2 per cent of garment workers had received the Covid-19 vaccine in Bangladesh until April this year, according to a study.

Bangladesh Bank has instructed banks to keep their doors open from 10am to 3pm for customers until June 16.

Turnover at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) hit a decade high today, which was the first trading day after the announcement of the national budget for 2021-22 fiscal year.

Textile millers today demanded withdrawal of value added tax (VAT) and import duty on all kinds of manmade fibre for the potential growth of the non-cotton fashion industry to meet the global demand.

The incentives in the next budget are not sufficiently linked to employment generation particularly for the left-behind groups as well as the “new poor” due to the pandemic, Debapriya Bhattacharya, convenor of Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh said today.

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) yesterday said the opportunity to legalise undisclosed money could be offered in the productive sector for a specific period, not for indefinitely.

Marico Bangladesh is set to invest Tk 227 crore to establish a new manufacturing unit at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN) in Mirsarai, Chattogram as a part of its efforts to catch a greater share of the growing market for fast-moving consumer goods.

A lack of funds is not the problem when it comes to implementing the proposed budget, but rather ensuring vaccination of the population, which can bring back business confidence, said Atiur Rahman, chairman of Unnayan Shamannay, yesterday.

The government has shifted its focus from power generation to transmission and distribution as the sector is struggling with overcapacity even though consumers are yet to receive a credible supply of electricity.

Despite a 2.5 percentage point corporate tax reduction, listed and non-listed companies might end up paying more tax than that last year because of a new plan to increase the tax deducted at source (TDS), said the ICAB yesterday.