Bangladesh Bank yesterday asked banks to keep their branches open in areas where lockdowns have been imposed amid a surge in Covid-19 infections, but only through consultations with respective metropolitan and district administrations.

Bangladeshi IT companies have been deploying blockchain solutions across the world through training provided by the government, said State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak yesterday.

The first company on the SME board of the country’s bourses has been oversubscribed by about 18 times.

ACI, one of the country’s leading business houses, has been continuing to log profits for the last three quarters as it registered growing sales of consumer goods, packaging materials and food from its retail chain Shwapno.

High earners from fish and poultry hatchery as well as fish farming are likely to lose the privilege of income tax reductions from fiscal 2021-22 as the government plans to introduce a new slab to collect more taxes from fish and poultry farming entrepreneurs.

Six state-run banks’ progress in bringing down the defaulted loans last year on the back of recovery and the payment holiday was overshadowed by a large volume of net losses.

US President Joe Biden will rely on ally countries to supply the bulk of the metals needed to build electric vehicles and focus on processing them domestically into battery parts, part of a strategy designed to placate environmentalists, two administration officials with direct knowledge told Reuters.

Some 3.34 crore families across the country benefitted from the sale of basic commodities at subsidised rates by the state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) between March last year and May this year, claimed a commerce ministry statement yesterday.

China’s market regulator has begun an investigation into suspected anti-competitive practices by KE Holdings, the country’s biggest housing broker whose top backer is Tencent Holdings, two people who know of the matter said.

India is preparing an economic stimulus package for the sectors worst affected by Covid-19, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Britain’s competition regulator is reviewing AstraZeneca’s $39 billion buyout of US-based Alexion on concerns it could reduce competition in the UK market or elsewhere.

A trade deficit may not be too bad even amidst the coronavirus challenges if you have a healthy foreign exchange reserve, strong remittance inflow, foreign direct investment, and aid flow. More importantly, when capital machinery or industrial raw materials import is the cause of this possible trade deficit.

The litchi season may end earlier than usual this year as unfavourable weather conditions led to lower production of the sugary tropical fruit, according to industry insiders.

Profits of the Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL) almost doubled in nine months of fiscal 2020-21 thanks to higher turnover with the same operating costs amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Khyaati Leather Innovations BD Ltd, an India-Bangladesh joint venture, is set to establish a garment accessories and bags manufacturing factory at the Ishwardi Export Processing Zone in Pabna at an investment of $2.95 million.

Bangladesh Bank today asked banks to keep their branches open in areas where lockdowns have been imposed amid a surge in Covid-19 infections, after having discussion with respective metropolitan and district administrations.

DataBird, a Bangladeshi company having products across online travel, news, keyboard, eReader and lifestyle mobile applications, recently stated to have raised $3 million in foreign funding to build a messaging app resembling Facebook’s messenger, WhatsApp and China’s WeChat.

Mobile phone subscribers are still being flooded with promotional and commercial messages even a month after they opted to block them, which highlighted that the regulator’s directive to the carriers to stop the nuisance is not working.

Inflation went up for the third consecutive month in April owing to the rise in the prices of major food items such as rice, wheat, lentil, and sugar.

Walton Hi-Tech Industries yesterday made public the good news of its surging profits and plans to strengthen its footprint abroad, leading to a three per cent rise of its stocks.