The government missed an opportunity to contain inflationary pressure by leaving the tax and other duties levied on most essential products unchanged in the proposed national budget for fiscal year 2022-23, according to various economists and business leaders.

Midland Bank has focused on further strengthening its digital banking means instead of expanding its network of branches aggressively so as to attract more tech-savvy clients, said Managing Director Md Ahsan-uz Zaman. 

The current flooding in Sylhet has caused losses of more than Tk 140 crore for the local aquaculture industry, with farmers in Sunamganj district being the worst affected, according to a preliminary estimate by the Department of Fisheries (DoF).

The proposed national budget has not safeguarded the country’s middle class, which is facing a three-pronged challenge of a discriminatory domestic economy, spiralling product prices in international markets and ongoing floods, said economist Debapriya Bhattacharya yesterday.  

Inflation surged to an eight-year high of 7.42 per cent in May, driven by a hike in food costs, underscoring the plight a majority of the population in Bangladesh is currently experiencing, official figures showed yesterday.  

The listed paint maker would invest Tk 25 lakh to establish Berger Tech Consulting Ltd.

Bangladesh Bank yesterday asked banks to continue providing banking services to clients in the flood affected areas of the country through their offices in adjacent places that remain unaffected.

The government should form a separate authority to ensure accountability of the public servants to curb corruption and to ensure proper use public money, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) President Rizwan Rahman said today.

The turnover and the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) dropped again today after rising for consecutive two days.

Inflation in Bangladesh rose to 7.42 per cent in May, the highest since 2014’s May.

The Bangladesh Bank today asked banks to provide banking services to the flood-hit people through branches adjacent to the areas that are still unaffected.

There is no budgetary measure to protect the limited disposable income of the middle-class which is being depleted due to high food inflation, said Debapriya Bhattacharya, distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue.

Although pineapple yields in Madhupur upazila of Tangail have been good this year, growers have been left frustrated by a 40 to 50 per cent drop in prices for the highly popular fruit, according to local farmers and agriculture officials.

The 2.5 percentage points corporate tax rate cut will encourage firms in Bangladesh to move away from cash transactions, said Naser Ezaz Bijoy, president of the Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).

The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has confiscated Tk 1,294 crore from money launderers since the fiscal year of 2016-17 as per court orders, said the agency yesterday.

Realtors yesterday demanded the continuation of unquestioned amnesty for using black money to buy property even though holders of undisclosed income showed little interest to legalise their assets through such investments in the outgoing fiscal year.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has broadened and relaxed the rules for bringing new taxpayers under the tax net by assessing their incomes on the spot.

Following the deadly fire at a private inland container depot earlier this month, the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) has taken steps to tighten fire safety measures, modernise storage of dangerous cargoes and speed up delivery.

“The two panels of Oikko and Changemakers have not accepted the results,” Abdul Aziz, leader of Oikko, and Waseem Alim, leader of The Change Makers, made the comment in a joint statement.

Members of the e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB) yesterday elected an executive committee comprising nine members for a two-year term.