Each eligible investor except for the pension fund, approved provident fund and gratuity fund investors will have to increase their investment to Tk 3 crore from the existing Tk 1 crore on the cut-off date to avail the IPO quota benefit.

The taka once again depreciated today against the US dollar amid the falling supply of the American greenback due to surging imports.

The index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) returned to the black today after falling for eight consecutive days just a day after the market regulator extended the credit policy.

Exchange rate management has become a frontline issue in Bangladesh in recent times. The sharp rise in the price of the dollar and the significant decline in the foreign exchange reserves within a short span of time have sent shock waves across the economy.

For the first time, home textile has emerged as the second largest export earning sector after garments as demand remains buoyant in major markets, particularly Europe, according to exporters. Exporters fetched $1.3 billion from shipping home textiles in the July-April period of the current fiscal year, posting 39 per cent year-on-year growth. Receipts from shipments of home textile items such as bed sheets, pillow covers, curtains and cushion covers were higher than export receipts from agricultural products as well as leather and leather goods during the period. Home textile exports were 28 per cent higher than its nearest peer, agricultural products, namely dry foods, vegetables, tobacco and spices. Jute and jute goods, which topped the export basket as the second biggest earning source in fiscal year 2020-21, fell to fifth place in the face of falling demand for jute yarn, twine, sacks and bags, according to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). “We have been registering increasing demand for home textiles from the last fiscal year as people stayed home as a part of coronavirus containment measures,” said Shahidullah Chowdhury, executive director of Noman Group, the main exporter of home textile. It exports $27 million worth of home textiles each month. “Our main markets are Europe, Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan. However, our exports are increasing in new markets such as Australia,” he added. The sector first crossed the $1 billion mark in fiscal 2020-21 thanks to a 49 per cent year-on-year hike in export earnings, driven mainly by higher costs and prices of raw cotton and other materials. Export earnings were only 3 per cent of the total receipts of $38.75 billion for that year with garments accounting for 81 per cent, according to the EPB. “Definitely the volume of exports has increased too,” said Abul Basar, general manager of human resource, admin and compliance of Momtex Expo Ltd, another major exporter. He said Bangladesh can offer competitive prices as labour costs here are the cheapest. Labour cost has increased in China, which once dominated the home textile market. Political uncertainty in Pakistan has also discouraged buyers from placing orders there, Bashar said. “So, the increased order flow is likely to sustain,” he added. Harun-Ar-Rashid, managing director of Apex Weaving and Finishing Mills Ltd, said nearly 10 textile mills export home textile products from Bangladesh and the export volume is not that high. Bangladesh only has a 7 per cent share in the global home textile export market. He went on to say that demand may decline due to a yarn shortage and the ongoing war in Ukraine. Noman Group’s Chowdhury said exports would grow if the government provides policy support. Increasing the cash incentive for exports to 10 per cent from the present 4 per cent and reducing congestion at ports will be instrumental for increasing export earnings from home textiles. “We have political stability now but what we need is policy stability,” he added.

No matter how hard the government tries to give a message that Bangladesh would not face a Sri Lanka like crisis, edgy stock market investors don’t seem to be in the mood to listen. 

Bangladesh’s economy should be on guard for 2027 and 2028 from when the country will start to collectively pay back the interest due on four or five foreign loans taken for domestic mega-projects, according to Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA).

After a long wait, the experimental farming of vannamei is set to begin in the Chattogram region that could pave the way for the commercial production of a shrimp variety that rules the roost in the global market.

Bangladesh Bank yesterday directed banks to increase lending to farmers at 4 per cent interest to encourage cultivation of import substitute crops, namely pulse, oilseeds and maize.

Employees of all banks operating in Bangladesh will not be able to travel abroad from now on as the central bank has stepped up its efforts to stop the foreign currency reserves from sliding further.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal today (May 22, 2022) sat with the top bosses of National Board of Revenue (NBR) and Bangladesh Bank to discuss measures to contain the prices of essentials commodities and stabilize the forex markets, said officials.

Bangladesh’s economy should be on guard for 2027 and 2028 from when the country will start to collectively pay back the interest due on four or five foreign loans taken for domestic mega-projects, according to Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA).

The government is establishing 89 laboratories to develop Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) as a world-class institution, Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun said today.

The Directorate of National Consumers Right Protection (DNCRP) today fined 82 traders Tk 4.94 lakh across the country for their failure to protect consumers’ rights.

Employees of all banks operating in Bangladesh will not be able to travel abroad from now on as the central bank has stepped up its efforts to stop the foreign currency reserves from sliding further. 

The stocks in Bangladesh continued to fall for the eighth consecutive day today.

The construction work of Bscic Chemical Industrial Park in Munshiganj will be completed by December 2023 if everything goes according to plan, said Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun.

Despite a lot of stress, the Bangladeshi taka remains one of the strong currencies in the region. No doubt, the taka is still overvalued and consequently, it is trying to realign itself with the value of the US dollar through measured depreciation.

A good number of farmers in Rangpur have been earning unexpected profits from growing mint, a medicinal crop, on small patches of land.

Retail prices of wheat flour recently shot up to a 15-year high amid concerns of a supply shortage in local markets after India banned exports of the staple food in order to ensure its availability at home in the face of rising global costs due to Russia’s war on Ukraine.