A Bangladeshi barge carrying 50 tonnes of cement has reached Sonamura in the north eastern Indian state of Tripura two days after setting sail from Daudkandi, opening a new chapter in bilateral connectivity.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi has called upon the Japanese government to extend the zero-duty benefit for Bangladesh exports to Japan for at least five more years after the country graduates from the least developed countries (LDC) status.

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced sovereign wealth funds to think the previously unthinkable.

State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali has called upon local administration to keep tourism prospects in mind while taking up any development project at the local level.

Tourist spots, hotels, motels and resorts in Bandarban will be opened on a limited scale for tourists from tomorrow, after a five-month closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Bangladesh’s real estate sector will hopefully be able to cope with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as instalment collection on previous sales started to pick up after the economy reopened in June, according to various realtors and financiers.

Banglalink, once the most-spirited operator in the country but has since fallen behind in competition, is slipping further for the pandemic.

It appears garment manufacturers are at last breathing a sigh of relief as work orders for apparel items from international retailers are coming back with the reopening of their stores in the European and American markets.

Google on Monday unveiled a new. more affordable Pixel smartphone and said it would launch models tailored for super-fast 5G networks later this year.

The real estate sector and its subsectors are struggling to maintain their growth due to the economic slowdown induced by the coronavirus pandemic, exemplified by a slump in earnings by most of the listed companies connected to construction.

Grameenphone’s net profit tumbled 23.87 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2020 because of the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

On June 16, 2020 China declared duty-free export facilities for the least-developed countries (LDCs), including Bangladesh on 97 per cent of their tariff line.

Mobile phone operators are struggling to retain their active subscribers despite offering lucrative packages, including free minutes, SMS and extra data, as the coronavirus-induced economic downturn has affected all sectors and curtailed people’s income.

The telecom regulator’s restrictions on Grameenphone will remain in effect as the High Court has dropped from its hearing list a writ petition filed by the country’s leading mobile operator in this connection.

The country’s earnings from garment export in the outgoing 2019-20 fiscal year declined to 27.83 billion USD – an 18.45 percent decline compared to the previous fiscal year.

Grameenphone has filed a writ petition with the High Court, challenging legality of BTRC’s decision that imposed two new restrictions on the country’s leading mobile operator.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has proposed continuation of 1 percent additional cash incentive for the country’s garment export in 2020-21 fiscal year too, considering the economic fallout from Covid-19 pandemic.

Real estate companies have urged the government to allow black money to be invested in the housing sector through the upcoming budget without prying into the sources as it would help the vulnerable industry survive the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

As connectivity through digitalisation has proven worthwhile in keeping socio-economic activities up and running even during the pandemic, entire Bangladesh is running after innovation in this area, said Yasir Azman, chief executive officer of Grameenphone.

Bangladesh yesterday rolled out a contact tracing app on a trial basis to warn users if they have been near someone who later tested positive for the coronavirus and suggest the next course of actions in a bid to flatten the curve on the rogue pathogen.