Invest more in people to fight future woes Rezaul Karim World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim was in Bangladesh from June 30 on a three-day visit. During his visit he talked to The Daily Star’s Diplomatic Correspondent Rezaul Karimexclusively on a wide range of issues, including Bangladesh’s need to prepare for the economy of tomorrow, improve […]
Lack of data a barrier to attaining SDGs: expert Star Business Report Agencies working to attain the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Bangladesh are facing five major challenges, Muhammad Muslim Chowdhury, finance division secretary, said yesterday. Unavailable data, lack of development capacity, absence of ownership among the implementing agencies, policy gap, and implementation gap are […]
Exports miss target for second year Refayet Ullah Mirdha Exports fell short of target for the second consecutive year in fiscal 2017-18, in what can be viewed as a worrying development for the government. Last fiscal year, exports fetched $36.66 billion, up 5.81 percent from a year earlier, but fell short of the government’s target […]
Foreign aid in pipeline: $44b Rejaul Karim Byron Unused foreign aid has reached a new high of $44.51 billion despite a record disbursement of development assistance in the last fiscal year, data from the Economic Relations Division showed. The ERD officials said the amount of the unused foreign aid piled up thanks to the commitment […]
Project cost rises as size expands Rejaul Karim Byron The government is on its way to doubling the size of a planned permanent exhibition centre in Purbachal new town to hold the annual Dhaka International Trade Fair, thereby increasing the project cost by about 64 percent, despite a scarcity of land in the country. The […]
Golden days beckon for jute Refayet Ullah Mirdha Jute and jute goods put in a solid shift in the overseas market in fiscal 2017-18, crossing the $1 billion mark in receipts after five years, much to the cheer of the government as it endeavours to lower dependency on garment. Last fiscal year, the sector brought […]
Banks’ operating profits soar despite challenges Most of the private banks registered higher operating profits in the first half of the year in spite of a number of challenges, including liquidity crisis and interest rate hike. The figure, however, is provisional as the operating profit is a profit from business operations before deduction of provisioning […]
Govt mulls Tk 519cr jute textile mill Rejaul Karim Byron The government is going to set up a specialised jute textile mill at a cost of Tk 519 crore although public sector textile and jute mills are counting losses every year. The proposal for setting up the factory named Sheikh Hasina Specialised Jute and Textile […]
Remittance rises 17pc Star Business Report Inward remittance has bounced back strongly in the just concluded fiscal year, thanks to depreciation of the taka against the US dollar. The country received remittances worth $14.98 billion in 2017-18, up 17.31 percent from the previous year, according to Bangladesh Bank data. Remittance is a major source of […]
Punish loan defaulters: FBCCI Star Business Report The FBCCI yesterday reiterated its demand that the government punish wilful loan defaulters who were putting a great strain on the banking sector. “The real defaulters should be punished. The justice should be done in a transparent manner,” said Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, president of the Federation of Bangladesh […]