First meeting of wage board for apparel workers held

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First meeting of wage board for apparel workers held

]The owners and workers’ representatives to the wage board for apparel workers were asked to place their proposals on the minimum salary at its first meeting yesterday.

Senior District Judge Syed Aminul Islam, chairman of the board, made the call, said Siddiqur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), who attended the meeting as the owners’ representative. On January 14 this year, the government formed the board that is responsible to recommend a new minimum salary scale for the country’s 36 lakh garment workers within six months.

“We mainly got introduced to each other in the first meeting,” said Rahman, adding that all the members of the board were present at the meeting. “We will again sit on April 25,” he said. He, however, did not say anything about by how much the wage could go up or when the new wage would be announced. The minimum wage board was formed after the BGMEA requested the government to hike the salaries of the garment workers mainly to avert labour unrest.

In December 2016, nearly 100 factory owners were bound to shut their production units in Ashulia and Savar because of massive demonstrations run by hundreds of workers for a wage hike.

The factories were reopened after a negotiation with the labour ministry and trade unions. A four-member permanent wage board already exists. Whenever a board is announced afresh, two additional representatives—one each from the owners and the workers—are usually included. The three other permanent members of the wage board are: Kazi Saifuddin Ahmed, labour adviser to the Bangladesh Employers’ Federation (owners’ representative); Fazlul Haque Montoo, executive president of Awami League’s workers front Sramik League (workers’ representative); and Kamal Uddin, a teacher of Dhaka University (independent member).

Be our development partner

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Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina speaks at the opening of Bangladesh-Singapore Business Forum 2018 at Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore yesterday. Photo: PID

 

Be our development partner

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday invited the business community in Singapore to be Bangladesh’s partners in its journey towards economic development as the country was now transforming.

“Bangladesh has a huge young, energetic and easily trainable workforce with competitive wages. It offers opportunities for duty and quota-free access to the markets of the EU, Australia, Canada, India, Japan and New Zealand,” she said.

The prime minister was speaking at the opening of Bangladesh-Singapore Business Forum 2018, which was jointly organised by International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, Singapore Business Federation and Bangladesh Business Chamber of Singapore (BDCham) at Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore.

Sheikh Hasina announced to provide Singaporean businessmen an additional 500 acres of land in any designated space, especially in the Mirsarai economic zone at Chittagong. Singaporean Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang, IE Singapore acting CEO Kathy Lai and the federation Chairman Teo Siong Seng also spoke on the occasion.

Describing Bangladesh’s success in the ready-made garment sector, Sheikh Hasina said the volume of textiles export was almost $30 billion in 2017, coming second after China, and the country wants to increase the amount to $50 billion by 2021.

 

Summit teams up with Japanese firms for $3b LNG-to-power project

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Summit teams up with Japanese firms for $3b LNG-to-power project

Summit Power International said yesterday it signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp and subsidiary Diamond Gas International to develop a $3 billion LNG-to-power project in Bangladesh.

Under the MoU, subsidiary Summit Corp, group company Summit Holdings and the Japanese firms agreed to develop an integrated liquefied natural gas (LNG) onshore receiving terminal with regasification capacity of up to 1,500 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) at Matarbari, Moheskhali, in the Bay of Bengal. They also agreed to develop two 1,200 megawatt (MW) gas turbine combined cycle power generators, relevant high voltage transmission lines and the import of LNG.

“This MoU will help Summit Power International support Bangladesh’s fast-growing energy, power and technology needs,” said Muhammed Aziz Khan, chairman of Summit Power International, which is incorporated in Singapore. “The two groups are well-positioned to uniquely benefit from opportunities arising from the Bangladesh government’s move to raise LNG imports to meet the country’s domestic natural gas shortfall and expand the country’s power generation capacity.”……………….

Govt works on 3rd submarine cable

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Govt works on 3rd submarine cable

Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Ltd (BSCCL) has kick-started the preparations for its third undersea cable link to meet the country’s growing demand for data. “It will hardly take few years to consume all the bandwidth the country has right now,” said Mustafa Jabbar, telecom minister. The country’s data consumption is growing at triple digits over the last few years and it will only accelerate with the rollout of 4G service, said Jabbar, who is also a leading entrepreneur in digital business.

“To meet that demand we need to take prior preparation, as establishing the link with submarine cable is time-consuming.” The telecom minister has discussed the matter with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and she has given her verbal consent, he said. The country is on the hunt for a consortium in the Southeast Asia region to link the submarine cable. “She asked me to grab the first chance that I get to become a member of any new consortium,” Jabbar said.

Mashiur Rahman, managing director of the state-owned company, said they are in talks with a new consortium that is being formed. “We will definitely try to join the consortium,” he added.

At present, Bangladesh’s total bandwidth usage is about 565 Gbps, up from about 380 Gbps a year ago.

Of the volume, BSCCL is supplying 270 Gbps from its first cable in Cox’s Bazar and another 120 Gbps from its second cable in Kuakata, according to officials of the country’s lone submarine cable company.

Another 175 Gbps comes from India through the International Terrestrial Cable (ITC) links.

Jabbar said the country’s youth has become very data-centric and they are using a large number of digital services as well.

The trend suggests their hunger for data will increase furthermore when 4G is properly rolled out across the country. In 2009, bandwidth consumption was only 8 Gbps and it will soon cross 600 Gbps.

“Within a few years we may even face a bandwidth crunch. So, the country needs to take preparations for the upcoming days,” the telecom minister added.

Another reason for the new submarine cable is that the first one that linked up with the SEA-ME-WE-4 cable in 2006 is nearing the end of its 20-year lifespan in six years’ time. It is not possible to increase its capacity much and its maintenance cost is increasing every year, said a top official of BSCCL. BSCCL spent about Tk 500 crore and they earned more than the expenses of the country’s first cable.

The second submarine cable (SEA-ME-WE-5) project costs Bangladesh Tk 660.64 crore; BSCCL took a loan of $44 million from the Islamic Development Bank.

In the early 1990s, the then government had rejected a proposal for free connection with SEA-ME-WE-3.

Air Asia plans Dhk-Bali flight

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Air Asia Berhad executive chairman Kamarudin Meranun inaugurates a sales outlet of the airlines at Banani in Dhaka on Monday. Shah Group chairman KM Mozibul Hoque and Air Asia’s Bangladesh chapter chief operating officer Nehal Ahmed were also present, among others. — New Age photo

Air Asia plans Dhk-Bali flight

Visiting Air Asia Berhad executive chairman Kamarudin Meranun on Monday said that they were planning to connect Dhaka directly to Indonesian tourist city of Bali. ‘We are looking at the possibilities of connecting Dhaka to Bali,’ Kamarudin, who is now in Dhaka on a three-day visit, told reporters while visiting the office of general sales agent, Shah Group, in the capital’s Banani.
Now, the airlines operate through Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur where it is based.
When asked whether the airlines have any plan to lower the price for Bangladeshi expatriate workers, Kamarudin said, ‘We want to give affordable price even for who has not flown before…’  ‘Socially, politically and economically Bangladesh and Malaysia have been very well connected over years. That’s why I am visiting Bangladesh’ he said.
Shah Group chairman KM Mozibul Hoque, and the airlines’ Bangladesh chapter chief operating officer Nehal Ahmed, among others, were present on the occasion.
The airliner already has planned to increase its flight on Dhaka-KL route from weekly seven flights to 14 flights.
AirAsia, one of the leading low-cost carriers and services an extensive network of over 130 destinations across Asia Pacific, has carried more than 400 million guests and grown its fleet from just two aircraft to over 200 since 2001.
During the 3-day visit, Kamarudin is meeting and holding discussions with the high officials of the government of Bangladesh and aviation sector high-ups and stakeholders.

Between poverty and slow growth, Russia’s economic future uncertain

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Between poverty and slow growth, Russia’s economic future uncertain

Outside a metro station in Saint-Petersburg, 70-year-old Irina Semyonova is selling homemade tomato-and-aubergine preserves as a way to supplement her pension which she says is just not enough to live on.

After paying her bills and buying medicine, she says only 4,000 rubles ($70/57 euros) are left out of her monthly pension of 12,000 rubles. “Can one live on 4,000 rubles, especially in an expensive city like Saint-Petersburg?”

Her lifeline is a country house outside the former imperial capital where she grows vegetables in her garden.

“I go there in the summer, I have a vegetable plot and I sell what I grow, which helps me survive,” she said. Vladimir Putin, who is set to win a fourth historic term in March 18 polls, oversaw a period of economic growth during his first two mandates (2000-2008) that boosted personal incomes in the wake of the financial instability of the 1990s when many Russians lost their savings.

But his third stint in the Kremlin, which began in 2012 after four years serving as prime minister, saw a decline in ordinary people’s quality of life. Russia has seen purchasing power decrease continuously for the past four years after the economy was hit with international sanctions punishing Moscow for its annexation of Crimea in 2014 followed by a fall in global oil prices in 2016. The country’s poverty rate, which had fallen from 29 percent in 2000 to 10.7 percent in 2012, inched back up to 13.5 percent in 2016, according to the most recent annual official figures.

In November, the World Bank released a report in which it said less than half of the population, 46.3 percent, was secure from sinking into poverty — citing a figure which was 10 percent lower than in 2014.

– ‘Can’t afford anything’ –

The situation is particularly dire in provincial Russia, where ordinary people subsist on extremely low salaries and young families often have to be helped by retirees’ meagre pensions. “The prices are crazy,” said Vyacheslav, a retired mechanic living in Maloyaroslavets, a town in the Kaluga region southwest of Moscow.

“I cannot afford anything.”

Tatyana Kuznetsova, 47, who lives in a nearby village of Ilyinskoye, says she already knows her pension will be less than 100 euros when she retires in several years, despite “breaking her back” at work since childhood.

Apparel exports to new markets on the rise

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Apparel exports to new markets on the rise

Garment exports to non-traditional markets rose 3.77 percent year-on-year to $2.56 billion in the July-January period of the current fiscal year thanks to preferential trade benefit and fiscal incentive. Apparel shipments fetched $2.47 billion in the same period last fiscal year, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau.

In 2008, garment exports to the emerging markets stood at only $800 million. Since then it started climbing and rose five times to $3.90 billion in 2015-16. Bangladesh considers all countries as non-traditional markets except for its key destinations such as the European Union, the US, and Canada. India, China, Russia, Japan, South Africa, Turkey, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, South Korea, Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand are among the major non-traditional markets for the garment sector.

Shipments to the emerging markets are rising on the back of zero-duty benefit granted to Bangladesh, opening of retail stores by global brands, market diversification by local exporters, and the government’s fiscal incentives. Bangladesh receives the zero-duty benefit to markets such as Japan, India, and China. As a result, shipments to the markets are rising at a faster rate.Riding on the relaxed rules of origin, garment export to Japan grew 1.94 percent to $445.99 million in July-January and is expected to cross $1-billion mark at the end of the year. “Japan is a very promising market for us. Japan is the second largest export destination after the EU for our company,” said Balaram Roy Chowdhury, general manager of Narayanganj-based Metro Knitting & Dyeing Mills Ltd.

Jute could be next main driver of economy

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Mirza Azam, state minister for textiles and jute, speaks at a seminar on diversification of jute for developing the industry at the office of the DCCI in the capital yesterday. Hossain Zillur Rahman, former adviser to the caretaker government, and Abul Kasem Khan, president of DCCI, were also present. Photo: DCCI

Jute could be next main driver of economy

Jute and jute goods hold potential to become the next key driver of the economy as the present ones — garments and remittance — have little scope to contribute more in the long run, said an economist yesterday.

“Bangladesh needs a new growth driver. In this case jute and jute goods can be the main driver soon,” said Hossain Zillur Rahman. The government has been favouring the garments sector over the years and should similarly give policy support on adding value to jute and jute goods and make non-performing jute mills profitable by keeping them running, he said.

People worldwide are avoiding harmful polythene in their daily lives while entrepreneurs in the country are investing on jute and jute goods to regain its lost glory, said the former adviser to a caretaker government. He was addressing a seminar on diversification of jute for developing the industry at the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) in the capital.

Thousands of jobs have been created by small and medium jute mills in Bogra and Jessore running with machinery of Adamjee Jute Mills, which has been shut down, said Rahman.

Mirza Azam, state minister for textiles and jute, said jute production increased gradually from 65 lakh bales in 2014 to 70 lakh bales last year for better prices ensured by a government rule making its use mandatory in goods packaging.

More than 100 crore sacks were additionally produced for the rule and local entrepreneurs expanded the export base increasing the types of jute goods from 135 last year to 240 this year, he said. The government gave out a 20 percent subsidy on diversification, said the state minister.

“I am very much hopeful that the finance ministry will publish a circular within one week recognising jute goods as a product of the processed industry,” he said.

This will help exporters avail the incentive on exports like other agro-processed goods, he said. Azad said the government recognised jute goods as a product of the agro-processing sector two years ago, but the finance ministry has not given the recognition yet. As a result, exporters are not getting the incentives, he said.

The state minister called for producing skilled workforce as every year a lot of foreign currency is spent to hire foreign experts to run textiles and jute sectors. Currently, there are six colleges, 12 diploma institutes and 26 vocational institutes for textiles, said Azam. Md Shamsul Alam, director general of the Department of Jute, said Bangladesh gets Tk 1 on selling a garment item at Tk 4 but retains the whole amount in case of jute.

He expects a maund or around 40 kilogrammes of jute to sell for Tk 3,000 by 2021.

Jute traders get bank loans at 20 percent interest while other exporters can borrow from the export development fund at only 2 percent interest, said A Barek Khan, secretary to Bangladesh Jute Mills Association. Mahmudul Hasan, chairman of Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation, said they needed investment from either the government or the private sector to commercially produce paper from jute, something already proven in laboratories.

Moreover, by making viscose and paper pulp from jute at home, Bangladesh can save Tk 1,700 crore while earning $7 billion from jute and jute goods exports a year, he said. AFM Akhtaruzzaman, former director of Bangladesh Forests Research Council, said it was also possible to make high-value papers such as that for cheques, stamps and currency notes with jute.

Abul Kasem Khan, DCCI president, called for enacting an act on mandatory use of jute and jute goods. In a keynote paper, Rashedul Karim Munna, managing director of Creation Private Ltd, said many renowned car brands like BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Chrysler, Mitsubishi and Volvo have started making different environment-friendly components using jute.

“So, the government should make a policy to export $5 billion-$7 billion worth jute in the next seven years,” he said

 

Govt getting ready to celebrate LDC graduation

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Govt getting ready to celebrate LDC graduation

The government is taking elaborate preparations to organise nationwide celebrations to mark the beginning of Bangladesh’s graduation from the least developed countries category.

A mission by the Secretariat of the UN Committee for Development Policy (CDP) to Dhaka in mid-October last year confirmed that the country is likely to meet the three criteria for graduation for the first time at the review in March 2018. The CDP measures the LDC category on the basis of per capita income, a human assets index and an economic vulnerability index, and a country must exceed thresholds on two of the three criteria at two consecutive triennial reviews to be considered for graduation.

Bangladesh looks likely to be the first LDC ever to graduate on the basis of all three criteria, the CDP said in October last year. Bangladesh, the largest LDC in terms of population and size of economy, is likely to leave the LDC category by 2024, propelled by better health and education, lower vulnerability and an economic boom. The CDP’s five-day triennial review meeting will start on March 12 16 in New York and it is expected that Bangladesh would be included in its graduation list.

To celebrate the beginning of the graduation process, the government has planned to organise various programmes from March 20 to March 25.

The cabinet committee on economic affairs yesterday approved necessary expenditure to purchase goods and services directly to arrange different functions in Dhaka.

A finance ministry official said the Economic Relations Division (ERD) will make the expenditure from its own budget.

The ERD told the committee that it would directly purchase the goods and services from experienced firms and event management companies.

A function will be arranged at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka on March 22 to witness the graduation.

A UN recommendation letter for the graduation will be handed to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

NGOs, civil society organisations, and prominent personalities from home and abroad will be invited to the day’s event.

The following day, an international seminar will be held at the Radisson hotel.

The capital will be adorned with colourful banners, festoons, lightings and flags. Stickers depicting development activities will be pasted on buses, cars and other vehicles.

At district and upazila level, video contents and theme songs will be played at various important roads, intersections and landmarks.

The culture and information ministries will carry out publicity on development activities through traditional music genres such as Jaari Gaan, Pala Gaan and folk songs.

Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter will be used to publicise the country’s development.

The print media will carry write-ups and editorials and the electronic media will air discussions on the country’s development success.

The ministries will observe service week from March 20 to March 25.

The programmes that would be organised outside of the capital would be financed by the fund earmarked for the observation of the Independence Day.

The graduation entails opportunities and challenges alike for Bangladesh, according to an ERD report.

The challenges include Bangladesh losing trade facility in case of export, and concessional loans. So, the ERD has undertaken an initiative to prepare a report on the impact of the graduation.

The CDP will review Bangladesh’s progress in 2021, and after a three-year transition period official graduation from the LDC category will take place.

Following graduation in 2024 Bangladesh, would probably be given a three-year transition period before it loses duty-free, quota-free market access to the European Union under the Everything but Arms initiative for LDCs, according to the CDP. After 2027, provided that it ratifies 27 conventions on human and labour rights, environment and governance, Bangladesh may be expected to gain access to the generalised system of preferences plus (GSP+), giving it dedicated preferential tariff rates. Five countries have so far graduated from LDC status: Botswana in 1994, Cape Verde in 2007, the Maldives in 2011, Samoa in 2014, and Equatorial Guinea in 2017.

There are still 33 LDCs in Africa, 13 in Asia and the Pacific and one in Latin America and the Caribbean, totaling 47.

Taskforce formed to involve NRBs in national dev

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Taskforce formed to involve NRBs in national dev

The government has for the first time formed a taskforce to increase involvement of non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) in national development, taking into account the around $14 billion they remit every year on an average.

The Economic Relations Division (ERD) formed the 11-member taskforce to formulate an institution framework and work method specifying ways to achieve the involvement and take it forward. The taskforce will be dissolved once the framework is formulated, said an ERD circular last week. The additional secretary to the ERD will be the taskforce convener while Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the UN AK Abdul Momen a member.

Other members include representatives of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), ministries of expatriate welfare and overseas employment, and labour and employment; Finance Division, Financial Institution Division, a2i programme at the PMO, UNDP Bangladesh, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry and deputy secretary to the ERD.

The principal secretary and chief coordinator (SDG affairs) at the PMO and the ERD secretary will be advisers.  The circular identified a number of government institutions as associate members.

These encompass the divisions of secondary and higher education, technical and madrasa education, health services, health training and household welfare, and information and verbal exchange technology. The others are the ministries of fundamental and mass education, and social welfare, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority and Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority.