Dhaka wants to host C’wealth business conference in 2020

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Bangladesh wants to host a Commonwealth business conference early next year.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam has proposed to host the ‘Commonwealth Business-to-business Connectivity’ conference in Dhaka in the first quarter of 2020, reports bdnews24.com

Shahriar Alam said Bangladesh wants to host the event as the lead country within the Commonwealth for entrepreneurs and businesses.

He placed the proposal at a Commonwealth ministerial in London recently.

He placed several proposals at the Commonwealth foreign affairs ministers meeting (CFAMM) at Marlborough House, according to the Bangladesh High Commission.

The UK, Chair-in-Office of the Commonwealth, hosted the 18th CFAMM, a special meeting marking the 70th founding anniversary as it embarks on a historic reform process.

The state minister headed a six-member Bangladesh delegation at the meeting.

Shahriar Alam outlined Bangladesh’s plan to launch a virtual hub for connecting business, trade and policy making bodies for both documentation and showcasing business opportunities across the Commonwealth.

He urged the Commo-nwealth member states to share their business and trade information to help enrich the proposed virtual platform.

Shahriar also conveyed plans to make a special publication on the occasion of the proposed business conference.


Bangladesh invents green throw-away bags from jute

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As countries around the world try to cut down on throw-away plastic shopping bags, Bangladesh is hoping to cash in on an alternative: plastic-like bags made from jute, the plant fibre used to produce burlap bags, says a report of the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Bangladesh is the world’s second biggest producer of jute after India, though the so-called “golden fibre” – named for its colour and its once-high price – has lost its sheen as demand has fallen.

Now, however, a Bangladeshi scientist has found a way to turn the fibre into low-cost biodegradable cellulose sheets that can be made into greener throw-away bags that look and feel much like plastic ones.

“The physical properties are quite similar,” said Mubarak Ahmad Khan, a scientific adviser to the state-run Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) and leader of the team that developed the new ‘sonali’ – the Bengali word for golden – bags.

He said the sacks are biodegradable after three months buried in soil, and can also be recycled.

Bangladesh is now producing 2,000 of the bags a day on an experimental basis, but plans to scale up commercial production after signing an agreement last October with the British arm of a Japanese green packaging firm.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in March urged those working on the project “to help expedite the wider usage of the golden bags” for both economic and environmental gains.

In April, the government approved about $900,000 in funding from Bangladesh’s own climate change trust fund to help pave the way for large-scale production of the bags.

“Once the project is in full swing, we hope to be able to produce the sonali bag commercially within six months,” Mamnur Rashid, the general manager of the BJMC, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Bangladesh was one of the first countries to ban the use of plastic and polythene bags, in 2002, in an effort to stop them collecting in waterways and on land – though the ban has had little success.

Today more than 60 countries – from China to France – have outlawed the bags in at least some regions or cities, Khan said.

As the bans widen, more than 100 Bangladeshi and international firms are looking into using the new jute-based shopping sacks, Khan said.

“Every day I am receiving emails or phone calls from buyers from different countries,” he said, including Britain, Australia, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan and France.

The bag is likely to have “huge demand around the world,” said Sabuj Hossain, director of Dhaka-based export firm Eco Bangla Jute Limited.

He said his company hopes eventually to export 10 million of the bags each month.

Commercial production is expected to start near the end of the year, said Rashid of the BJMC.

Khan said that if all the jute produced in Bangladesh went to make the sacks, the country was still likely to be able to meet just a third of expected demand.

While Bangladesh’s own plastic bag ban is now almost two decades old, million of the bags are still used each year in the South Asian country because of a lack of available alternatives and limited enforcement, officials said.

Local firm to set up $200m plant to make electric vehicle

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Bangladesh Auto Industries will tie up with firms from US, China, India and Italy

Jagaran Chakma

Local automobile company Bangladesh Auto Industries Ltd (BAIL) is all set to make electric vehicles from next year with an initial investment of $200 million.

The facilities, civil work and utility connection of the proposed plant on a 100-acre of land at the Mirsarai economic zone in Chattogram will be completed by December this year, Mir Masud Kabir, managing director of BAIL, told The Daily Star.

“We will install the manufacturing equipment by March next year and the manufacturing will begin in June.”

BAIL will manufacture two-wheelers, three-wheelers, sedan, hatchback and sport utility vehicle (SUV) and has plans to produce pick-ups, mini-trucks and multipurpose vehicles.

Of the planned $200 million investment, 80 percent will be sourced locally, while the rest will enter the country as a foreign direct investment


The total investment for the project will reach $1 billion within the next five years, Kabir said.

Leading local telecom service provider Mango Teleservices Ltd holds a majority share in BAIL established in November 2017.

An electric vehicle (EV) uses chemical energy stored in efficient and environment-friendly rechargeable lithium ion battery packs instead of fossil fuel to propel it.Globally, the electric car’s share in the total automobile industry is on the rise.

At the end of 2018, it stood at 4.6 percent, almost double from what it was in 2017, according to the Centre of Automotive Management (CAM), a research and consultancy institute based in Germany.

China is leading the countries in electric car use, followed by the US, Norway, Japan and the UK. By 2025, electric cars will account for one-fourth of all new registrations, according to CAM.

Within the next 25 years all fossil fuel cars would be replaced by the EVs, it said.

Kabir said foreign partners from the US, China, India and Italy will provide technical and expert support for the facility.

The plant will manufacture almost 60 percent of the component of the vehicles, including lithium battery, motor, controller, software platform, chassis and body.

Internationally acclaimed designers have designed the initial EV models for BAIL, said Kabir.

A team of the company will lead the initiative and carry out future research and development together with foreign experts, expatriate Bangladeshis and local talents, he said.

The team will also create web-based portal for co-creation and suggestion for product and ecosystem development in order to ensure inclusive and participatory environment for the nation, he said.

“BAIL products will be a national pride.”

The company will sell an SUV at Tk 25 lakh, sedan at Tk 12 lakh to Tk 15 lakh, hatchback at Tk 8 lakh or even less. The price of the motor cycles will be Tk 50,000 to Tk 1.5 lakh.

About the challenges of the project, Kabir said the market seems to be small at the moment. “But the market will continue expanding as the economy is growing at a steady pace.”

“There is huge regional and global potential as well.”

He said the EVs would cut fuel cost by 90 percent and per kilometre energy cost will be less than Tk 2.

“Customers will replace their fossil fuel-run vehicles with EVs thanks to lower price and cheaper fuel cost and the environmental benefits.”

According to a market analysis of BAIL, annual car sales will reach two lakh units by 2025 from about 20,000 units in 2018.

The battery capacity will be 50 kilowatt hour and it will cost Tk 400 to fully charge an EV each time as per the existing electricity tariff.

“With a twenty-minute charge, our EVs can run 400km,” Kabir said, adding that the car can be charged at home with a regular connection or at a quick charging station.

Quick charging stations will be set up on the highways, at refuelling stations, parking spaces and convenient stores. There will be provision for charged battery swap too.

The battery’s lifetime will be around 10 years, he said.

Satellite, submarine cable business may open to private sector

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Muhammad Zahidul Islam….

The government is set to open up the satellite and undersea submarine cable business to the private sector as it looks to expand the capacity in preparation for a Digital Bangladesh.

At present, two separate state-run companies — Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL) and Bangladesh Communication Satellite Company Limited — run the undersea cable and cosmos communication business.

Two separate policies are now being formulated to this end, Posts and Telecommunication Minister Mustafa Jabbar told The Daily Star recently.

The draft policy for the satellite business has already been finalised and forwarded to the finance ministry for approval. Once the approval comes through and some formalities are completed, the policy will be passed, he said.

Bangabandhu-1, the country’s first communication satellite, was launched in May last year at a cost of Tk 2,765.66 crore, allowing Bangladesh to enter the elite space club of 57 nations which have sent satellites into the orbit. The government took the first initiative to launch the satellite for Bangladesh and now it is up to the private sector to monetise it, Jabbar said.

“Currently Bangabandhu-1 is not bringing in any money but it gave the country huge prestige. Around the globe you will find that private entities are leading this industry and the government is only facilitating them.”

Of the 31 TV channels in Bangladesh, 10 – state-run BTV World, Sangsad Bangladesh Television and BTV Chattogram and private channels Somoy TV, DBC News, Independent TV, NTV, Ekattor TV, Bijoy TV and Boishakhi TV — are airing programmes using the satellite.

BSCCL has two undersea cable connections — SEA-ME-WE 4 and SEA-ME-WE 5 — and is in the process of acquiring another in preparation of the spike in bandwidth consumption soon.

Bangladesh’s current consumption is about 1.2 terabytes per second (TBPS), of which 670 gigabits per second are supplied by BSCCL and the rest is imported from India.

The policymakers are estimating the country’s total bandwidth requirement will be more than 6 TBPS by 2023 and BSCCL’s current capacity is less than 3 TBPS.

So, the country needs to develop channels to get more bandwidth before that, said officials who are working on the matter. BSCCL is now evaluating two separate proposals received from two Singapore-based companies — SingTel and SigMar — to establish connection for the country’s third undersea cable.

But the government is keen on letting the private sector have a share of the pie, Jabbar said.“In the coming days communication channels will play a vital role and that’s why we are taking preparations,” he added.

As of May, there are 9.45 crore active internet connections in the country and this number will soar once the country is properly on the path to digitalisation.

Several submarine cable connections will be required then to run digital services smoothly, said industry experts.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commi-ssion had earlier taken an initiative to open up the submarine cable business to the private sector and even received an application. But in the end nothing came out of it.

Govt draws up plan to face impact of LDC graduation

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Star Business Report ….

The government has prepared a plan to face the impact of Bangladesh’s graduation from the least developed country’s category on trade and foreign aid and discussed it with the United Nations.

A 13-member delegation led by Planning Minister MA Mannan had a meeting with the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation at the UN headquarters in New York during their visit from July 9 to 19.

The delegation also discussed the latest development on LDC graduation during a meeting with the officials of the UN Committee for Development Policy (UNCDP).

The CDP lauded Bangladesh’s preparation for the graduation due in 2024, saying the country’s experience can be an example for other nations, according to a statement of the Economics Relations Division (ERD) yesterday.

The committee assured Bangladesh of active support so that the country can retain various international benefits extended to the LDCs after their graduation, it said.  


Prof Shamsul Alam, member of the General Economics Division under the planning commission who took part in the meetings, briefed the media about the outcome of the visit during at a press conference at the National Economic Council in Dhaka yesterday.

He said the government has prepared a draft report on the possible impacts on Bangladesh after the graduation.

“We will be able to weather any kind of pressure that appears after the graduation,” Prof Alam said.

He, however, declined to share the report until the government approves it.

Among the losses, the number of scholarships for Bangladeshis will reduce and the contribution of Bangladesh to the UN will double when the country becomes a developing country.

Monowar Ahmed, secretary of the ERD, said Bangladesh would have to adopt a plan to face the challenges in the post-graduation period as per UN requirement.

He said the amount of concessional loans would decline but total loans would increase. Trade facilities will be withdrawn, he said.

However, he said Bangladesh would enjoy all the existing benefits granted to LDCs until 2027.

Ahmed said development plans have been formulated for all the regions in the country to face the challenges.

Bangladesh became eligible for the graduation in March last year after it met all three criteria set by the CDP.

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.

Bangladesh is likely to lose about $2.7 billion in export earnings every year once it graduates, the ERD said in a preliminary report last year that assessed the impact of graduation.

Upon graduation, exports will be subject to 6.7 percent additional tariff as duty- and quota-free benefits from different countries and trading partners will be withdrawn.

At present, Bangladesh is a major user of duty-free and quota-free market access, with shipments under this facility accounting for 72 percent of the total exports in fiscal 2015-16, the ERD report said. The delegation from Bangladesh also took part in several meetings on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Bangladesh will require huge funds to implement the SDGs and it was pointed out in the meetings.

The planning minister said Bangladesh does not expect external aid to implement the SDGs. “We will have to mobilise the necessary funds from domestic sources by way of raising revenue collection.”

Bashundhara to invest Tk 447cr to boost cement production

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Bashundhara to invest Tk 447cr to boost cement production

Jebun Nesa Alo

Bashundhara Industrial Complex, the cement manufacturing arm of Bashundhara Group, is set to expand its production capacity with a view to meeting the fast-growing demand for the construction material amid mega project-implementation spree.

Located in Madanganj of Narayanganj, the factory’s production capacity at present is 21 lakh tonnes per year. But after the Tk 447.53 crore expansion project, the annual production capacity would go up to 30 lakh tonnes.

The new extension unit is expected to go for commercial operation next year, taking Bashundhara Group’s cement manufacturing capacity to 75.60 lakh tonnes.

Of the Tk 447.53 crore needed for the project, Tk 285 crore has already been raised from the financial sector, while the remaining amount will come from the business group’s coffer.

The demand-supply gap for cement widened to 1.47 crore tonnes last year and is expected to hit 1.8 crore tonnes this year, according to a survey by Bank Asia, which arranged the fund through syndication with three other banks — Pubali, NRB and Janata — and a financial institution, Uttara Finance.

By 2021 the gap is expected to be 2.17 crore tonnes.

The government’s huge spending to build the country’s infrastructure has been a boon for the cement industry, said Mohammed Belayet Hossain, senior deputy managing director of Bashundhara Group.

“We are enhancing our cement production capacity to meet the rising demand,” he added.

Globally, per capita cement consumption is 500 kilograms, whereas in Bangladesh it is 120 kg, said Md Arfan Ali, managing director of Bank Asia, which has given priority to bankrolling infrastructure projects.

“So, there is huge scope for growth,” he said, pointing out that the escalating demand for urbanisation is due to a rise in per capita income and an increase in remittance inflow. Bashundhara Group, one of the biggest business groups in the country, holds the second highest cement market share of 8.48 percent by way of its two brands, Bashundhara Cement and Meghna Cement.

Of the two companies, Meghna has been listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange since 1995. Each share of Meghna Cement traded at more than Tk 90 in the last four months. Yesterday, it closed at Tk 95.50.

Second LNG terminal to start operations in March

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Second LNG terminal to start operations in March

Reuters, Singapore/Dhaka

January 17, 2019

Bangladesh’s second liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal is expected to start operations in mid-March though domestic pipeline constraints mean it will be unable to fully supply gas demand to the country’s capital Dhaka.

Summit Corp, a subsidiary of Bangladesh’s Summit Holdings, and partner Mitsubishi Corp are expected to start operations at their floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) off the country’s coast by the middle of March and ahead of schedule, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

A Summit Corp spokeswoman confirmed in an emailed response that the Summit LNG terminal is on schedule, but did not elaborate.

However, construction delays on a pipeline that will carry regasifed gas from the coastal city of Chattogram, near where the FSRU will be anchored, to Dhaka means that the vessel will not be fully utilised, the source said.

Until the pipeline is fully connected, the FSRU will handle about 300 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas which will be supplied to the Chattogram area, the source said. The ship can regasify up to 500 mmcfd of LNG, according to Summit’s website.

Once the pipeline is completed, state-owned energy company Petrobangla will be able to send up to 1,000 mmcfd from both the Summit FSRU and a vessel operated by US company Excelerate that started up in August, the source said.

“Our target is to complete all the connecting gas transmission pipelines by April,” Ali Al-Mamun, managing director of Gas Transmission Company Limited, a subsidiary of state-owned Petrobangla, told Reuters.

He added that the company has awarded a contract to Chinese oil and gas major CNOOC to build a 7-km (4.2 mile) pipeline that connects the Summit FSRU to the shore.

Other pipelines that will connect the offshore pipeline to the country’s main gas grid near the city of Bakhrabad are still being built, he said.

Summit LNG’s FSRU will anchor 6 km off the island of Moheshkhali in the Cox’s Bazar district of the Chattogram division, where it will regasify LNG procured by Petrobangla. The planned LNG import volume of the project is about 3.5 million tonnes a year, which will double the country’s LNG import capacity to 7.5 mmtpa once fully operational.

Bangladesh has scrapped plans to build additional floating LNG terminals in favour of land-based stations after the start-up of Excelerate’s vessel was delayed by several months due to technical problems and bad weather.

Govt to go for third submarine cable

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Govt to go for third submarine cable

Robi tests VoLTE service

Stat Business Report
January 17, 2019

The government has decided to connect Bangladesh with a third submarine cable to meet the demand for rapidly growing data consumption, Telecom and ICT Minister Mustafa Jabbar said yesterday.

“More and more new technologies are hitting the market, fuelling the growth of data consumption,” he said.

“We have decided in principle that we will go for a third submarine cable.”

The minister disclosed the plan while speaking at the trial run of Robi Axiata’s voice over long-term evolution (VoLTE) service at the second largest telecom operator’s office in Dhaka.

Industry insiders attributed the growth of internet bandwidth consumption—which now stands at 950 gigabits per second (Gbps), up from 550 Gbps a year ago—to the roll out of 4G services in the country.

“The growth rate is flying, so our total capacity will be exhausted within next year. So, it will not be possible for us to supply required bandwidth unless an alternative source of internet is developed,” the minister said.

Bangladesh wants to be a part of the initiative taken by a new consortium to lay an undersea cable within a short time from Singapore, he said.

Bangladesh got connected with the first undersea cable South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 4 (SEA-ME-WE 4) in 2006 and with the second one SEA-ME-WE 5 in 2017.

At the beginning of 2018, the government had asked state-run Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Ltd (BSCCL) to take effort to establish connections with the third undersea link.

The company contacted with several consortiums and has come to know about the SEA-ME-WE-6 recently.

Another reason for looking for another submarine cable is that the first cable is nearing its 20-year lifespan, said an official of BSCCL.

“It is not possible to expand the capacity of the first undersea cable much and its maintenance cost is also increasing every year.” BSCCL had spent about Tk 500 crore for the first cable and earned more than what it spent.

The second cable cost the country Tk 660.64 crore and the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank lent $44 million for the project.  In the early 1990s, Bangladesh had rejected a proposal for free connection with the SEA-ME-WE-3.

ROBI tests VoLTE service

Robi conducted a non-commercial trial run of VoLTE technology, becoming the country’s first operator to complete preparation for the voice service on its 4G network.

At the event, the telecom minister made a phone call using the VoLTE network and talked with Md Jahurul Haque, acting chairman of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission.

Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, chief executive officer and managing director of Robi, was also present.

Robi officials said VoLTE service would enable customers to make high definition voice calls with faster call setup time.

Mobile phone users can avail both voice and data services through VoLTE, which treats voice as just another application that rides on LTE data network.

Robi’s 4.5G subscribers will be able to enjoy superior voice quality as soon as the rest of the eco-system is ready to offer the VoLTE service on a commercial basis.

There will be no additional data charges for VoLTE and calls will be charged as per existing plan or pack benefits, Robi officials said.

Allocate special zone for plastic products makers

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Star Business Report

Plastic goods manufacturers yesterday demanded establishment of a special industrial zone so that they can relocate the unplanned plastic factories that are based in Old Dhaka.

At present, there are about 1,200 plastic factories in the oldest part of the capital, most of which are unauthorised, according to industry insiders.

“We have long been demanding a separate zone for us,” said Md Jashim Uddin, president of Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA).

“If we get a special industrial zone, it will give a huge boost and we will be able to capture around 3 percent global market share in future.”

He spoke while addressing the inaugural ceremony of the 15th International Plastic Fair 2019 jointly organised by the BPGMEA and Trade & Marketing Service Co Ltd at Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden.

The global market size of plastic goods is about $570 billion and Bangladesh has only 0.06 percent market share.

In 2017-18, Bangladesh exported plastic items worth $600.89 million, which was 1.4 percent of the country’s total export of $36.44 billion, according to the association.

In the previous fiscal year, plastic goods export was $607.15 million.

Some 480 companies from 19 countries are taking part in the four-day fair at International Convention City Bashundhara in Dhaka and displaying products at 780 stalls in 15 categories.

The major categories include packaging materials, plastic moulds, crockery, pharmaceuticals, households, toys, furniture, melamine, garment accessories and polypropylene woven bags.

Jashim Uddin also demanded formulation of a “standard packaging act” to safeguard the sector.

He urged the government to withdraw value-added tax on locally made toys to help flourish the segment as it is still at nascent stage.

Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun assured the business community of solving the existing bottlenecks that the businesses face.

At the event, Salman F Rahman, private industry and investment adviser to the prime minister, pledged to take initiatives to establish the plastic industrial zone as soon as possible.

“I am committed to developing the backward linkage industry along with other sectors as the prime minister has given me the responsibility to work for the development of the private sector.”

He urged the plastics industry to put emphasis on recycling for reuse.

Rahman also vowed to improve the ease of doing business ranking of the country through creating a business-friendly atmosphere.

Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, emphasised the need for improvement of ease of doing business.

He called for allocating land to establish a plastic industrial zone.

Judy Wang, president of Yorkers Trade and Marketing Co Ltd, and Shamim Ahmed, co-chair of the fair, also spoke.

Motorbike market to race faster in 2019

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Motorbike market to race faster in 2019

Sohel Parvez and Ahsan Habib
January 20, 2019

The motorcycle market is set to be around 6 lakh units by the end of 2019 thanks to price cuts, increasing purchasing capacity and thrust for faster mobility.

“2018 was a good year for the sector but 2019 will be better,” said Hafizur Rahman Khan, chairman of Runner Automobiles, a pioneer in the field.

Although the exact sales data are not available, Subrata Ranjan Das, executive director of ACI Motors, which markets the Yamaha-branded two-wheelers, said about 4.80 lakh units of bikes were sold in 2018, posting 24 percent year-on-year growth.

The highest growth took place in the 150cc segment, followed by 110cc ones, he said, adding that the market would grow about 30 percent in 2019.

Overall, the market is expected to be close to 6 lakh units by the end of 2019, said Shah Muhammad Ashequr Rahman, head of finance and commercial of Bangladesh Honda Private Ltd (BHL), which opened its motorcycle plant in November last year.

The reason for the optimism is that motorcycles became more affordable thanks to local manufacturing by most of the brands.

The market began to expand fast from fiscal 2016-17, when the government slashed the supplementary duty by 25 percentage points to 20 percent on the import of the two-wheeler’s components to encourage domestic manufacturing.

The government also framed the National Motorcycle Industry Development Policy 2018 with a view to diversifying the country’s manufacturing and exports and creating jobs.

“The market will grow faster if the government support to the industry continues,” said Matiur Rahman, chairman and managing director of the Uttara Group of Companies, the assembler and distributor of Indian Bajaj motorbikes, the market leader in Bangladesh.

The annual market size would grow to 10 lakh units within three to four years, said Bijoy Kumer Mondal, chief financial officer and company secretary of HMCL Niloy Bangladesh, which manufactures the Hero-brand bikes.

“Penetration in the rural market has grown as people are switching from bicycles to motorbikes,” he added.

The industry is yet to reach full potential in the absence of structured retail finance from the banking sector, said Biplob Kumar Roy, chief executive of TVS Auto Bangladesh, the second-biggest player in terms of sales.

Adequate infrastructure and policy continuation by the government is necessary for the sector, he added.