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Source tax on export proceeds to be lowered again to 0.70pc: Tofail

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Source tax on export proceeds to be lowered again to 0.70pc: Tofail

Commerce minister Tofail Ahmed speaks at an institutional dialogue on the sustainable development goals organised by Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry with the SDG wing of the Prime Minister’s Office at the Westin Hotel in Dhaka on Sunday. Principal coordinator of the SDG affairs at the PMO Abul Kalam Azad, FBCCI president Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin and FBCCI vice-president Md Muntakim Ashraf were present.

New Age Report

Commerce minister Tofail Ahmed on Sunday said that income tax at source on export proceeds would possibly return to its previous rate (0.70 per cent) for the current fiscal year of 2018-2019.
At a dialogue on the sustainable development goals, he said that he raised objection during the budget formulation process against the increase of the tax to 1 per cent for the current fiscal year from the previous FY’s 0.70 per cent.
Business leaders from the export sectors have already held a meeting with the prime minister and discussed the issue, he said.
The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry arranged the institutional dialogue with the SDG wing of the Prime Minister’s Office on role of private sector in achieving SDGs at the Westin Hotel in Dhaka.
Tofail said that exporters might play an important role in achieving the SDG targets if they were provided with required facilities.
But, the corporate income tax has been reduced by 2.5 per cent for banks, while it has been raised for exporters in the national budget, he said.
The National Board of Revenue also increased the source tax to 1 per cent in the budget.
Possibly, it will again come back to 0.70 per cent, he added.
He said that export earnings from goods reached $37 billion in the just concluded fiscal year of 2017-2018.
Of which, earnings from readymade garment items stood at $30 billion, he said, adding that overall export earnings from goods and services reached $41.5 billion in the year.
FBCCI president Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin said that a delegation of exporters on Sunday held a meeting with prime minister Sheikh Hasina to press for their demand for reducing the source tax on export.
He said that the government would have to provide all necessary policy support and conducive business environment including an improved ease of doing business to achieve the SDGs.
About the recent cut in interest rate by banks, he said that he, as the president of the FBCCI, at a recent meeting requested the prime minister to take steps in this connection.
Principal coordinator of the SDG affairs at the PMO Abul Kalam Azad said that it would not possible for the government employees alone to achieve the SDGs.
The private sector must come forward in this regard, he said, adding that more than half of the financing
must come from the private sector to achieve the target.
At the dialogue, businessmen took part in 10 separate thematic discussions on issues like entrepreneurship and youth employment, quality education and skill development, urbanisation, infrastructure, access to food, health care, environment and public private partnership.
FBCCI vice-president Md Muntakim Ashraf spoke, among others, at the programme.

Govt to take $270m hard loan for Biman

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Govt to take $270m hard loan for Biman

Staff Correspondent

The government is taking hard term loan worth $270 million from HSBC for buying to more aircrafts from Boeing.
The interest rate of the loan would be 7.2 per cent while repayment period is 12 years, said finance minister AMA Muhith at a briefing on Sunday.
Earlier, he endorsed a proposal from the loss making Bangladesh Biman to take the loan from the HSBC while presiding over a meeting of the hard term loan committee at his secretariat office.
Biman has been looking for the loan since January this year with the plan of adding two Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft to its fleet by November.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a long-range, mid-size, wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Biman has plans to add two more same types of aircraft by September 2019 as part of its deal with Boeing signed in 2008 to procure a total of 10 aircraft.
Currently, Biman has a 13-craft fleet which includes four 777-300ER, two 777-200ER, one A330-200, four 737-800 and two Dash8-Q400 aircraft.
According to the proposal to the hard term loan committee, Biman would spend the money to pre-delivery payment for the 787 Dreamliner.
Answering why the government was taking loan for the loss-making Biman, Muhith said aviation business was not profitable anywhere in the world.
‘You have to take the loan for the interest of the national airline,’ he added.

Alternative dispute resolution can help reduce bad loans

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Alternative dispute resolution can help reduce bad loans

Star Business Desk

Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) should be used to curb the spiralling bad loans, which pose a serious challenge for the banking sector as well as the economy, analysts said yesterday.

“To reduce the number of cases in the banking industry and bring down the non-performing loans to a tolerable level, the ADR can be used as an effective alternative mechanism,” said Abul Kasem Khan, president of DCCI.

He spoke at a roundtable on “ADR in managing the risk of non-performing bank loans” jointly organised by Bangladesh International Arbitration Centre (BIAC) and Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) at the DCCI auditorium in the capital.

At the end of March 2018, the NPL in the banking industry stood at Tk 88,500 crore, according to Khan.

Bad loans stand at 10.78 percent in Bangladesh, compared to 1.6 percent in Malaysia, 1.9 percent in the Philippines, 2.9 percent in Thailand and Indonesia, about 2.5 percent in Cambodia, 2.6 percent in Sri Lanka and 2 percent in Nepal, he said.

Khan recommended for improvement of corporate governance at banks, adopting zero-tolerance policy towards loan recovery, bringing loan defaulters and their collaborators to justice and introducing alternative recovery options.

While presenting the keynote paper, Shafayat Ullah, head of legal affairs at City Bank, said: “The ADR saves time, cost and it is confidential.”

He said large defaulters are rarely penalised; rather loans are being restructured.

To overcome the problems, he stressed the need for the introduction of the ADR as an alternative route that can be used in managing default loans. “All organisations should incorporate mediation-arbitration clause in the commercial contracts.”

He said 11 percent of the total loans are bad loans in Bangladesh at present.

Mohammad Shahidul Haque, senior secretary of the legislative and parliamentary affairs division of the law ministry, said: “We need to concentrate on the implementation part of our legislation.”

Haque said 2 percent NPL is allowable in developed nations whereas it is more than 10 percent in Bangladesh which is not acceptable.

He said if policy reforms are needed to reduce the NPL, the government is willing to do that.

Effective implementation of law is mandatory to convert NPL into performing loans, said Mahbubur Rahman, chairman of BIAC.

He called for implementation of law and amendment of regulations, if needed, for a healthy banking sector.

“Our financial sector can be further strengthened if we can bring down the volume of NPL in the financial industry.”

The NPL is linked with the liquidity of banks, said Muhammad A (Rumee) Ali, BIAC CEO.

“There must be a way out before going to courts to realise bad loans. There should be arbitration clause in the contract.”

He sought cooperation from the legislative and parliamentary affairs division for popularising the ADR and hoped that the use of ADR would be put in place to mitigate NPLs before going to courts.

Nasreen Begum, additional secretary of the legislative and parliamentary affairs division, said the Artha Rin Adalat Ain 2003 needs to be amended and needs to include the provision of arbitration.

Salma Nasreen, additional secretary of the financial institutions division, said a sound economy depends on an efficient banking system.

Tanjina Ismail, president of the Bangladesh Women Judges Association, said it is time for banks to rethink and redefine their loan recovery systems.

No more extension for Accord, Alliance

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No more extension for Accord, Alliance

Says state minister for labour

Star Business Report

  • The Remediation Coordination Cell (RCC) is capable of running the inspection and monitoring of workplace safety in the garment sector

The government will not extend the tenure of Accord and Alliance as the Remediation Coordination Cell (RCC) is capable of running inspection and monitoring of workplace safety in garment factories, said state minister for labour and employment.

In May last year, the RCC was set up through the collaboration of the Bangladesh government, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, with technical support from International Labour Organisation.

“I can challenge that the RCC is very much capable of monitoring the progress of the remediation of factory buildings,” said Md Mujibul Haque.

He spoke at a media briefing at the Hotel Purbani in Dhaka yesterday.

He said the government has already recruited 130 inspectors to run the cell, which will work as the permanent body for the inspection of workplace safety.

In 2013, the Accord, a platform of mainly European retailers and brands, and the Alliance, a platform of North American buyers and retailers, were formed to inspect and remediate the loopholes of structural, fire and electrical safety at garment factories in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza building collapse.

The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety has already applied to the government seeking extension of the tenure for continuation of the remediation work.

“But, we will not extend it anymore,” Haque said.

The government has extended the tenure of the Accord and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety for six months so that they can take preparations for departure from the country.

As per the decision, the buyer-driven groups will be able to run their operations in the country up to December 31 this year.

So far, more than 90 percent remediation works of 2,559 factories affiliated with the Accord and the Alliance have been completed, Haque said, adding that 755 factories have completed all kinds of remediation.

The government itself is inspecting an additional 1,549 factories, mainly small- and medium-sized. But their remediation progress is very slow, the state minister said.

“I have already warned the factory owners of closure if they fail to make any visible progress by December 31 this year.” Earlier at a seminar on the capability of RCC at the same venue, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said the cell would learn more to run the remediation and inspection.

Seven of the world’s top 10 green garment factories are located in Bangladesh.

“Foreign retailers and brands should pay more for the products they buy from Bangladesh as our local entrepreneurs have already strengthened the workplace safety by spending billions of US dollars,” he said.

Foreigners can’t own over 49pc in joint ventures

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Foreigners can’t own over 49pc in joint ventures

Star Business Report

The government yesterday approved the long-awaited National Digital Commerce Policy, which does not allow foreign investors to hold a stake of over 49 percent in any e-commerce venture in Bangladesh.

The policy also mandated that the e-commerce entities clearly highlight the details of the products they sell online, which include the product’s quality along with its return policy.

They will have to also sign deals with the products’ suppliers, delivery channels and payment gateways to ensure that customers’ rights are protected properly, reads the policy. The E-commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB) played an important role by organising around 30 workshops in the last two years, as part of efforts to formulate the draft guideline.

Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, the commerce ministry and the ICT division will materialise the policy. This is a huge movement to boost digital commerce and online shopping in the country, said Mustafa Jabbar, telecom and ICT minister.

The government wants to promote home-grown investors and now it is everybody’s responsibility to comply with the policy, he said.

The commerce ministry will constitute a cell and go for vigorous campaigns to clear confusion on e-transactions, NM Zeaul Alam, secretary to the cabinet division, said while giving a briefing at the secretariat.

The policy would help create more employment opportunities in the industry, he said.

The policy will properly define what e-commerce is, as it will mainly raise awareness on online based businesses, said Mostafizur Rahman Sohel, convener of BASIS E-Commerce Alliance.

The government and e-commerce entities will work together to familiarise online shopping by making the best use of the new rules, said Sohel, who was also involved in the formulation of the policy.

E-commerce entrepreneurs and leaders of the sector’s trade bodies welcomed the new policy, believing it would turn up as a boon for domestic companies.

The policy will be successful in protecting local investors’ rights, something the industry insiders have long been demanding, said AKM Fahim Mashroor, founder of ajkerdeal.com, a leading e-commerce venture in the country.

The country needs foreign investments to explore the untapped potential but that does not mean the foreigners will grab and control the sector, said Mashroor, who is also a director of the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS).

Daraz.com.bd, one of the leading e-commerce players in the country and a sister concern of e-commerce giant alibaba.com, will now have to offload a majority of its shares for the local companies to comply with the new policy.

“Online trading is getting popular in the country by the day and we need to address the issue,” Jabbar, who is also a former president of the BASIS, said after the cabinet meeting where the go-ahead for the policy came from.

“Most countries in the world are yet to adopt this kind of advanced policy. Even our neighbouring countries do not have a policy like this.”

A specialised “Centre of Excellence” cell will be established under the policy which will work for the development of the sector”.

Cross-border online trade has also been addressed in the policy which will widen the scope to export products through online channels, said Muhammad Abdul Wahed Tomal, general secretary of e-CAB.

More investment needed in agri-research: minister

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More investment needed in agri-research: minister

Star Business Report

Bangladesh has to invest heavily on agricultural research for climate change adaptation as the country is extremely vulnerable to the warming of the world’s weather, said Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Anisul Islam Mahmud yesterday.

“In agriculture we have to think about the changing pattern of the rain as sometimes it is coming early,” he told a seminar, “A Climate Resilient South Asia: Turning Climate Smart Investment Opportunities into Reality”.

“So we have to think about plantation and have to go for research to find out the adaptation. A tremendous amount of investment is needed for agricultural research,” he told the event at the Sonargaon hotel in Dhaka.

The Saarc Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Saarc CCI) and the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) jointly organised the event.

Mahmud said Bangladesh had already taken preventive measures such as building flood embankments and dredging rivers.

“We have already topped a global list of countries as we installed six million climate-friendly solar home systems and two million improved cooking stoves across the country,” he said.

“Bangladesh is now at the forefront in the fight against climate change. In spite of so many hurdles, including early rain, our economic growth rate is now more than 7 percent,” he said.

“It has been unusual for a country facing such climate change effects to be able to sustain an average growth rate of 6 percent plus for almost nine years,” added Mahmud.

He said Bangladesh was very vulnerable because of its geographical location while no other country was facing problems arising from climate change on all sides. “We have the Bay of Bengal in the south, and the Everest in the north,” he added.

He thinks Bangladesh having more cyclones and flooding in recent times, along with a gradual sea level rise around the world, was a testament to global warming.

“It is a change (climate) which is global over which we have no control. Control lies actually in big countries like the US, the European Union, China and India who are the main emitters of carbon dioxide, which results in global warming,” said Mahmud.

FBCCI President Md Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, Saarc CCI President Ruwan Edirisinghe and Saarc CCI Vice President-Bangladesh Mahbubul Alam also spoke.

Roadshows to draw foreign funds in hi-tech parks

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Roadshows to draw foreign funds in hi-tech parks

Star Business Report

Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority is set to organise roadshows in different cities around the world from September to attract foreign investors, including non-resident Bangladeshis.

The decision was taken yesterday at a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on the ministry of posts, telecommunication and information technology, said Hosne Ara Begum, managing director of the park authority.

BHTPA plans to organise three separate programmes, including seminars and other activities, aiming to promote the three hi-tech parks.

Sylhet Electronic City will be the first to be completed, so it will be promoted first, said Begum, who is also a secretary to the ICT division.

Sylhet Electronic City, which is being built at a cost of Tk 187.13 crore on 162 acres of land, is scheduled for completion this December.

About 50,000 new jobs will be created at the park, according to government estimates.

There is a sizeable Sylheti diaspora in the UK and the government’s target is to attract them, according to Begum.

The park authority is also developing the country’s first hi-tech park, the Bangabandhu Hi-Tech City, in Gazipur’s Kaliakoir on 355 acres of land.

The project will be completed by June next year, but few parts of the park might be inaugurated by the end of this year, according to Begum.

BHTPA is also developing the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Hi-Tech Park in Rajshahi for Tk 238.25 crore. Construction work for the 10-storied multipurpose building is already on way.

The government has also selected land in 28 districts to build IT parks and ICT incubators; BHTPA also wrote to the commissioners of the remaining 36 districts for suitable land to set up such parks there, Begum also added.

The initiative comes as part of the government’s target to earn $5 billion from ICT exports and generate 20 lakh jobs by 2021.

Light engineering shows signs of strength

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Light engineering shows signs of strength

Jagaran Chakma

The country’s light engineering sector is gradually emerging as an important source of machinery for many of the $30 billion export earning apparel-markers on the back of better quality and lower price.

Operators make machineries for washing, dyeing and finishing in the textile industry as well as film blowing machines, which are used to make polyethylene into plastic film.

Leading garment exporter Ha-Meem Group is one of the buyers of the locally made machines. The $500-million clothing exporter has recently bought a film blowing machine from Mafia Engineering Works, a local light machinery maker.

Ha-Meem paid Tk 40 lakh to Mafia Engineering for the machine, which would have cost the exporter Tk 6 crore had it been imported.

“In the past, we used to import this type of machine from Taiwan. But we are not looking to foreign suppliers now as we get almost the same machine at much lower cost,” said Monirul Islam, production manager of Sakib Poly Industry, a concern of Ha-Meem Group.

“What is noteworthy is that some local light machinery makers are using advanced technologies.”

Prior to making film blowing machine for Ha-meem, Mafia Engineering, located in the old part of the capital, also supplied DLPG film blowing machine to local conglomerates such as Pran-RFL, Square Pharmaceuticals, Akij Group, Meridian Foods, and  Bengal Group, said Abul Kashem Titu, owner of Mafia Engineering.

DLPG film blowing machine is a very basic equipment for the garment industry. It manufactures poly roll used for wrapping denim and other finished products.

Some other light engineering factories are also making this type of machines for local industries, said Titu, who set up his workshop in 1998 with only Tk 50,000 in capital and a lathe machine to make his fortune in the sector that comprises thousands of small and informal operators.

Mafia Engineering has supplied six small-scale film blowing machines so far this year and has now orders to make eight such machines.

Titu is one of 40,000 light engineering product manufacturers who are catering to sectors such as agriculture, automobile, pharmaceuticals, food industries and ship-building, helping the country cut import dependence and costs.

Shankar Chandra Mondal, owner of Raja Engineering Works on Tipu Sultan Road in Old Dhaka, manufactures spare parts for textile machineries and different kinds of gears. He started the business in 1991 and can repair all kinds of textile machines. Raja Engineering Works also manufactures zipper plate and clamp manufacturing machines for the textiles sector, said Mondal.

Similarly, Monoranajan Modal, who also has a workshop on Tipu Sultan Road, manufactures patterns for machines used in car engines, saw mills and jute mills. He said profit is very limited and he has no scope to expand because of a lack of capital.

Md Abdur Razzaque, president of Bangladesh Engineering Industry Owners Association, said, “We are providing support to industrial, agricultural and construction sectors by manufacturing a wide range of spare parts, castings, moulds and dices, oil and gas pipeline fittings and light machinery. We also repair them.”

Electrical products like switch, socket, light shed, channel, cables and electrical fans, and generators manufactured by the light engineering sector now meet 48 to 52 percent of the country’s demands, which were earlier met through imports, he said.

The market size of light engineering machinery and spare parts was about Tk 25,000 crore in 2017, Razzaque said. This is up from Tk 20,000 crore a decade ago.

The Business Promotion Council under the commerce ministry estimates that local light engineering industries produce 3,815 types of machinery, spares and accessories.

The Bangladesh Investment Develop-ment Authority said more than 90 percent of light engineering industries meet local demand. It lists the sector as one of the important areas for investment owing to its potential for both domestic and foreign markets.

A number of light engineering products are also exported either directly or via subcontracting. These include spare parts of paper and cement mills, bicycle, fancy light fitting, construction equipment, iron chain, cast iron article, carbon rod, and automobile spares, according to a paper of the Export Promotion Bureau.

According to the EPB, this newly emerging sector has witnessed exponential growth and contributed about 1.5 percent to the export earnings in the financial year that ended in June 2016. The EPB data showed that engineering products fetched $510.08 million in 2015-16.

Razzaque said modernisation is taking place in the sector. Use of computerised machinery is expanding gradually. “These advanced machines help increase productivity and quality,” he said.

He said the sector needs trainers to develop skilled workforce as well as the government’s policy support to flourish, as its growth is very sluggish in absence of investment and government’s support.

“The potential of the sector is immense, but it has remained untapped for years because of lack of support,” he said.

“Our mechanics with no academic qualification can manufacture almost everything riding on their quick learning skills. Training can improve their skills.”

Razzaque urged big business groups to invest in the sector so that it develops into high tech engineering.

Agrani Bank Chairman Zaid Bakht, who conducted research on the sector, said the sector has a bright future in Bangladesh and contributes to the industrial sector.

“The sector needs sophisticated technology for rapid growth and there is no scope to ignore it, as it contributes about 2 percent to the GDP,” he said.

ADB to give $357m to develop two power lines

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ADB to give $357m to develop two power lines

Star Business Report

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved an assistance package of over $357 million for a project to develop two power lines to help Bangladesh reach its national goal of ensuring electricity for all by 2021.

The investments comprise a $350 million ADB loan and a $7 million grant from the Japan Fund for the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JFJCM) to partially finance new high-technology energy efficient conductors.

It also includes a $500,000 grant from the Republic of Korea e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund (EAKPF) to promote socially inclusive growth with gender equality, the Manila-based donor said in a statement.

The Southwest Transmission Grid Expansion Project builds on ADB’s previous work, including the recently approved Rupsha 800 megawatt Combined Cycle Power Plant in the southwest region.

The project will develop a 126-kilometre 230 kilovolt (kV) transmission line from Barisal to Faridpur and a 104 km 400 kV transmission line from Bogra to Rohanpur along with substations, transformers and associated extensions and connections.

The new transmission lines are a new type of high temperature conductor to allow more power transfer at lower energy losses.

These have less resistance to power flow, higher power transferring capacity, and operate more reliably in tropical weather. In addition, the use of these conductors also helps to minimise right-of-way requirements.

The project is also contributing to climate change mitigation, since the new conductors reduce carbon dioxide emissions compared to conventional transmission conductors.

This climate change mitigation accounts for $93 million of the investment, comprising $86 million from the ADB loan and $7 million from the JFJCM grant.

Under the EAKPF grant, the project will fund a scholarship programme that will support women’s access to higher education and boost their job opportunities in electricity industry.

The government will contribute $174.5 million to the $532 million project, due to be completed by the end of June 2023.

Local pharma market set to hit $5.11b by 2023

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Local pharma market set to hit $5.11b by 2023

Star Business Report

Bangladesh’s pharmaceuticals sector will grow 15 percent year-on-year to reach $5.11 billion by 2023, propelled by high investments by local companies as they seek to grab a bigger share of the global market, said a new study yesterday.

By 2022, the market size will be more than doubled to $4.44 billion from $2.02 billion now, it said.

“Bangladesh will soon become a major global hub for high quality and low-cost generic medicine and vaccine,” said Abdul Muktadir, chairman and managing director of Incepta, a local medicine producer and exporter.

Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical industries aim to capture 10 percent of the global generic market as 5 to 7 companies have received approval from top regulatory bodies, he said.

These include the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the United States Food and Drug Administration, he added.

Muktadir was presenting the keynote paper on “Pharmaceuticals: the next multi-billion dollar opportunity for Bangladesh” at a meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham) at The Westin Dhaka.

Bangladesh exports medicinal products to 144 countries after meeting 97 percent of the domestic demand. Pharmaceuticals exports fetched $103.46 million in the last fiscal year, up 16.03 percent year-on-year, according to the Export Promotion Bureau.

Currently, Bangladesh has the facilities for producing advanced medicine like active pharmaceuticals ingredients, biosimilars, vaccines, and oncology products alongside medical devices.

Bangladesh has a surplus of pharmaceutical industry-focused human resources, Muktadir said, adding that the formulation industry is well-developed and investing heavily for future growth.

Bangladesh is capable of producing specialised delivery products like inhalers, pre-filled syringe injections, lyophilised injections, dry-powder inhaler and sustained-release formulations, he said.

The country has already developed production facilities for tablets, capsules, liquid preparations, dry suspension, injections, ointment/cream, nasal spray and granules in sachets.

In the first quarter of 2018, the market size of pharmaceutical products in Bangladesh was $2.35 billion and year-on-year growth rate was 8 percent. Per capita consumption of medicine was about $15.36.

Speaking as a panel discussant, Kazi M Aminul Islam, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, said Bangladesh needs to develop the knowledge and capacity to grab a bigger share of the global pharmaceutical market.

British pharmaceutical company GSK has shut down its production in Bangladesh because preparing Horlicks was commercially more viable than making medicine, he said.

M Mosaddek Hossain, managing director of UniMed & UniHealth Manufacturers Ltd, said if Bangladesh could produce and run an API park successfully, it would become more competitive in the global pharmaceuticals market.

“We also need to have competitive sourcing of raw materials,” he said.

Nurul Islam, president of the AmCham, Farooq Sobhan, president of the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute, and Md Mustafizur Rahman, director general of the Directorate General of Drug Administration, also spoke.