International News Oil headed for weakest first-half performance in two decades. National News Mobile operators' revenue per user goes up

Transcription

1 DSEX 5, Gold (Ounce) $1, Dollar (Buy) (Sell) REPO Rate (20/06/2017) 4.01% CSCX 10, Oil (Barrel) $42.48 Euro (Buy) (Sell) REPO Rate (19/06/2017) 4.15% Source: DSE and CSE Source: Yahoo Finance Source: One Bank Limited Source: Bangladesh Bank (W AV) National News Mobile operators' revenue per user goes up Hasina believes country s economy size would be $2.5tn by 2041 Per capita income US$ by 2041, Bangladesh Prime Minister Hasina tells parliament NBR prepares to retain existing VAT law Old VAT law stays, govt ditches debated new one Govt borrowing from saving instruments likely to exceed target in FY Negative remittance inflows may affect future growth Govt to widen road for transshipment, Construction to cost Tk 3,568cr ADB gives $300m for Ctg-Cox's Bazar rail link Tk 4,327cr more written off Alliance Leasing gets BB nod International News Oil headed for weakest first-half performance in two decades Uber co-founder Kalanick resigns as chief executive নত ন য বর জ র খবজর চ ঙ স দ স য় রব র National News Mobile operators' revenue per user goes up Mobile operators' average revenue per customer increased in 2016 on the back of rising popularity of data service and infotainment. In 2016, market leader Grameenphone's average revenue per customer increased 4.52 percent year-on-year to Tk 162, Robi's 0.7 percent to Tk 144 and Banglalink's 7.5 percent to Tk 129, according to a report of the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh. But operators said the users did not actually spend more on mobile phone services last year: biometric re-registration last year condensed the subscriber base, so the average revenue per user went up. In essence, their earnings have remained flat. When viewed from a historic perspective, the mobile operators' average revenue per customer is on a declining trend. 1 P a g e

2 For instance, in 2011, Grameenphone's average revenue from per active SIM was Tk 214, Robi's Tk 178 and Banglalink's Tk 143. If the trend continues, there might not be any further investment into the sector. Amtob shared its grievances with the finance minister, the National Board of Revenue and the other stakeholders before the budget for fiscal was placed in the parliament on June 1. This situation might be unsustainable in the long-term, said TIM Nurul Kabir, secretary general of the Amtob. The mobile operators in Bangladesh are now offering the second lowest tariffs in the world after Vietnam, and yet they are subjected to one of the highest tax rates. Telecom is a highly regulated industry and the operators cannot just hike the tariff as they wish, Kabir said. It has to be approved by the government. Bangladesh's per capita income has increased. Everything is getting costlier save for the telecom tariff. The operators' expenditures have increased severely as well, he said. Subsequently, he urged the government to look into the matter as its revenue is tied to the operators' earning ability and sustainability. In our neighbouring countries, the government and regulator help to increase the tariff, which ultimately helps in digitisation, Kabir added. Top officials of the leading mobile operators also urged the NBR to help them to increase tariff as it would untimely help to better the service quality. Operators are earnestly trying to increase their revenue by tagging in new services like entertainment, e-education, gaming, e-commerce, utility bill payment. Currently, there is a floor and upper ceiling for terminating calls: Tk 0.25 and Tk 2 respectively for every minute of local call. The data price and SMS rate also declined sharply due to intense competition in the market. One the other hand, customers want cheaper tariff for mobile services. Source: Hasina believes country s economy size would be $2.5tn by 2041 Prime minister Sheikh Hasina believes that total size of the country s economy would be US$ 2.5 trillion and per capita income around US$ 12,000 by 2041, when Bangladesh would celebrate its 75th founding anniversary. Leader of the house Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday also told parliament that Bangladesh would be a role model by implementing Sustainable Development Goal as it was successful in implementing Millennium Development Goals. Replying to a question from Awami League lawmaker Didarul Alam, Hasina said Bangladesh would be the world s 29th largest economy by 2030 and 23rd by 2050 from 31st at present. Sheikh Hasina said government has taken initiative to set up 100 special economic zones. Four private economic zones were given final licenses to set up industries while ten others were given pre-qualification licenses. Kaliakoir Hi-tech Park is being constructed with a target to arrange employment for one million people in IT sector by 2021 and targeting US$ 5 billion export from the sector. Bangladesh would be the centre point of the economy of Asia region by 2041 and play a remarkable role in local supply chain and global value chain as well as establishing regional and sub-regional communication and 2 P a g e

3 connectivity, Hasina said. Replying to AL MP Samshul Haque Chowdhury s query, the prime minister said that around two lakh people are being affected by cancer each year in the country while there is only one physician for every ten lakh people. The government is making efforts to train more specialist cancer physicians as their number is significantly low compared to total patients. Hasina said that over 1 crore Bangladeshi people are working abroad and the government is trying to legalise all undocumented expatriate Bangladeshis. The government has completed a study to explore labour market in 50 countries in Europe, Australia and Brazil and analysed labour market trend in Middle Eastern countries, she said, replying to a query from Tarikat Federation MP MA Awal. Source: Per capita income US$ by 2041, Bangladesh Prime Minister Hasina tells parliament Bangladesh s per capita income will be US$12,000 and its economy size US$ 2.5 trillion by 2041, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told the parliament today. The premier said this during a question-answer session at the parliament. In reply to a lawmaker s query, Hasina, also the leader of the House, said four private economic zones have been given licences to set up industries while ten others given prequalification licences. Meanwhile, the Kaliakoir high-tech park is being constructed with a target to create employment opportunity for 1 million people in the IT sector by 2021, she said. In reply to another query, the premier informed that the government has taken initiatives to build up more cancer specialists in the country as their number is very low comparing to total number of patients. She also informed that Bangladesh will be the centre point of the economy in Asian region by 2041 and will play a remarkable role in local supply chain and global value chain as well as establishing regional, sub-regional communication and connectivity. Hasina said Bangladesh will become the world s 29th largest economy by 2030 and 23th by Source: NBR prepares to retain existing VAT law The National Board of Revenue has completed all necessary preparations to retain the existing value-added tax law amid the government s decision to postpone the new VAT law, officials said. They said that implementation of the new VAT and Supplementary Duty-Act 2012 from July 1 might be deferred for one or two years in the face of strong resistance from business community and fear of hike in prices of many essential commodities. The formal announcement regarding postponement of the new law or continuation with the existing VAT Act framed in 1991 may come before the finance bill is approved in parliament on June 29. Finance minister AMA Muhith in the proposed budget for the fiscal year declared implementation of the law imposing 15 per cent VAT on almost all goods and services. The revenue board also issued several statutory regulatory orders cancelling all the SROs under the existing VAT law and enforcing the new law from July 1. 3 P a g e

4 Lawmakers from the ruling Awami League criticised Muhith over the new VAT measures saying that the measures will raise prices of many essential commodities and services including MS products, electricity, spices and locally produced clothes. Officials said that the VAT wing of the NBR had already drafted SROs to maintain the 1991 VAT law and cancel the SROs related to the 2012 VAT law. Vetting of some SROs including one on increasing the multiple rates of VAT under the current law and other changes has been completed by the law ministry on Wednesday, they said. Currently, there are several multiple VAT rates ranging from 1.5 per cent to 15 per cent in the existing law. The rates will be increased to boost revenue collection to achieve the largest target in VAT collection, they said. Measures related to automation of the VAT system including mandatory use of electronically generated business identification number, known as VAT registration number, options for online submission of VAT returns and online VAT returns processing will be incorporated in the existing law. Source: Old VAT law stays, govt ditches debated new one The process is all but complete to postpone enforcement of the new VAT and Supplementary Duty Act 2012 at the instruction of the prime minister, amid raging criticism of its possible fallout. Officials said the National Board of Revenue (NBR) completed all necessary groundwork to defer enforcement of the new law that bears some fiscal measures, including a uniform 15 per cent rate of VAT, which sparked off protests. The implementation of the new value-added tax (VAT) law may be postponed for one or two years, sources said. They said the revenue board had done a number of exercises to find alternative ways of implementing the new law but the PM preferred sticking to the existing VAT law, framed in "A high-level meeting among the PM, the finance minister, the finance secretary and the National Board of Revenue (NBR) chairman decided to continue with the existing VAT law after analyzing all possible alternative exercises of the NBR," a high official said. However, he said the decision might be changed anytime as the government has yet to make any official announcement jettisoning execution of the new law or on continuation of the existing one. Revenue-board sources said three Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs) by increasing the multiple rates of VAT and some other changes were vetted by the law ministry Wednesday to incorporate those into the existing law. They said the government high-ups became worried when they foresaw possible hike in prices of products, services, and electricity and gas tariffs with the implementation of the new law. The businesses and lawmakers in Parliament also opposed the law that imposes 15 per cent VAT on all services and products. Businesses demanded truncated-base or multiple rates of VAT for the sectors that would not be able to claim rebate. NBR officials said they have to cancel or suspend two SROs issued on June 01, 2017 with the proposed budget for the upcoming FY. 4 P a g e

5 Some changes have to be incorporated into the existing law to increase revenue collection as the highest target has been set for the VAT wing for FY on the basis of new VAT law, they said. The NBR did some exercises including incorporation of some provisions of the existing VAT law into the new law but the proposals were all ruled out by the government high-ups. There will be no basic difference between the new and existing VAT law if multiple rates were interpolated into the new law, sources said. The government already kept the SD rates unchanged in the proposed budget to retain protection of local industry. Experts found the change in SD as a major distortion of the new law. Implementation of the new law was one of the major conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) against disbursement of funds under Extended Credit Facility (ECF). The raging confusions over the VAT law left the officials puzzled as a series of preparatory programmes have been carried out by the NBR to make aware and motivate people on the nitty-gritty of the new law. Source: Govt borrowing from saving instruments likely to exceed target in FY The total amount of loan from saving instruments will be almost 50% of the outgoing fiscal year s deficit budget, which is now estimated at Tk98,674 crore The government expects its borrowing from saving instruments will exceed Tk50,000 crore in the outgoing fiscal year against the target of Tk45,000 crore. In June so far, an amount of Tk10,000 crore came from the sale of saving instruments. There has been a huge pressure of buying saving instruments in the month of June which marks the end of a fiscal year, said Bablu Kumar Saha, Director General of the Department of National Savings. He said the saving instruments are still preferred by the people to depositing in banks or investing in stocks as the profit rates of the instruments are relatively high. The people are increasingly choosing to buy saving instruments instead of depositing their money in banks or investing in stock markets, Bablu Kumar said. According to the Finance Division, the total government borrowing from saving instruments will be almost 50% of the outgoing fiscal year s deficit budget which is now estimated at Tk98,674 crore. An official said if the government loan from saving instruments crosses Tk50,000 crore, it will also create a fiscal indiscipline in the outgoing fiscal year. According to the Department of National Savings, the government has so-far sold Tk60,519 crore saving instruments as of April 2017 while the principal payment paid was Tk18,419 crore. An amount of Tk12,914 crore was also paid as interest. As a result, the net amount stands at now Tk42,099 crore from the sale of saving instruments as of April 2017, which is 93.55% of the government s total credit target in the current fiscal year. 5 P a g e

6 The government has a target to borrow a net amount of Tk45,000 crore in the revised budget during the fiscal year In the revised budget, the principal amount is Tk22,000 crore and the profit is Tk15,630 crore. In the FY , the target of total sale of saving instruments is Tk60,000 crore, the principal amount payment is Tk29,850 crore and the profit is Tk19,780 crore. Now the government wants to encourage people to go to stock market and the banks reducing the profit rate of the saving instruments. Earlier, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said: We have already taken initiative to rationalise the profit rate (of saving instruments) so the people go to banks or stock markets. The profit rates of saving instruments currently range from 11.04% to 11.70%. Although the present rates are after slashing down by 1%-2% in the FY , they are still high compared to the treasury bill, bonds and bank deposit interest. Finance Division s Credit Debt Management Committee (CDMC) described the nature of taking loan from the government window as an open tap source. The CDMC has identified three causes behind the rise in demand of the saving instruments: the reduction of banks fixed deposit rate, the people s reluctance to invest in stocks and reduction of tax of saving instruments. CDMC has advised to reform the operation of the national saving instruments. As per the initial proposal of the Department of National Savings, several steps were taken to squeeze the size of amount of saving instruments. According to the proposal, the people have to inform the authorities concerned about the source of income for depositing or investing in the state saving instruments. Organisations investment should be stopped while the investment limit in the sectors other than pension scheme will be lowered to Tk25 lakh from the existing Tk45 lakh, the proposal said. The under-aged group will not purchase the national saving certificates and the profit rate of saving certificates will be more lucrative for the older men and women, it said. According to the proposal, the functions of the Department of National Savings will be digitalized. Source: Negative remittance inflows may affect future growth The current negative growth in remittance inflows might have some adverse effects on domestic demand, the central bank said, thereby possibly affecting country's economic growth. From the demand side, strong private-sector-credit growth and capital-machinery-import growth indicate buoyant domestic demand, according to the latest quarterly report of the Bangladesh Bank (BB). "However, the negative growth in remittance inflows (-15.3 per cent) might have some moderating effects on the domestic demand," the central bank said in its latest Bangladesh Bank Quarterly (BBQ) for January-March The BB's latest observations came against the backdrop of falling trend in the flow of inward remittances in recent months. 6 P a g e

7 It happened due to a sluggish trend in economic activities in the Middle-Eastern countries along with a rising trend in sending hard-earned money by expatriate Bangladeshis using informal channels, according to the central bank officials. They also said the overall economic growth may face an adverse impact in future if the existing downward trend of inward remittance continued. "It may be visible in the next fiscal if the falling trend in inward remittance persists," a BB senior official told the FE Wednesday while explaining possible impacts of the negative growth in inward remittances. He also said the government as well as the central bank of Bangladesh is now working to revamp the inflow of remittance shortly. The BBQ also said the country's overall economic activity maintained its momentum during the third quarter (Q3) of the outgoing fiscal year (FY) The industry sector benefited from domestic demand, with output in the large-and medium-scale industries growing by 10 per cent in the Q3 of FY 17. The growth in bank credits to trade and commerce sectors (13.3 per cent) and the increase in the Chittagong port cargo volume (9.5 per cent) suggest a solid performance of the service sector. The recent floods in the northern haor areas of the country had localised impact in the agriculture sector, the BBQ noted. "Favourable inflation dynamics benefited from declining non-food inflation, while food inflation (12-month average) rose modestly since September 2016," the BB explained in its latest BBQ. Besides, non-food inflation (point to point) has been on the rise since the beginning of the Q3. Recent developments increase the probability of higher inflationary pressures over the coming months, the central bank hinted. However, consumer price index (CPI) inflation on 12-month-average basis declined to 5.4 per cent in March 2017, well below the 5.8 per cent target in the FY17 budget. Country's banking-sector indicators depict a mixed picture during the period under review. The BBQ says capital-to-risk-weighted-asset ratio (CRAR) and asset quality (NPLs) in the banking system softened, while the provision-shortfall position of banks against classified loans improved. The ratio of gross NPL to the total outstanding loans of the banking sector increased from 9.2 per cent at end- December 2016 to 10.5 per cent at end-march2017. Moreover, the ratio of net NPL to the total outstanding loans of the banking sector rose to 2.9 per cent from 2.3 per cent during the same period. The CRAR remained largely unchanged at around 10.7 per cent in March P a g e

8 Despite the deterioration in NPL, provision-shortfall position of the banking sector improved in March 2017 and stood at Tk (-) 52.3 billion from Tk (-) 54.7 billion at the end of December The spread of monthly weighted average lending rates and deposit rates in the banking sector remained below 5.0 per cent and the inter-bank money-market rate was stable around 3.6 per cent, reflecting adequate market liquidity. During the quarter under review, the Bangladesh Taka (BDT) exchange rate against the US dollar depreciated modestly (1.22 per cent), reflecting the market forces. The BB bought $45 million in January 2017 and sold $ 22 million and $23 million on the foreign-exchange market in February and March 2017 respectively, according to the quarterly report. "Real effective exchange rate also depreciated modestly due to the depreciation of nominal exchange rate and falling domestic prices," it noted. Source: Govt to widen road for transshipment, Construction to cost Tk 3,568cr The government will widen a narrow 51-kilometre road from Ashuganj river port to Akhaura land port to four lanes for smooth transhipment of Indian goods. Scheduled to be complete by 2020, the construction will cost Tk 3,568 crore, 63 percent of which will come from an Indian line of credit. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) approved the project on Tuesday. The project has four parts. The first, from the river port to the Ashuganj intersection on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway (0.65 kilometres), is a paved road at present. Trucks carrying local goods remain parked on both sides and transportation of heavy goods in this state may cause severe traffic jam. The second part stretches till the Sarail intersection in Brahmanbaria (11.56km). Though currently in good shape, heavy traffic will lead to a tailback. The third section, from Sarail to Dharkhar (27km), is now in a dilapidated condition. Trucks carrying goods from Comilla and Chittagong keep busy a length of road of 18km till Sultanpur via Brahmanbaria. The road might not be fit for increased traffic. The last part is from Dharkhar to the land port (11.31km) where now exists a narrow road. A 10-km stretch from Sultanpur to Akhaura is now in good condition having been improved with Indian finance. However, the road is narrow and has several dangerous turnings. The culverts are narrow too. Some 200 trucks ply the road each day for carrying goods of Bangladeshi exporters. Vast areas will have to be acquired to widen the road. But locals oppose the acquisition. According to the planning ministry proposal, about 108 hectares of land would have to be acquired and people living there resettled. 8 P a g e

9 Under the project, 16 bridges, 36 culverts, 10 foot over bridges, two underpasses and two rail overpasses will be either built or rebuilt. Transhipment through the Ashuganj port started for the first time in June last year but not much could be transported for the poor condition of roads. The first consignment of 1,004 tonnes of rods brought from Kolkata to the Ashuganj port on a Bangladeshi ship was carried to warehouses in Agartala, Tripura. This took over one month, a sign that the infrastructure is not yet ready for large scale transhipment of Indian goods. After the Awami League-led government came to power in 2009, India began pushing for the multi-modal transit system. India's aim was to use Angtihara, the last checkpoint on its maritime border with Bangladesh, to carry goods to Ashuganj through the river route. In 2010, Ashuganj was announced a port of call for transhipment. That same year, a move was made to build a modern inland container depot with Indian credit on 28 acres of land on the banks of the Meghna river adjacent to an Ashuganj food silo. India was to provide Tk 250 crore for building the container terminal but there has been little progress. Source: ADB gives $300m for Ctg-Cox's Bazar rail link The government yesterday signed agreements with the Asian Development Bank to get $300 million in loans to build a dual-gauge rail link between Chittagong and Cox's Bazar with the view to promoting trade and regional connectivity. The assistance is part of the $1.5 billion loan that the Manila-based multilateral lender has committed to the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Chittagong-Cox's Bazar Railway Project. The project, which is closely aligned with Bangladesh's seventh five-year plan, will provide efficient, safe and environmentally-friendly railway transport, said Jyotsana Varma, principal country specialist of ADB, who signed the agreements on behalf of the lender. Scheduled to open in 2022, the 102 kilometre-rail link aims to transport 2.9 million passengers annually between Chittagong and Cox's Bazar by The project design will integrate features that are friendly to the elderly, women, children, and people with disabilities, Varma said. The construction of the railway station is one of several ADB railway projects helping Bangladesh meet its targets under the latter's five-year plan and a railway master plan, said the statement. It will help boost Bangladesh Railway's freight market share to 15 percent and passenger market share to 10 percent by Both currently stand at about 4 percent. The rail link forms part of the Trans-Asia Railway network, an initiative led by the United Nations aiming to provide seamless rail links between Asia and Europe to better connect people and markets. Kazi Shofiqul Azam, secretary at the Economic Relations Division, signed the agreements on behalf of the government. Source: 9 P a g e

10 Tk 4,327cr more written off Country s banks wrote off afresh defaulted loans worth Tk 4, crore in 2016 as part of cleaning up their balance sheets. According to the latest Bangladesh Bank data, banks total write-offs increased to Tk 44, crore as of December 31, 2016 from Tk 40, crore on December 31, BB officials and an expert said that writing off uncollectible loans frequently was a bad practice for the banks as they tried to show lower portfolios of defaulted loans in the way. But, the write-offs are the worst category of defaulted loans as recovery process of such credit is highly difficult, a BB official told New Age on Wednesday. The central bank introduced the policy on writing off loans in 2003 when Fakhruddin Ahmed, former interim government chief adviser, was the BB governor with a view to cleaning up banks balance sheets, he said. But, the policy has backfired as such practice play a role in deteriorating the banks financial health, he said. The banking sector, however, in the last quarter (October-December) of 2016 recovered Tk crore from the amount of bad loans they had earlier written off. The BB data showed that defaulted loans in the banking sector increased to Tk 73,409 crore as of March 30, 2017 from Tk 62, crore as of December 31, The amount of defaulted loans and the write-offs in the banking sector together stood at Tk 1,18, crore at the end of the first quarter (January-March) of Banks are allowed to write off loans when those become defaulted loans of bad or loss category. Banks have to file law suits with Artha Rin Adalat against the defaulters and have to keep 100 per cent provision against the write-offs. The cumulative write-offs at Bangladesh Development Bank increased to Tk 2,815 crore as of December 31, 2016 from Tk 1, crore as of December 31, 2015, that at AB Bank to Tk 1, crore from Tk crore, that at AL-Arafah Islami Bank to Tk crore from Tk crore, that at Bank Asia to Tk crore from Tk crore, that at BRAC Bank to Tk 1, crore from Tk 1, crore and that at Eastern Bank Tk crore from Tk crore. IFIC Bank posted a cumulative write-offs at Tk 1, crore as of December 31, 2016 against Tk 1, crore as of December 31, 2015, Prime Bank at Tk 1, crore against Tk 1, crore, Southeast Bank at Tk 1, crore against Tk crore, The City Bank at Tk 1, crore against Tk 1, crore and Uttara Bank at Tk 1, crore against Tk 1, crore. Finance adviser to a former interim government Mirza Azizul Islam told New Age on Wednesday that the central bank should discourage the banks from writing off defaulted loans. Although the banks concerned are showing lower volumes of defaulted loans through the write-off process, their financial health continues to deteriorate, he said. The BB should run a special drive to recover the write-offs with the support from law and finance ministries, he said. The amount of write-offs in the private commercial banks increased to Tk 21, crore as of December 31, 2016 from Tk 17, crore as of December 31, 2015 and that in the foreign commercial banks to Tk crore from Tk crore. The amount of write-offs in the two state-run specialised banks Bangladesh Krishi Bank and Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank remained unchanged at Tk crore. The amount of write-offs in the state-owned commercial banks rose to Tk 22, crore as of December 31, 2016 from Tk 21, crore as of December 31, Source: Alliance Leasing gets BB nod 10 P a g e

11 Bangladesh Bank has given licence to another non-bank financial institution namely Alliance Leasing and Finance Company Ltd. The BB issued a circular to managing directors and chief executive officers of all banks and NBFIs on June 20 saying that the central bank had given the licence to the NBFI under Financial Institution Act Currently, 33 are running their businesses in the country. The central bank issued licences to two more NBFIs in 2014 namely CAPM Venture Capital Finance and Meridian Finance Investment. Source: International News Oil headed for weakest first-half performance in two decades Oil was mostly flat on Wednesday, after paring earlier losses, but was set for its biggest price drop in the first half of the year since 1997, a sign that investors are discounting evidence that major producers are sticking to a deal to cut output. August Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 8 cents at $46.10 a barrel by 1258 GMT, having fallen earlier to sevenmonth lows at $ US crude futures CLc1 were up 14 cents at $43.65, having hit their lowest since September on Tuesday. So far this year, oil has lost 20 percent in value, its weakest performance for the first six months of the year since Compliance with an agreement by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers to cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day from January reached its highest in May since the curbs were agreed last year. Yet global inventories of both crude and refined products remain well above their long-term averages. Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Wednesday Opec members were considering deeper cuts in output, but should wait until the effect of the current level of production was clear. "One thing we need to see is Iran getting more on side with the rest of Opec to increase the effectiveness of the deal and that effectiveness is in a shambles at the moment," London Capital Group senior market analyst Jasper Lawler said. "This isn't one of the most volatile declines (in price). But in a way, I think that maybe makes it more durable... this enduring downtrend might be more consistent." Data from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday showed U.S. crude stockpiles last week had dropped more than forecast. Gasoline and distillate inventories rose. A government report on inventories is due at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT) on Wednesday and the official figures often differ sharply from those of the industry group. Opec and non-opec oil producers' compliance with the output deal reached 106 percent in May, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. That means they cut output by more than they were required to do. Opec compliance with the curbs was 108 percent, while non-opec compliance was 100 percent, the source said. Another source confirmed compliance by all producers in May was 106 percent. While compliance is high, it is what went on before the production cut that counts, BMI Research said in a note. "A number of producers - notably Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Russia - aggressively ramped up output in the run-up to the deal, fast-tracking projects, expanding drilling programs and deploying spare capacity," BMI said. 11 P a g e

12 Source: Uber co-founder Kalanick resigns as chief executive Uber Technologies Inc co-founder Travis Kalanick stepped down as chief executive of the ride-hailing service, following intense pressure from investors, a company spokesman said on Wednesday. Kalanick's resignation comes after a months-long investigation led former US Attorney General Eric Holder, who was hired by Uber to look into its culture and workplace practices after a female former employee publicly accused the company of what she described as brazen sexual harassment. Five large investors, including venture capital firm Benchmark, demanded that the CEO resign immediately in a letter delivered to Kalanick while he was in Chicago, the New York Times reported citing people with knowledge of the situation. In the letter, titled "Moving Uber Forward," the investors also said the company needed a change in leadership. Kalanick discussed with at least one Uber board member and after hours of discussions with some of the investors, he agreed to step down, the report said. He will remain on Uber board. "I love Uber more than anything in the world and at this difficult moment in my personal life I have accepted the investors' request to step aside so that Uber can go back to building rather than be distracted with another fight," the paper quoted Kalanick as saying. Kalanick told employees last week, he will take time away from Uber, part of the series of measures the ride-hailing company is taking to claw its way out from under a mountain of controversies. Source: নত ন য বর জ র খবজর চ ঙ স দ স য় রব র য বর পদরব ত জনর বড় প রভ ব পজড়জ স দ আরজবর স য় রব জর ব হ লম ন দবন আব দ ল আদ জ র প ত র সম হ জ দবন লম নজ য বর মজন ন ত খবজর চ ঙ হজয় উজ স ট র স য় রব র ব ধব র স দধ আরজবর স য় রব জরর ম লয চ প র য় জড় ৫ ত সবজড় য য়; য গত ১৮ ম জ র মসধয জবত চ চ খবর আরব দনউজ র ব ধব র ব হ লম ন দবন আব দ ল আদ ভ দত সম হ জ দবন ন জয়ফজ দরজয় দনজ র স জলজ উত তর দর দহজ জব স ষণ জরন এদ ন দরয় স ট একৎজচজ র ত উল অল স য় র ইজ কৎ আজগর দ জনর সচজয় প র য় জড় ৫ ত সবজড় ৭ হ র ৩৩৪ পজয়জ উজ আজ, প প দ সবদ র ভ গ স ম প দনর স য় জরর র ব দ প য় এদ ন ব জর ১৫০ স ম প দনর স য় জরর ম ব জড়, এর দবপর জত র হ র য় ম ত র ১২ট স ম প দনর স য় র দবজ ষ জ র মজত, ব র উত তর র পদরব ত জনর প প দ আরও দ ট দবষয় স য় রব জরর ম লয চজ র বড় উল লম ফজন ভ দম র জখ এর এ ট হজ, স ট র র দর মত ত - মতচ দরজ র প রজন দ আদথত দবধ প নবত হল দ ত য়ট হজ স দ স য় রব রজ এম দ ত ম জ ত ট (Emerging Market) এর ত দল য় অন তভ ত ক ত র র ম ভ বন ব ধব র স দ ব এ ফরম জন ন ন, দতদন র দর ও মদর মত ত - মতচ দরজ র ব দতল জর স ওয় দবদভন ন জয গ- দবধ র দ অ প নবতহ জলর থ ভ বজ ন এর মজধয দবদভন ন ধরজনর ভ ত ও আদথত দবধ রজয়জ 12 P a g e

13 অনযদ জ ব ধব রই দবশ বপ দ ব জর সবঞ চম ত দনধত রণ র প রদতষ ঠ ন এমএ দ আই ইন রজপ জর ন ( জব মরগ ন স টয নদল য দপট ল ই রনয ন ল) স ষণ স য়, স দ স য় রব রজ এম দ ত ম জ ত ট এর ত দল য় অন তভ ত ক ত র য য় দ -ন ত ত র পযত জল চন জর স খজ স দ ব র ত জ র পযতজবক ণ ত দল য় আজ দবজশ বর বড় বড় ফ ময জন রর এমএ দ আই এর দবজ ষণজ গ র জ র জথ দবজবচন জর ত জ র এই স ষণ য় স দ ব জরর প রদত ফ ময জন রজ র আগ রহ ব ড়জব এব ব জর দবজ দবদনজয় গ ব ড়জব বজল আ ব ততদর হয় Source: 13 P a g e