Morning Newsflash Thursday, April 04, 2019

Transcription

1 Economy Bangladesh will achieve 8pc GDP growth this year: ADB The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has projected that Bangladesh will achieve eight per cent GDP growth in the current fiscal year (FY19-20). The country s GDP growth is set to hit 8.0 per cent at the end of the FY19-20 based on the continuing positive trend in exports and public investments, the lender has said. The ADB makes the prediction in its annual study titled Asian Development Outlook 2019, which analyses the state of the Bangladeshi economy, reports bdnews24.com. Manmohan Parkash, the country director for Bangladesh of the bank, highlighted various aspects of the study at a media briefing in the institution s Dhaka office on Wednesday. Though the ADB predicts a slightly lower rate of Gross domestic product (GDP) growth than the government, the figure is higher than the bank s previous projections. After analysing the data for the first eight months of the current fiscal year (July-February), the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics estimated a record economic growth of 8.13 per cent at the end of the fiscal year Economy Bangladesh wants DFQF after graduation from LDC Bangladesh on Wednesday sought continuation of duty-free and quota-free market access for countries graduated to developing countries from least developed country status for at least additional 6-10 years after graduation. The country made the plea to the member countries of the World Trade Organisation during the first day of the fifth review of Bangladesh trade policy being held in Swiss city of Geneva. Bangladesh in its TPR report, placed its report to the WTO s trade policy review body, said that WTO members need to develop special programmes for the newly graduated countries for ensuring smooth transition and preventing any unwanted setback. It also sought extension of exemption from TRIPS obligation particularly for the pharmaceutical products. Continuation of the DFQF facility, support for capacity building and extension of TRIPS exemption will be critically important for sustainable graduation for the newly graduated countries, the report said, adding that the issues deserved urgent attention of WTO members.

2 Economy NBR chief hints at reducing corporate tax in phases The National Board of Revenue Chairman Md Mosharraf Hussain Bhuiyan on Tuesday hinted about reducing corporate tax rates in phases. The government reduced the tax rates last year and has a plan to slash it gradually, he said. NBR Members Firoz Shah Alam (duties and ICT) and Kanon Kumar Roy (income tax) and other high officials, DCCI President Osama Taseer, Senior Vice President Waqar Ahmad Choudhury, Vice President Imran Ahmed and other directors from the body were present in the discussion. Currently, there are minimum seven slabs of corporate tax ranging from 25% to 45% based on different categories corporate organizations. The NBR chief said every year in order to meet up increased revenue target, NBR depended on its existing tax payers. Capital Market Govt earnings from DSE up 0.86pc in Mar The government revenue earnings from the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) inched up 0.86 per cent month-onmonth in March despite trading activities fell sharply. Market analysts said higher shares sale by sponsordirectors during the month kept the government earnings from the premier bourse afloat. The daily average turnover on the DSE also came down to Tk 4.84 billion in March, which was Tk 7.65 billion in February, 2019, the DSE data shows. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), fell 220 points or 3.85 per cent in March to close the month at 5,491 points. The government collected revenue worth Tk 234 million in March which was Tk 232 million in February, 2019, advancing 0.86 per cent month-on-month, according to statistics from the DSE. Of the total earnings in March, Tk 140 million came from share sales by sponsor-directors and placement holders. It was the highest earnings from the sponsor-directors and placement holders share sale in recent months. And Tk 94 million came from TREC (trading right entitlement certificate) holders' commission pc-in-mar Capital Market DSE inks MoU with Colombo Stock Exchange The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to pave the way of exchanging information between two exchanges. The MoU was signed on March 28 last while a three-member DSE delegation made a visit to Colombo to attend a program namely 'High level engagement with Listed companies: Sustainability Reporting for Sustainable Development'. The DSE representatives attended the programme following the invitation of the Netherlands based Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The delegation included DSE Director Minhaz Mannan Emon, DSE Managing Director K.A.M. Majedur Rahman and Assistant General Manager Moniruzzaman Miah. On the other hand, CSE CEO Rajeeva Bandaranaike and CSE Head of Strategy Nilma Samarasinghe were present at signing ceremony of the MoU.

3 Insurance Underwriting guidelines need overhaul to benefit life insurers Life firms' underwriting guidelines need to be reformed due to the country's rapidly growing life expectancy, according to a study. The paper presented at a seminar in the city last week said such reforms will help life insurers derive benefits from the expanding silver economy. Silver economy is the system of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services aimed at using the purchasing potential of older and ageing people and satisfying their consumption, living and health needs. Currently, underwriting guidelines prohibit the people over the age of 50 from availing of life insurance products. On the other hand, there are around 10 million ageing people who remain outside the life insurance coverage, according to the paper. Quoting the World Bank statistics, he said life expectancy in Bangladesh was years in 1990 and it increased to years in 2000 and years in It stood at years in Telecommunication GP claims govt s audit erroneous Leading mobile phone operator Grameenphone on Wednesday claimed that its observations on the errors in the methodologies of audit through which the government claimed Tk 12, crore in dues from the operator remained unaddressed. On Tuesday, the telecom regulator issued a demand letter to GP after the submission of the final audit report by Toha Khan Zaman & Co on March 25, revising the earlier claim upward. In the letter to Grameenphone, the commission said that its claim to the mobile operator stood at Tk 8, crore and the operator owed another Tk 4, crore to National Board of Revenue for the period. The commission asked Grameenphone to pay the dues in two weeks, commission officials said. As per the auditor s draft report submitted to the commission in 2018, the operator s total dues were revised downward by Tk 5.16 crore to Tk 11, crore. Telecommunication Telcos fall short of 4G speed promise None of the mobile operators can maintain the required 4G speed of 7 megabytes per second in any of the four divisions of Khulna, Rajshahi, Barishal and Rangpur, the telecom regulator found in a recent speed test. And in some cases, the operators are offering half the threshold speed in the name of 4G within the big cities, according to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). This is a horrible situation and we need to be strict on the service quality, BTRC Chairman Md Jahurul Haque told The Daily Star yesterday. There are provisions in the law to punish the mobile operators for misleading customers, he said. Mobile operators, however, disputed the findings of the speed test, saying their actual speed is much higher than what is mentioned in the report.

4 Real Estate Remaking real estate: the impact of digital technology None of the mobile operators can maintain the required 4G speed of 7 megabytes per second in any of the four divisions of Khulna, Rajshahi, Barishal and Rangpur, the telecom regulator found in a recent speed test. And in some cases, the operators are offering half the threshold speed in the name of 4G within the big cities, according to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). This is a horrible situation and we need to be strict on the service quality, BTRC Chairman Md Jahurul Haque told The Daily Star yesterday. There are provisions in the law to punish the mobile operators for misleading customers, he said. Mobile operators, however, disputed the findings of the speed test, saying their actual speed is much higher than what is mentioned in the report. Others Puma enters Bangladesh German sportswear giant Puma has set foot in Bangladesh, with its first store to open next week -- as the country's sizeable and upwardly mobile middle-class and youth population continues to catch the attention of global brands. Puma's first store will be on Banani 11 and it will open its doors to the public on April 7, said MA Jabbar, the local franchisee of Puma. All the clothing items would be brought in from Germany as the country is not yet capable of manufacturing high-end stuff, said Jabbar, also the managing director of DBL Group, which exported garment items worth $400 million last fiscal year. The entrepreneur has plans to take the Puma brand to Chittagong and other divisional cities and open more stores in Dhaka. He, however, declined to give any numbers behind the venture. The economy has been growing at more than 7.5 percent over the last four years and it is expected to cross 8 percent this fiscal year. The domestic apparel market size is nearly $12 billion, according to local researchers.

5 Others Fires spur local safety equipment business Local entrepreneurs are considering more investment in manufacturing fire safety equipment, especially fire doors, cashing in on the increasing demand for the items amid repeated incidents of fire. To ensure safe exit and alert people in case of any fire incident, fire resistant doors, hydrant, sprinklers, extinguishers, alarm systems, extinguisher balls are used. Most of these items are imported but at present two Bangladeshi companies have started manufacturing fire doors and are thinking of moving to other items considering their rising demands. Growing safety concerns, caused by repeated major industrial disasters such as Tazreen Fashion fire, blaze in old the Dhaka chemical stores, fire at Tampaco Foils Limited in Tongi and most recently the FR Tower fire in Banani, have pushed the demands for fire safety equipment up. Partex Furniture Industries Limited, a furniture manufacturer, made an investment of Tk100 crore in manufacturing fire doors in 2016 while Pran RFL Group went into production of the item last year. Shipping data signals weakness in global economy International Business The volume of US ocean cargo imports arranged by Deutsche Post s DHL Group, United Parcel Service Inc, FedEx Corp and other freight forwarders fell sharply in February, sending a warning on global trade, a key barometer for the world economy. Though just a sliver of the global delivery and logistics business, freight forwarding the arranging of end-to-end transport of goods for importers and exporters is seen as a proxy for international trade. Towards the end of last year their clients binged on imports such as apparel, auto parts, chemicals and furniture to avoid US president Donald Trump s tariffs on Chinese goods. In February, those customers pulled back. US ocean imports fell 4.5 per cent, the first drop in two years, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence s trade data firm Panjiva. Freight forwarders overall February decline was in near lockstep, down 4.4 per cent, according to Panjiva data, published first by Reuters International Business Indian cos squeezed as inflation falls but interest rates remain high Indian businesses are getting squeezed. As economic growth slows and inflation sinks they have little ability to raise prices without losing sales, and yet they are getting almost no relief from borrowing costs with lending rates remaining high. The result profit margins get crushed. And that helps to explain why companies are not confident enough to significantly boost capital spending or hire at a robust pace. The rise in India real interest rates - the comparison between the inflation rate and the rate people pay to borrow - will be a major headache for whoever wins India s general election which lasts from April 11 to May 19. Prime minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party are expected to get a second term. It is also an immediate problem for the monetary policy committee of India s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as it decides whether to cut its official benchmark interest rate, and by how much, at a meeting on Thursday.

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