Todays Capital Market News Clippings

Transcription

1 Todays Capital Market News Clippings July 28, 2016 Sl. No Focus on Bulletin Sources Pag e No. 1 RMG union leaders call for buyers security Dhaka Tribune 2 2 IT Incubation Centre launched Dhaka Tribune 2 3 Citi: GDP growth gathers pace Dhaka Tribune 3 4 Daily Prothom-alo Daily Prothom-alo 6 6!" #$% & '( ) & Daily Prothom-alo 7 7 *" +,, -. Arthosuchak 8 8 / : 12 3 &4 15 /6/7! sharebazarnews 9 9.: 9: ;" < /6/7 #$% sharebazarnews = ) A& A sharebazarnews 9 11? B, 6.. sharebazarnews CC D%. sharenews24.com EF.-@+3" 6 " sharenews24.com &EG. H sharenews24.com 'Banks should balance collateral, low interest' The Financialexpress Banks can roll in higher forex The Financialexpress LankaBangla to issue commercial paper The Financialexpress 16 Page 1 of 17

2 1 RMG union leaders call for buyers security Dhaka Tribune Trade union leaders in Bangladesh s readymade garment industry called on the government to ensure security of foreigners and garment workers so buyers can have their confidence restored after terror attacks. The Confederation of Garment Workers made the call at a press conference in Dhaka yesterday. International buyers of Bangladesh s garment products feel insecure to visit Bangladesh after recent terror attacks, including Gulshan incident in which 17 foreigners were killed. We are worried after the Gulshan tragedy as victims also included people from garment business. This is a threat for the buyers security in Bangladesh, said Sirajul Islam Rony, convenor of the Confederation. I think it s a conspiracy to destroy our apparel industry which is giving jobs to millions, he said. Sirajul Islam, also president of Bangladesh Garment Workers and Employees League, urged the authorities to ensure security for the RMG stakeholders, foreigners, buyers and buyers representatives. He said: We want to work together in the fight against terrorists to save lives of workers in our clothing industry. Sirajul Islam asked the workers to remain alert against any terror rumours designed to spread panic among people. Confederation leaders including Abul Hossain, Tapan Saha, Bahrain Sultan Bahar, Shahidullah Badol, Md Rafiq, Asad Choudhury, Abul Kalam Azad, Roksana Akter, Arafat Zakaria, Md Mostafa and Tanvir Hossain were also present at the press conference. - See more at: 2 IT Incubation Centre launched Dhaka Tribune The first-ever IT Incubation Centre has been launched in the country to promote IT sector by young entrepreneurs. The ICT division under the ministry of Post, Telecommunication and ICT and the private mobile phone operator Banglalink have jointly created this centre at the Software Technology Park (Janata Tower) in Karwan Bazar. Prime Minister s ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy formally inaugurated the centre at a city hotel yesterday. Inaugurating the IT Incubation Centre, Sajeeb Wazed said: Nothing is impossible for us to produce innovative IT products as there are lot of young entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. Page 2 of 17

3 The government has undertaken a good number of initiatives on right time whenever is needed to solve all the problems rapidly, he said. Lauding the present government s activities, Joy said: We want to establish a knowledge-based society. Bangladesh will become an IT leader as our country is truly a land of opportunities. State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union Houlin Zhao and Managing Director and CEO of Banglalink Erik Aas also spoke at the launching ceremony. Of 50 finalists, top 10 got a free office space along with dedicated mentor-ship. The rest of the finalists will be provided with a co-working office space for three months including the accelerator support. According to the officials, the centre will support the youths in executing their innovations seamlessly and help the young entrepreneurs earn expertise in the ICT sector. ICT industry people said the centre will also help to create over 100,000 jobs in the country s ICT industry over the next 10 years and help to earn foreign currencies as well. - See more at: 3 Citi: GDP growth gathers pace Dhaka Tribune The US-based Citibank NA remained hopeful about Bangladesh s economic growth prospect. In its latest half yearly economic update released yesterday, the bank said: Bangladesh has managed to set growth on a higher trajectory, posting GDP growth of 7.05% in FY16 on the back of surge in both private and public investment as well as increase in consumption expenditures. To achieve sustainable growth and investment, it is imperative to reap the benefits of the favorable demographic characteristics of a large working population, it said. Enhancing the quality of the workforce and addressing the skill gap will help align the supply side factors with supportive fiscal measures. Pointing finger at the country s recent economic growth, the bank said higher implementation of Annual Development Program and higher consumption driven by new pay scale for public sector employees and moderate inflation helped boost the GDP growth. GDP growth target for FY17 has been set at 7.20%, while the target is to achieve 8% by 2020 as per the government s 7th Five Year Plan. To support the growth, investment-gdp ratio of 34.40% has been aimed for the same period from the existing level of 29.38%, it said. About the local currency versus greenback, it said the demand for dollars subsided briskly in March with growing exports as the pair fell to in early March, a level which has prevailed since then. Page 3 of 17

4 While Taka has remained robust, many of Bangladesh s trade partner countries have seen their currencies weaken against US dollars. Under the circumstances, it warned that the primary challenge lies in promoting investor confidence and thereby increasing import of capital stocks in productive sectors to take advantage of lower costs induced by exchange rate benefits, which will eventually help in easing appreciation pressure on Taka. Average inflation slid to 12 year lows to 5.92% in FY16 on the back of low food inflation, which was well below the government s target of 6.20% for the period. Good domestic harvest, low international commodity prices and political stability helped in keeping inflation manageable. Food inflation dived to 4.92% from 6.68% in the past fiscal. However, non-food inflation surged to 7.45% from 5.99% during the same period. It said the lagged impact of the new pay scale for government employees and upward adjustment of gas and electricity prices drove the non-food inflation higher, however, a cut in fuel prices in April helped in limiting the non-food inflation during May and June. Following the recent upsurge in private sector credit, a highly expansionary fiscal policy and spike in oil prices in the global market, the Citi said, Prudent macroeconomic management is warranted to contain inflation within 5.80% target set for FY17 in the national budget and monetary policy. Export posted a healthy 9.72% growth in FY16 to reach US$34.24 billion compared to $31.21 billion in FY15. The export numbers also beat the FY16 target of $33.50 billion by 2.21%. The Ready Made Garments (RMG) sector grew by 10.21% raking in $28.09 billion. While the growth in RMG sector is commendable, it is also a cause of concern from diversification aspect as it accounted for over 82% of the earnings, said the banking giant. It said improvement in workers safety standards and gradual migration to manufacturing of highvalue apparel items have helped in boosting the exports. Exports to the US, the biggest single market for Bangladesh, was resilient despite the suspension of the generalized system of preferences. In FY16, Bangladesh s exports to US grew 7.5% to $6.20 billion. Given UK s decision to leave the EU, it is crucial for Bangladesh to ensure existing preferential terms are maintained as UK is one of the major RMG export destinations for Bangladesh. In order to achieve sustainable export growth, it put importance on ensuring infrastructural support and sound business climate is the key to attracting investors to economic zones and achieve the much desired export basket diversification. About the declining remittances despite growth in overseas jobs, it said the Gulf countries, which host a large Bangladeshi diasporas accounting for over 65% of Bangladeshi workers abroad has been bearing the brunt of continued low oil prices. This has led to lower spending on infrastructure and construction projects, which provides employment for most Bangladeshi workers abroad. In addition, the weakening of other currencies in some of these countries in the recent months also put a negative impact on inward remittance. Page 4 of 17

5 Bangladesh Bank has projected FX reserves to grow to $33 billion by the end of FY17 in the monetary policy statement and have indicated that large infrastructure projects may be implemented using the reserves under the large current account surplus scenario to stimulate private investment. - See more at: 4 Daily Prothom-alo D J 1.:.K 3, 3- L/) M / + ( & &F 3 3 :" <:." < AO 9 6$P ) & 6: - &F - Q &,R.< :< <S K R - & +,& &.< :< &. F. T% <. ( $ U.< :< 36 3 & 3 4 & 6: F U 3 &,R < :( # % W.K 3 F.3 ( X, TYJ 3 < Z 4 " D ) [.K 3 F % &4 & \ < <,& ] % + <, \& & "& K R E" & / R^ \ < \& ) $. 3^ "& &_ ) 4( ; (a,) ) Y"c ( ) _ \& - - & Q K,dG 1e. " K <: A& 3 A :,.K& < &, < Z? 6. 3) &"# & TYJ 3,&.K& fg Eh T" 3" X R +, S 4 3 D # EF : H 3 ] % +, ) ij : k 'S R + 3 6l \ AO AS&,& < < R F % RD 3 /, Xmn, 3,, ) 6 : k AO & X 3 Tp 6. 3,, 6 ) 4 " & S < :< 36 3r& 3, D.K 3 PT% 3^, \,& ] % + <. \& ) A\ j 3, \ E" & R : 6. < % " T & R s? \& ( A6 ) $ t".< :< 36 () 3r&, 3,, 6 <4 "&? 3 6 I3 X; \ < & & n u% K XX <4 S _ X \: X,& ] % Q &,R < :< 6 ) v? + (?. 3 S.,. <. \ 12.:,& < K R E" & R 6w: x& \& &,& AO K :,7 4( \ AO AS& D 3 R 6 ( : S 3: & "& 4 X 3 6 K I3 y:/ z (.- < :. D 3 & < S # #.: 6 ^ < &' 3 X, X& 6$ < S 3 \& K R W. ) 3,,?. 3, x&. \ Page 5 of 17

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14 X& <: S% ' '( k + 2>5C k ): & & 3 5} 5~ 4 ~ <: & > &EG. H sharenews24.com &EG. H.. 6m -(?7 & /<: 'p <. 5e.:?7 / / % & H?7 - &" &"?7 " :- 3 & r ) 3 " 52.: & H 4?7 Š $& :- 3 & r :?7 & $ g; ) 'Banks should balance collateral, low interest' The Financialexpress Formal banking sector should find a balance between their collateral schemes and low interest rate to reach out to the grassroots-level people, who are mostly resorting to high interest microcredit schemes, the government policymakers opined on Wednesday. "The interest rate for microcredit can be as high as 25 percent due to the administrative cost as well as the cost of capital involved in such schemes," said Banking Division Secretary Md. Eunusur Rahman. He was speaking at an award-giving ceremony, organised by Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) in the capital. "Despite high interest rate, microcredit is in high demand, so much so that we are able to meet only 45 percent of its total demand," he added. The Banking Division secretary observed that conventional banks are missing out the opportunity to reach out to majority rural population despite their excess liquidity and low interest rate. "Currently, the conventional banks have excess liquidity and they are also offering loans at low interest rates. They are nevertheless unable to reach to a large segment of people, who are still resorting to microcredit despite its high interest." The Banking Division secretary noted that the absence of collateral in microcredit is a key reason. For this rural people are opting for microcredit while shying away from taking loans from conventional banks. "Therefore, I have asked the state-owned banks to find a balance, so that they can explore this huge untapped market by offering low-interest loans to the rural people," he concluded. Speaking on the occasion, Finance Minister A M A Muhith said over the last few decades, PKSF has made a significant contribution in spreading the benefits of microcredit to the country's rural people. "PKSF was primarily established through domestic funding, and the organisation ran successfully without any overseas funding in its initial years. So this is a homegrown success," he added. Page 14 of 17

15 PKSF Chairman Dr. Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad in his speech said the organisation is now widening its scope from small-scale credit to large-scale credit. "Not only we are offering a wide range of microcredit schemes to the rural people, but we are also providing them with appropriate training as well as access to technology and market," he added. Earlier, PKSF conferred lifetime award to the founder of Bangladesh Female Academy Jamil Chowdhury. At the same time, special award was given to Pam Thi Hong of Vietnam for introducing Vietnamese crab hatchery technology in Bangladesh. Besides, a book titled "Bangladesh's Development Issues and Perspectives" was launched during the event. The book contains a number of essays on Bangladesh's development with special reference to Finance Minister A M A Muhith. mehdi.finexpress@gmail.com 16 Banks can roll in higher forex The Financialexpress BB raises NOP limit to manage mkt Siddique Islam The central bank has raised substantially the net open position (NOP) limit for commercial banks to hold higher amounts of foreign exchange. Officials said the measure is meant for keeping the inter-bank foreign exchange (forex) market stable. The NOP has been jacked up by more than 45 per cent to US$ 2.19 billion from $1.51billion earlier of all 56 scheduled banks. The new limit has been determined on the basis of 20 per cent of the total regulatory capital of the banks as on March 31, 2016, according to the BB officials. Earlier, the NOP was re-fixed on the basis of 15 per cent of the total regulatory capital of the banks on March 31 last year. The Bangladesh Bank (BB) enhanced the NOP by more than 11 per cent to US$1.51 billion on July 20 last year from $1.36 billion earlier for the all banks. Under the revised directives, the banks are now empowered to retain more foreign exchange that helps minimising sale pressure of the US dollar on the inter-bank foreign exchange (forex) market, the central bankers explained. Page 15 of 17

16 "We've already informed the banks about the revised NOP limit and asked them to maintain the new limit to holding foreign exchange," a senior BB official told the FE. He also said the central bank has/ increased the limits of NOP for all the banks in line with the market demand. The central bank has taken the latest move against the backdrop of increased flow of foreign exchange into the market as well as capital base of the banks because of lower import-payment obligations in the recent months. Besides, the higher growth of export earnings has boosted the supply of the greenback to the local forex market recently, the central banker added. Rising trends in retained earnings have contributed to improvement of the capital base of the banks, according to the BB official. The bankers, however, expressed mixed reactions on the latest BB move, saying that it would help them to settle foreign-exchange transaction in a better way but have to face new challenges relating to volatility risk. "The revised directives will help reduce selling pressure of foreign exchange. But it will increase forex-volatility risk of the banks," a senior treasury official of a leading private commercial bank told the FE. The cost of funds of the banks will increase due to the holding of low-yielding asset, the private banker explained. On the other hand, the central bankers said Bangladesh purchases the US dollar from the banks continuously to tame the inter-bank foreign exchange (forex) market. "We're buying the US currency continuously from the banks directly to protect the interests of exporters and migrant workers by keeping the exchange rate of the Bangladesh Taka (BDT) against the US dollar stable," another BB official said. He also said such purchase may continue during the current fiscal year in line with the market requirements. A total of $389 million was bought from the commercial banks between July 11 and July 27 of the current fiscal year for offsetting its increased supply to the market, the BB data showed. The country's forex reserves reached $ billion on Tuesday from $ billion on the previous day following the purchase of US dollar. "We've helped the banks through purchasing the US dollar from them to comply with the net open position (NOP) rules for holding foreign exchange properly," the central banker noted. siddique.islam@gmail.com Page 16 of 17

17 17 LankaBangla to issue commercial paper The Financialexpress The board of directors of LankaBangla Finance has approved issuance of commercial paper worth Tk 1.50 billion to meet the ongoing financial requirements, said an official disclosure on Wednesday. Commercial paper is short-term instrument which is used by a non-bank financial institution (NBFI) to take loan from a bank, another NBFI or a corporate group while another bank or NBFIs has to act as a guarantor in favour of the commercial paper-issuing financial institution. However, the commercial paper issuance is subject to approval of the regulatory authorities - Bangladesh Bank (BB) and Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), the disclosure said. Disclaimers: All news of the webpage is collected from different daily newspapers of Bangladesh & presented for information purposes only. We can't guarantee the accuracy of the information contained. SJIBSL will not be responsible for any consequences that might arise from the use of the information available on this website. If you encounter questionable material in sites to which we have linked, please us and we will consider removing the link. Page 17 of 17