Morning Newsflash Thursday, April 11, 2019

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Martina Payne
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1 Bangladesh second fastest growing economy: IMF Bangladesh is among the three fastest growing economies in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) -- in yet another thumping endorsement of the country's extraordinary growth momentum. The economy will grow at 7.3 percent this year, which will be second highest in the world, as per the IMF report 'World Economic Outlook, April 2019: Growth Slowdown, Precarious Recovery' revealed on Tuesday. Neighbouring India will also grow at the same pace as Bangladesh but Rwanda will grow the fastest at 7.8 percent. The three countries would be the only ones in the world to log in more than 7 percent growth this year. The IMF's projection comes on the heels of the World Bank's and the Asian Development Bank's. The World Bank, which does not use calendar year in its projections like its counterpart IMF, said Bangladesh would be among the five fastest growing economies in the world this fiscal year with its 7.3 percent growth. The Asian Development Bank tipped Bangladesh to log in the fastest economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region in fiscal This fiscal year, the economy will grow at 8 percent. Businesses sidestep Tk 10b in consumption tax during FY 18 The amount of VAT evasion has almost doubled in a year as the tax collector has intensified audits, officials said. The VAT Audit, Intelligence and Investigation Directorate detected Tk billion in evasion of such taxes during fiscal year , up from Tk 5.67 billion a year ago, the data available with the revenue board showed. During the last 15 months, the wing unearthed VAT evasion worth Tk 20 billion and realised Tk 1.65 billion from businesses. Talking to the FE, commissioner of the Directorate M Abdullah said the highest evasion took place in the manufacturing sector, followed by banks, insurers and financial institutions. The directorate realised Tk 574 million in VAT during the first seven months of the current fiscal year against Tk 449 million and Tk 99 million in FY and FY respectively. Mr Abdullah said there is a huge untapped potential for VAT collection if pursued properly for realisation. "VAT wing alone can contribute around Tk 2.0 trillion to the public exchequer if the VAT team works with due diligence and required facility," he said.

RHD unlikely to get WB funding this year A slow progress in preparing the technical project on the start of the bus-based mass transit system in city's southern part has delayed getting the project's

2 RHD unlikely to get WB funding this year A slow progress in preparing the technical project on the start of the bus-based mass transit system in city's southern part has delayed getting the project's assistance from the World Bank by a year, sources said. They said a time gap between the start of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines North and South will also widen due to the reason. BRT North is now at an implementation stage while BRT South is at a preparatory stage. Sources said the project preparation work of BRT South was supposed to be completed by October as agreed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges (MoRTB) and its agency Roads and Highways Department (RHD) with the WB's mission who visited Bangladesh in September last. But Roads and Highways Department (RHD) has yet to complete the work. The latest mission visited the country last month. Experts apprehend that the delay may also increase public sufferings on Airport corridor as it gets highest traffic from almost all corners of the country. Swap getting popular in local financial market Interest rate swap is gradually becoming popular in the country's financial market, as many firms are showing interest on such type of derivative to avoid interest rate volatility. Swap is the exchange of one set of cash flows for another, floating to fixed rate or vice versa. Usually taking place over the counter (OTC), the contracts are between two or more parties according to their desired specifications, and can be customised in many different ways. For example, if a party borrows from overseas at a floating rate, swap will happen when the party wants to convert the loan into a fixed rate one, considering its long-term uncertainly. There are three different types of interest rate swap: fixed-to-floating, floating-to-fixed, and float-to-float. Bankers said in recent period, two big swap deals have been signed, one by the Eastern Bank Limited and other by the BRAC Bank Limited, amounting to US$ 140 million. The Eastern Bank inked an interest rate swap deal with the Summit Group, the first-of-its-kind agreement for a local bank, in October No VAT registration, no business None will be allowed to run business without value-added tax registration once the new VAT law comes into effect from July 1, said National Board of Revenue Chairman Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan yesterday. We will develop a system to ensure VAT registration, he said. The VAT rates for traders would be determined after the registration, he said at a discussion with the associations, representing services and manufacturing sectors, at the NBR headquarters in the capital. The revenue authorities arranged the event to hear views and recommendations from stakeholders, particularly businesses, in the run-up to the framing of tax proposals for the next fiscal year of Bhuiyan made the remarks after Bangladesh Restaurant Owners' Association demanded that the NBR make VAT registration, officially termed as Business Identification Number (BIN), compulsory for all restaurants. Bhuiyan said only businesses that would pay 15 percent VAT would be able to get rebate on the VAT paid.

3 Bahrain-based Investcorp to invest in Bangladesh Bahrain-based multinational financial institution Investcorp has expressed its interest to invest in Bangladesh's different sectors like infrastructure, consumer goods and technology. A visiting delegation of the company expressed the interest at a press conference in the capital on Wednesday, concluding their two-day visit in Dhaka. Executive Chairman of the Investcorp Mohammed Mahfoodh Alardhi, Co-Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Hazem Ben- Gacem and Managing Director for Asia operation Timothy Mattar were present. Mr. Mahfoodh Alardhi said the company is now expanding its footprints in Asian countries, following its successful investment in North America, Europe and Middle Eastern countries. "Few years ago, we came to the view that we cannot ignore this part of the world," he said. Admiring Bangladesh's economic achievement in the recent years and future prospects, he said: "We have met different people from the private sector to government to learn about the investment climate here." Bangladesh eyes duty benefits from eastern Europe Bangladesh is going to sign a trade agreement with the Czech Republic mainly to enjoy duty benefits on exports of goods to countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). With the signing, Bangladesh will enter a customs union of all the CIS countries, said Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi at a press conference at his secretariat office in Dhaka yesterday. A customs union is generally defined as a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with a common external tariff. As a result, Bangladesh will enjoy the facility of paying lesser duties in some major countries, especially on garment item shipments, Munshi said. If the trade deal is implemented, the Czech Republic, the central European country, can be used as a hub for exporting goods to other countries under the customs union. Bangladesh is working to diversify both its export basket and destinations in attempts to promote sustainable business after the graduation by 2024, the final implementation of which would come by Banks plagued by liquidity crunch Banks & NBFIs Banks are now offering double-digit interest rates for deposits in a desperate attempt to prop up their liquidity base amid high default loans and heavy bank borrowing by the government. A large amount of funds in the form of non-performing loans is now stuck with defaulters -- hiking the banks' cost of funds. At the end of 2018 the total amount of non-performing loans in the banking system stood at Tk 93,911 crore, up percent from a year earlier. This has finally pushed the interest rate on deposit products past the 10 percent-mark, he added. But in April last year, sponsors of private banks had fixed the interest rate for deposits at 6 percent and for lending at 9 percent after bagging a set of facilities from both the central bank and the government. But, they failed to keep their word amid the rising liquidity crisis. As of January, the excess liquidity in banks stood at Tk 67,642 crore, down percent from a month earlier and 13 percent year-on-year, according to data from the central bank.

4 Capital Market Z-category issues dominate top gainer, loser lists The Dhaka bourse posted another sharp loss in both broad index and turnover value as well on Wednesday following investors' intensified selling pressure. On the day, the majority number of listed securities lost prices and DSEX, the core index of the prime bourse, settled at the lowest points since July 30, The premier bourse also hit a 13-month low turnover as many investors refrained themselves from taking part in share trading. "The riskaverse investors went for selling of shares from the beginning of the session and continued the same till closure," said a market review of International Leasing Securities. The market opened the day's session positively but the upward trend failed to sustain after 40 minutes. Later, the DSEX witnessed see-saw movement and finally closed the session with a loss of more than one per cent extending the losing streak for four sessions in a row. At the end of the session, the core price barometer closed at points with a loss of 1.07 per cent or points. Fuel & Power GE project to enhance BD's power generation capacity GE (NYSE: GE) has announced the launch order for its new GT26 HE (high efficiency) gas turbine upgrade with Uniper for the utility's Enfield Power Station in greater London, said a statement. "We're proud to launch our new GT26 HE upgrade with Uniper-it's the most advanced solution we've ever introduced on a GT26 gas turbine, and one of our most efficient upgrades within the F-class portfolio," said Scott Strazik, president and CEO of GE's new Gas Power business. "Not only will this upgrade revitalize Uniper's Enfield power plant, it will also improve its competitive position in the Great Britain generation market, supporting its long-term profitability and viability." Today, GE is offering innovative solutions to its customers across the globe, suiting specific power plant requirements. In Bangladesh, a single unit of the GT26 gas turbine is undergoing commissioning in the combinedcycle mode at the Unit 3 of the Ghorashal Power Plant. It was also the country's first repowering power project that was awarded to GE, in a consortium, in Once completed, the project will provide a much-needed increase in power generation capacity for Bangladesh by adding more than 200 megawatts (MW) of power to the national grid.

5 RMG 60pc looms shut for illegally imported yarn Some 60 percent of over 1 lakh small and medium power looms which were mainly serving the domestic market have been shut down over the last six months. This is a result of the sale of yarn and fabrics which have been illegally imported through false declarations by a section of unscrupulous traders intending to avail the bond facility. The scale of power loom closures can be better understood if the case of Sirajganj district is taken into consideration. Nearly 4,000 out of 10,000 power looms have been shut down there due to the invasion of illegally imported yarn and fabrics, which mainly grabbed the domestic markets, said Mohammad Ali Khokon, president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA). Addressing a press conference at the Sonargaon hotel in Dhaka, he said the loom owners have been facing a massive invasion of illegally imported fabrics and yarn in the domestic markets. Now the loom owners have been running their units at 40 percent below their capacity as they cannot sell their goods at competitive prices, he added. Uber Technologies Inc has decided it will seek to sell around $10 billion worth of stock in its initial public offering, and will make public the registration of the offering on Thursday, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. An IPO of this size would make Uber one of the biggest technology IPOs of all time, and the largest since that of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd in Uber is seeking a valuation of between $90 billion and $100 billion, influenced by the poor performance of smaller rival Lyft Inc s shares following its IPO late last month, the sources said. Investment bankers previously told Uber it could be worth as much as $120 billion. Uber most recently was valued at $76 billion in the private fundraising market. Uber plans to make its IPO registration with the US Securities and Exchange Commission publicly available on Thursday, and will kick of its investor roadshow during the week of April 29, putting it on track to price its IPO and begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange in early May International Business Global financial stability risks still on the rise, IMF says Risks to the global financial system have grown over the past six months and could increase with a messy British exit from the European Union or an escalation of US-China trade tensions, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday. The IMF, whose spring meetings with the World Bank begin in Washington this week, noted that the global economic expansion is slowing, and an abrupt downturn could have a far-reaching impact. The fund also warned against rolling back prudential regulations that could help to buffer the financial system in the event of a downturn. There is a risk that positive investor sentiment could deteriorate abruptly, leading to a sharp tightening of financial conditions, the IMF said in its Global Financial Stability Report. This will have a larger effect on economies with weaker fundamentals, greater financial vulnerabilities, and less policy space to respond to shocks. On Tuesday, the IMF cut its expectations for global growth to its lowest level since It marked its third downgrade since October. International Business Sources: Uber plans to sell around $10 billion worth of stock in IPO

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Morning Newsflash Tuesday, April 09, 2019

Morning Newsflash Tuesday, April 09, 2019 Bangladesh trade deficit falls by 8.4pc in July-Feb Bangladesh s trade deficit eased by 8.42 per cent or $0.98 billion in July-February of the current 2018-2019 fiscal year compared with that in the same