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Daily News Recap
Thursday, May 14, 2015
BB defends new large loan policy
Bangladesh Bank has introduced a large loan restructuring policy to stand by all businesses in
trouble, Governor Atiur Rahman said. “The policy has been introduced not to extend undue favors
to a handful of delinquent large borrowers. The large loan restructuring policy, announced in
January this year, offers a repayment period up to 12 years, discounted interest rates, down
payment in cash and repayment in quarterly installments. The large loan restructuring process is
intended to begin with a loan size of Tk 500 crore or higher to keep the initial number of
restructuring proposals manageably small.
http://www.thedailystar.net/business/banking/bb-defends-new-large-loan-policy82123#sthash.GxTzcANZ.dpuf\
Denim show ends, pins high hopes on exports
Bangladesh Denim Expo concluded on Tuesday amid high hopes, with entrepreneurs targeting
to export $7 billion worth of denim products by 2021, when the country's total garment export is
expected to cross the $50-billion mark. Bangladesh currently exports denim products worth $3.5
billion a year, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam said at the concluding session.
Mostafiz Uddin, managing director of Denim Expert and the organiser of the expo, said a total of
25 companies from Bangladesh, the US, Spain, Japan, India, Pakistan, Thailand and Turkey
participated in the show. Currently around 400 factories export nearly 180 million pieces of denim
products a year, he said, adding that Bangladesh has 25 denim fabric producing factories with a
total investment of more than $834 million.
The expo is a non-profit initiative, he said. Any surplus fund from the expo will be used for
establishing a denim university in Bangladesh, Mostafiz added. Bangladesh is the second largest
denim exporter to the European markets and the third largest exporter to the US, according to
industry insiders.
http://www.thedailystar.net/business/denim-show-ends-pins-high-hopes-exports82138#sthash.zVOU81vw.dpuf
Court order today on IGW petition
A court order may come today for the writ petition filed by three international gateway operators
on May 4 challenging the legality of the government's new topology for handling international
telephone calls. According to the topology, IGW operators will be divided into two groups: tier 1
and tier 2. Tier 2 operators will transmit international incoming calls to telecom operators through
interconnection exchanges, while tier 1 gateways will only send their entire calls to tier 2. The tier
1 IGWs can bring calls from international market but they cannot terminate those. Only tier 2
operators will terminate calls and enjoy almost double the revenue tier 1 operators will get.
http://www.thedailystar.net/business/court-order-today-igw-petition82127#sthash.RtFRFTeN.dpuf
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Capital Market Research Department
Daily News Recap
Thursday, May 14, 2015
S&P repeats sovereign ratings on BD
Global rating agency, the Standard & Poor's (S&P), has affirmed its 'BB-' long-term and 'B' shortterm sovereign credit ratings on Bangladesh with a stable outlook for the sixth consecutive year.
The stable outlook balances healthy growth prospects and an improving external profile against
fiscal weaknesses and development needs, according to the S&P research update, released
Wednesday.
"Although we assess Bangladesh's external liquidity as strong, the country faces the
vulnerabilities of a low-income economy, fiscal constraints, and heavy development needs," the
rating agency said in its latest update. The S&P said the stable outlook reflects their expectation
that Bangladesh's steady growth path and strong donor support will 'endure to raise average
income and sustain the country's external profile over the next 12 months'.
http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/05/14/92615
Trade gap widens as import bill tips the balance
Despite widening trade deficit and negative current-account balance, country's balance-ofpayments (BOP) position is still in some comfort zone. Nine-month data for the current fiscal year
(FY) 2014-15, released by the central bank Wednesday, show that merchandise trade gap in the
period stood at US$7.14 billion -- about 57 per cent surge over the same period of last fiscal.
Double-digit growth of import against single-digit export growth widens the trade deficit. Currentaccount balance also got into a negative territory with a $1.14 billion deficit while it had enjoyed
a surplus of $1.69 billion in the first nine months of last fiscal year.
http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/05/14/92623
Costs threaten to derail efforts to shift problem apparel factories
Apparel makers are yet to get the desired benefit from the government's budget support for dutyfree import of pre-fabricated building materials as they find the structure still expensive due to
other duties, industry insiders said. On the other hand, accessories and packaging makers find it
difficult to relocate their units as they do not get the same facility as garment makers enjoy.
They alleged that they are deprived of such benefit, though they are also involved in the export
trade as the backward linkage industry and demanded the same benefit. In the current budget,
the government allowed the export-oriented readymade garment sector to import duty -free raw
materials for setting up pre-fabricated buildings, mainly to encourage non-compliant garment
units, especially those located in shared or rented buildings to relocate.
http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/05/14/92591
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Capital Market Research Department
Daily News Recap
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Tk 92,500cr ADP likely to be approved today
The National Economic Council (NEC) is likely to approve a Tk 92,500 crore Annual Development
Programme (ADP) for the 2015-16 fiscal year’s budget today, giving highest priority to the
transport sector considering the development of the communication sector and the
implementation of the Padma Bridge project, reports UNB. NEC chairperson and Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina will preside over the meeting to be held at the NEC conference room in the city’s
Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area. Out of the proposed ADP allocation, Tk 58,000 crore will come from
the local sources while Tk 34,500 crore from project assistance, said a highly placed source at
the Ministry of Planning.
The proposed new ADP for FY16 is Tk 12,185.48 crore or 15.17 per cent higher than the original
ADP size of Tk 80,314.52 crore in the FY15 and also Tk 17,500 crore or 23.33 percent higher
than the revised ADP allocation of Tk 75,000 crore in FY15.
http://www.theindependentbd.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=258067:tk92500cr-adp-likely-to-be-approved-today&catid=108:business-finance&Itemid=152
Tk 75,000 reviewed max pay for civil servants
The pay commission’s review body today submitted its recommendation for public servants with
a minimum basic salary of Tk 8,250 and a maximum of Tk 75,000. December 31 last year, the
eighth pay commission, led by Mohammed Farashuddin, filed its report suggesting doubling the
basic pay for civil servants with a minimum pay of 8,200 and maximum 80,000.
In the first phase to be implemented in July of the next fiscal year, basic salaries and allowances
of all civil servants, defence staffs and teachers getting MPO would be increased.
The commission’s report said, for full implementation of its recommendations, the government
will need Tk 22,953 crore in addition to the budgetary allocations of Tk 36,017 crore in the current
fiscal year.
http://www.thedailystar.net/country/new-pay-scale-civil-servants-july82048#sthash.AN37QmB3.dpuf
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Capital Market Research Department
Daily News Recap
Thursday, May 14, 2015
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