Regional & International Economy

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam has said Bangladesh looks forward to Sweden’s continued support to make the LDC graduation smooth and sustainable. He hoped that Bangladesh’s onward march to becoming a reliable partner in the global supply chain can be supported by Sweden. State Minister Alam reaffirmed …

The government has approved procuring 27.5 million litres of soybean oil for the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) to sell among the people at subsidised prices. The cabinet committee on government purchase approved the proposal in this regard at its meeting on Wednesday, chaired by finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal. …

The Asian Development Bank trimmed its economic growth forecast for developing Asia on Wednesday, with China’s pandemic lockdowns, slowing global demand and the Russian invasion of Ukraine seen as limiting the region’s prospects. The Philippines-based lender cut its 2022 forecast to 4.2 percent, down marginally from a 4.3 percent projection …

The central bank has asked banks to take a minimum cash advance from importers while opening letters of credit (LCs) for rice and wheat in order to keep their prices at a tolerable level in the domestic market and ensure smooth supply. The advance payment, also known as the cash …

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal today said that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lauded highly the achievements of Bangladesh terming it as “extraordinary”. “Few weeks back, an IMF mission visited Bangladesh to see the position of Bangladesh in the economic fronts. Then they made such comments,” he said. The Finance …

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi today said the government eyes US$10 billion exports in leather and leather goods in 2030. “Bangladesh’s potential export product is leather. There is a lot of scope for development and export of leather industry. Currently, the export of leather sector is more than $1 billion. In …

Due to the large volume of airline passengers during the months of July through October of the current fiscal year, the travel tax increased by 143.15% Year-on-Year (YoY). Data analysis shows that during the first quarter of FY23 when the National Board of Revenues (NBR) had only set a target …

Bangladesh has again demanded the reinstatement of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) of the US at a 6th Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum Agreement (Ticfa) meeting held in Washington on Tuesday. Both countries affirmed the importance of Bangladesh’s efforts towards reforming labour laws and discussed Bangladesh’s interest in the …

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) yesterday extended the scope for traders to import rice at reduced tariff by three months to March 31 next year to facilitate increased supply of the staple food and contain its prices in the local market. The NBR made the announcement through a notification …

The external debt of developing economies has more than doubled from a decade ago to $9 trillion in 2021, the World Bank said Tuesday, warning the debt crisis facing these countries has intensified. The pandemic has forced many countries to take on more borrowing, and World Bank President David Malpass …