Regional & International Economy

Bangladesh has planned to import 5.46 million (54.6 lakh) metric tons of petroleum for 2023. Of these bulk petroleum, some 3.860 million (38.60 lakh tons) is refined petroleum while the remaining 1.6 million (16 lakh) MT is crude petroleum. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in a meeting, with …

A fall in wheat import has caused a surge in the price of wheat flour and many food items made of flour in the country. The demand for wheat and wheat-made food items has increased manifold in the country over the few years due to population growth and food-habit change. …

There is a need for enhancing regional cooperation in Asia to cope with the increasing pressure of high inflation – caused by global turmoil, like the Russia-Ukraine war. It was observed at the inauguration of plenary session of 35th Asian Trade Promotion Forum (ATPF) CEO meeting, hosted by the Export …

Bangladesh is facing at least seven crises at present, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) said today. These are dollar shortage, energy price hike, rising inflation, spiralling food prices, Ukraine war, Covid-19 pandemic and climate change. “Overall these seven have become a challenge for us,” CPD Executive Director Fahmida Khatun …

Bangladesh is expected to be the ninth-largest consumer market globally by 2030, leaving behind the United Kingdom and Germany, said a report by HSBC Global Research yesterday. “Bangladesh is expected to see the fastest growth in its consumer market – that is, the population earning more than $20 per day …

Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) has appointed an international joint venture as the consultant for the construction of a breakwater and channel dredging work at the proposed Bay Terminal, a long-awaited project of the Chattogram port. The CPA yesterday signed a contract with a joint venture of Sellhorn Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH of …

The government’s borrowing from the Bangladesh Bank soared to Tk 72,700 crore at the end of September from Tk 55,866 crore in June. The government’s borrowing from the country’s banking system including the BB, however, was around Tk 12,000 crore in the July-September period of 2022 as the government repaid …

The government has planned to increase import of fuel oil by about 15 lakh tonnes in 2023 mainly to feed fuel oil-based power plants to tackle chronic power outages already hitting life and livelihood hard. According to Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation officials, they are planning to import 77.2 lakh tonnes of …

Most commodity prices declined globally in September, according to the World Bank, extending some relief to the import-dependent countries under pressure for higher import bills and runaway inflation. Energy prices fell 8.1 per cent in September, led by a decrease in natural gas and crude oil prices, the World Bank’s …

Around 70 per cent of default loans in the banking sector is concentrated in nine sectors of the economy as many borrowers are finding it difficult to pay instalments for the dragging economic slowdown while willful defaulters are also a major factor. The nine sectors are ship-building and ship-breaking, small …