Idea Transcript
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National News Industry experts contest BBS survey result on telecom 'Super rice' in sight Sales of savings tools rising fast Sonali Bank UK on the brink of insolvency Online VAT return submission begins in Nov First Bangladeshi ship recycling yard gains international certification Frozen food sector to get allocation of ammonia gas NBR yet to finalise LC station policy after 5yrs of drafting Bangladesh most vulnerable to cyber attacks: Microsoft বাাংলাদেদে টেকসই নগরায়দনর ওপর গুরুত্ব আদরাপ ববশ্বব্াাংদকর
International News Russia cuts interest rate for fifth time this year Amazon fears hit drugstores after Aetna-CVS tieup report Brexit keeps UK debt outlook 'negative': Fitch, S&P ExxonMobil, Chevron earnings jump on higher oil prices
National News Industry experts contest BBS survey result on telecom The agency says 7.74pc Bangladeshis have email accounts 2
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REPO Rate (16/10/2017)
3.44%
REPO Rate (15/10/2017)
3.46%
Source: Bangladesh Bank (W AV)
About 92.50 percent of the people in Bangladesh are using mobile phones, indicating the breakneck speed at which the country is nearing the Digital Bangladesh goals. Some 95.90 percent of the people in urban areas are using mobile phones and 91.20 percent in rural areas, according to the Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2016, which was published last week by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. However, only 7.74 percent of Bangladesh's 16.3 crore-strong population have email accounts -- the most basic way of exchanging messages between people digitally. The figures have drawn the ire of experts and policymakers, who say the statistics do not reflect the reality given the digital transformation that took place in the country over the last few years. “Some figures from this bunch are not acceptable,” said Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for ICT, citing the internet and Facebook users' numbers to disprove the email account figure. At present, there are about eight crore internet users and more than 2.5 crore people use Facebook in Bangladesh. “This is an authentic number. So, there is no chance that only 7.74 percent of the population have email accounts,” said Palak. Previously, Facebook asked for an email address to open an account but in recent years it has allowed registration with just mobile numbers. The state minister said the BBS had published a similar report last year with misleading figures. For instance, in that report the BBS said only 4.8 percent of the households had access to internet as of 2013. “This kind of survey can damage the industry,” Palak added. Mustafa Jabbar, president of the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services, echoed the same. “This survey is not acceptable and is a misrepresentation of the digitisation process.” 2|Page
“If the industry cannot depend on the BBS, which is the state agency, for the correct information, then the investors will be puzzled.” Jabbar, also a former president of the Bangladesh Computer Samity, said computer usage has increased but the growth is not too high. Only 3.04 percent of the population use computer, according to the HIES 2016. It was 3.01 percent in 2010. In urban areas, computer usage declined from 8.58 percent in 2010 to 7.29 percent in 2016. Rezwanul Hoque, immediate past general secretary of the Bangladesh Mobile Phone Importers Association, said the survey results seem highly optimistic. “If 90 percent of the population are using mobile phones, it indicates more than 15.30 crore people. But there are nine crore handsets in the country,” he added. As of August, the total active SIM card number was less than 14 crore, according to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission. “The figures are confusing in some segments,” said Rashad Kabir, managing director of Dream71 Bangladesh Ltd, a leading software-maker of the country. He said foreign investors depend on BBS statistics. “So, they may be misled. This may also create some challenge in branding the country.” About criticism from the industry, Md Amir Hossain, director-general of the BBS, said: “For any survey five percent plus-minus is acceptable.” “We are very serious about the survey and the sample size was also quite large,” he added. This time, 46,080 households were surveyed, up from 12,240 sample households in 2010. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/industry-experts-contest-bbs-survey-result-telecom-1483288
'Super rice' in sight Plant engineered to double its yield Scientists have long been considering the idea of engineering rice plant in a way that the global production of the cereal gets a dramatic boost. The idea came from the concern that the traditional research, which results in just one percent rise in the yearly yield, would not be enough to meet the ever-growing demand. So the plan was to convert rice into a photosynthesis-efficient plant, which would produce substantially more grains using the sunlight. Nine years into the initiation of an ambitious rice plant engineering project, a group of scientists have recently declared a major breakthrough in improving photosynthesis for the cereal. They said this would change the plant architecture of rice once for all, make it more energy-efficient and thereby, increase the yield of the world's third most consumed grain, after maize and wheat, by 50 percent. It would eventually help meet the food needs of billions of people around the world, including Bangladesh. During photosynthesis, plants take carbon dioxide, water, and light, and turn them into sugar and oxygen. The sugar is then used by the plants for food, and the oxygen is released into the atmosphere. Rice uses the C3 photosynthetic pathway, which in hot and dry environments is much less efficient than the C4 pathway used by other plants such as maize, sugarcane and sorghum. Scientists thought that if rice could "switch" to use C4 photosynthesis, its productivity would increase by 50 percent. Scientists and researchers drawn from 12 institutions in eight countries declared on October 19 that they have achieved a major breakthrough by being able to engineer the rice plant accordingly. They are involved with the C4 Rice Project, often dubbed as "grand challenge" of the 21st century. University of Oxford, one of the 12 institutions which are at the forefront of this multi-billion dollar 15-year mega project, has issued a press release, saying the scientists have been able to infuse a single maize gene into rice leaf thereby finishing off the first step of converting rice into a C4 plant.
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The same day, one of the world's leading scientific journal -- Current Biology -- twitted, "a key step in engineering #rice #plant with more efficient C4 #photosynthesis has been achieved." Jane A Langdale and Peng Wang of the Plant Sciences Department of the University of Oxford along with eight other scientists involved with the C4 Rice Project published an article in the current issue of the Current Biology. They declared in the journal that a key step towards engineering C4 rice has been achieved through introducing a maize gene (GOLDEN2-like) in C3 rice leaves that is reminiscent of proto-Kranz anatomy, an intermediate state in the evolutionary trajectory from C3 to C4. A C4 has a special leaf anatomy called 'Kranz anatomy' and C4 plant is better adapted than a C3 plant in an environment with high daytime temperatures, intense sunlight, drought, or nitrogen or CO2 limitation. Over three billion people, including 160 million in Bangladesh, depend on rice for survival, and owing to predicted population increases and a general trend towards urbanisation, land that provided enough rice to feed 27 people in 2010 will need to support 43 by 2050. "In this context, rice yields need to increase substantially over the next 35 years. Given that traditional breeding programmes currently achieve around a 1% increase in yield per annum, this is not a trivial endeavour," said Oxford University's Prof Jane Langdale, current principal investigator of the C4 Rice Project. Prof Julian Hibberd, who teaches photosynthesis at the University of Cambridge and also a member of the C4 consortium, said, "The C4 pathway is an extremely complex and remarkable piece of evolution… " He said, "Although engineering the efficient C4 pathway into C3 crops would enable a step-change in agricultural productivity, the large number of changes required to convert a C3 leaf to one that uses C4 photosynthesis has rightly been seen as a major challenge to implementation." The C4 Rice Project is an international collaboration between 18 research groups, from the 12 institutions in eight countries. The institutions are: Australian National University (Australia), University of Toronto (Canada), Chinese Academy of Sciences (China), Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology and Heinrich Heine University (Germany), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) (the Philippines), Academia Sinica Institute of Molecular Biology (Taipei), University of Cambridge and University of Oxford (UK), Donald Danforth Center, Washington State University, and University of Minnesota (USA). Bangladesh Rice Research Institute's (BRRI) Director General Shahjahan Kabir told The Daily Star that this breakthrough in rice engineering ushered in a new hope for countries like Bangladesh, where growing more food from increasingly scarce land and water resources is getting difficult. "We'll engage our rice scientists in the C4 rice research in partnership with the IRRI [International Rice Research Institute] as we did in the past in the case of developing submergence-tolerant rice," Kabir added. Zeba Islam Seraj, who teaches biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Dhaka and has a long experience of rice breeding, said, "Maize, sorghum and sugarcane are C4 photo-synthesisers, while rice is C3. C4 photo-synthesisers are more efficient in energy uptake." She also termed this breakthrough as a first step towards converting C3 rice to more efficient C4 rice. She said C4 species such as maize and sorghum are more efficient at carbon assimilation than C3 species, and in addition they display greater water use efficiency, better nitrogen use efficiency and higher-temperature tolerance. The C4 Rice Project was first conceived by John Sheehy, a plant physiologist who was the head of the Applied Photosynthesis Group at the IRRI from 1995 to 2009. The costs of the project were estimated to be about $5m per year. In October 2008, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded IRRI a grant of $11.1 million to begin the research. Currently the project is into its phase-III (2015-2019). Experts noted that successful completion of engineering rice into a C4 plant would be a "game-changer" since the '60s of last century when scientists had first developed semi-dwarf rice varieties heralding the famous "Green Revolution". Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/super-rice-sight-1483093
Sales of savings tools rising fast
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AKM Zamir Uddin Net sales of savings certificates increased 8.91 percent year-on-year to Tk 12,694 crore in the first quarter of the fiscal year as people continue to park their funds in the instrument to enjoy high returns. Banks are offering hardly 7 percent interest rate on fixed deposits nowadays whereas the rates offered by the national savings certificates are between 11.04 percent and 11.76 percent. Net sales of savings tools in fiscal 2016-17 hit an all-time high of Tk 52,327 crore -- more than 2.5 times higher than the government's target of Tk 19,610 crore. The trend would continue this year if the government does not slash the rates on savings certificates, said a senior Bangladesh Bank official. Higher borrowing through the savings instruments are pushing the government's interest liability up. If the government borrows from the banking system, it would cost them between 2.98 percent and 8.07 percent only. Yet, the government's net borrowing from the banking sector was in negative in the first quarter of the fiscal year. Between the months of July and September, the government borrowed Tk 2,132.30 crore from banks and repaid Tk 5,270.20 crore to take its net borrowing from the channel to Tk 3,137.90 crore in the negative. Under the circumstances, the majority of the banks are flush with liquidity, the BB official said. “The banks will get a respite if the government started borrowing full-fledged from them,” he added. The sales of savings tools might cross Tk 70,000 crore this fiscal year if the government does not recalibrate the interest rate on them, said Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute. “I have recently analysed the savings tools of different countries in details. Many countries including India and Pakistan set the rate calculating their interest rate on treasury bills and bonds meaning that the rate is highly floating.” For example, Pakistan resets the rate on its savings tools every three months by calculating the average rate of the country's three-month T-bill, he said. India also set the interest rate on the savings tools on the basis of its interest rate of treasury bills and bonds, he said. “Our government may set the rate on the tools in accordance with the average interest rate of one-year treasury bonds.” The excess investment in the tools, which creates an interest burden on the government, will decrease if the neighbouring countries' strategy is followed, Mansur added. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/sales-savings-tools-rising-fast-1483285
Sonali Bank UK on the brink of insolvency Royal Bank of Scotland restricts its dollar account transaction Sonali Bank's UK subsidiary (SBUK) is staring at insolvency after the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) restricted transaction on the Bangladeshi bank's dollar account for serious weaknesses in its anti-money laundering systems. The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the financial services regulatory body of the UK, has warned that it would declare SBUK insolvent if it fails to achieve efficiency in running the dollar, pound and euro accounts. 5|Page
The developments were mentioned in a recent Bangladesh Bank letter sent to the finance ministry. SBUK fell into financial crunch after the Financial Conduct Authority in October last year levied penalties on it for serious weaknesses in anti-money laundering systems. It was fined £3.25 million and prevented from accepting deposits from new customers for 168 days. The PRA has now asked SBUK to appoint a project manager to overcome the ongoing crisis. RBS has, however, kept open the other accounts, including those in pound sterling and euro of SBUK, on a conditional basis until December 31, according to the letter. Obayed Ullah Al Masud, managing director of Sonali Bank, is now in the UK to assess the condition of the subsidiary. SBUK is also trying to open a dollar account with Dubai-based Mashreq Bank to resume business operations as many Bangladeshi banks, which maintain nostro account with it, are suffering badly. Nostro refers to an account that a bank holds in a foreign currency in another bank. Though SBUK was established to provide banking services to Bangladeshi expatriates living in London, it only collects deposits. Even then, the deposit products are not lucrative enough to attract savers. As a result, its depositor base has been shrinking for the last five years and the subsidiary incurring losses for years, according to the letter. Remittance sent through SBUK was down 6 percent, 5.67 percent and 2.40 percent respectively from 2013 to 2015, according to the central bank. Though the financial health of the bank has been deteriorating, the management of the parent bank is not concerned about it, according to the letter. In 1994-97, the London branch of Sonali Bank was shut down by the country's authority over negligence in following rules and regulations. Later, the Bangladesh government, the BB and Sonali Bank jointly negotiated with the UK's Financial Services Authority, the then-regulatory body of the British financial services sector, to allow another bank to operate. Under these circumstances, SBUK was set up jointly by the government and Sonali Bank in 2001. The government owns 51 percent of the shares and Sonali the rest. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/sonali-bank-uk-the-brink-insolvency-1483282
Online VAT return submission begins in Nov 'Initially, the system will run for six months on a pilot basis and later made permanent' The government will be introducing online submission of Value Added Tax (VAT) returns and payment to provide the taxpayers with a hassle-free system to boost revenue collection. “Initially, the system will run for six months on a pilot basis and later made permanent,” a senior VAT official told UNB. Companies under the Large Taxpayers’ Unit (LTU) can submit their VAT returns online during the preliminary phase. “After three months, the Customs, Excise and VAT Commissionerate, Dhaka (East) will be linked to the system. Gradually, all the business entities will be brought under the system,” he said. The official, however, could not say anything about the fixed date for the introduction of online VAT submission system. “The date is yet to be decided,” he said. With this system, the taxpayers will not require to go to VAT offices for submitting their VAT returns as they will be able to do it from anywhere. As the “National Payment Gateway” under Bangladesh Bank is not yet operational, taxpayers cannot pay their VAT online. Taxpayers will have to continue going to scheduled banks for the “pay order,” whose number is required during the VAT submission process. According to NBR sources, all listed companies will have their accounting software linked to the VAT online submission server. Based on available data, around 56,874 business entities and 139 companies under the LTU have taken electronic business identification number (e-BIN), which is mandatory to submit VAT online. The VAT automation system is being introduced under the VAT and Supplementary Duty project worth Tk551.59cr. The World Bank is financing Tk449.78cr and the remaining cost is coming from local sources. After full automation, taxpayers will be able to pay their VAT using ATM cards, mobile banking and e-banking services. A senior NBR official with the VAT wing said the revenue collection authority wants to ease the process of taxpaying. “Taxpayers will be encouraged if they find the payment system easier for them and we want to ensure the convenient system for them,” he said. He hoped that revenue collection from VAT will see a significant jump in the coming fiscal years after VAT payment has been automated. The Parliament passed the Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act in 2012 to automate the overall VAT administration to increase revenue collection. 6|Page
Following the initiative, the taxes authorities undertook the VAT Online Project in 2013 for automation. Once implemented, the system will connect 287 VAT circle offices, 84 divisional offices, 12 commissionerates, two directorates, three appeal commissionerates and a tribunal on a single platform. It will also integrate the Bangladesh Bank, the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General and the income tax department of NBR with it. Once automated, the system will substantially increase government revenue through identifying non-compliant taxpayers. The revenue target for the NBR for the current fiscal year (2017-18) was set at Tk248,190cr while that of non-NBR tax revenue collection is Tk8,662cr and the target of non-tax revenue collection set at Tk31,179cr. Of the total revenue target of NBR, Tk91,344cr will come from VAT while Tk86,867cr from income tax and corporate tax, Tk30,153cr from import and export duty and Tk38,212cr from supplementary duty. Source: http://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2017/10/29/online-vat-return-submission-begins-nov/
First Bangladeshi ship recycling yard gains international certification International Maritime Organisation Secretary General Kitack Lim lauded the yard as a role model for others in the country PHP Family Ship Recycling Yard in Chittagong has received a Statement of Compliance with the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, from international classification society Registro Italiano Navale (RINA). The yard is the first to achieve Hong Kong Convention compliance certification in Bangladesh, according to a report published by the Maritime Executive on Monday. International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary General Kitack Lim, during his visit earlier this year, lauded the yard as a role model for others in the country. GMS, one of the major cash buyers in this sector, lauded the achievement as an important development towards a more sustainable ship recycling industry, further raising the bar in the standards for this sector in Bangladesh. “PHP Family yard has worked hard to improve their safety and environmental standards by following successfully the Hong Kong Convention guidelines, which are enabling the whole ship recycling industry to achieve sustainable goals for ship recycling,” Dr Anil Sharma, President and CEO of GMS said in a statement. The Hong Kong Convention, adopted in 2009, includes regulations for shipowners, recycling facilities, flag states and recycling states to ensure that end-of-life ships do not pose any unnecessary risks to human health, safety and the environment when being recycled. The European Union adopted the EU Ship Recycling Regulation in 2013. The European Commission published its first edition of the EU list in 2016. The next edition of the list, expected to include yards outside Europe, is expected to be published by the end of 2017. In the neighbouring country India, 41 yards have received Statements of Compliance with the Hong Kong Convention (seven from ClassNK, 30 from RINA and four from IRQS), as of August, 2017. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/islami-bank-keeps-investors-edge-1480405
Frozen food sector to get allocation of ammonia gas The government has agreed in principle to allocate ammonia gas to frozen foods exporters as the sector has been facing an acute shortage of the item due to a syndicate of a section of exporters. Country’s frozen fish exporters have been facing difficulties since the last week of August as the biggest supplier of the ammonia gas, Jamuna Fertilizer Company, stopped its delivery and a supply shortage took place at the market. Cashing in on the situation, a quarter increased the prices of the gas delivered by Shahjalal Fertilizer Company Limited that cast a negative impact on the production of frozen fish across the country, the sector people said. The Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association sent a letter to industries minister Amir Hossain Amu, seeking allocation of ammonia gas in favour of the trade body as the price of the item increased to Tk 30,000-35,000 a cylinder (50 kilograms) from the company rate of Tk 1,632 a cylinder. Ammonia gas is essential for processing frozen fish as factory authorities cannot run cooling system without the gas. Against the backdrop, the industries minister asked Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation to resolve the crisis. ‘We held several meetings with the chairman of the BCIC and the corporation agreed in principle to allocate a certain quantity of ammonia gas to the association,’ BFFEA president Md Amin Ullah told New Age. He said that the association was taking preparation to sign an agreement with the BCIC to get allocation of gas in 7|Page
favour of the trade body. ‘All is progressing but we are facing a shortage of cylinders. Now we are trying to use the cylinders of the corporation with paying security money at a concessional rate,’ Amin said. Kazi Belayet Hossain, senior vice-president of the BFFEA, however, said that it would not be convenient for the trade body to deposit Tk 10,000 as security money to the BCIC against each cylinder. ‘We are thinking to import 100 units of cylinder from India primarily,’ he said. Belayet said that they asked its members to inform the trade body about monthly and yearly consumption of ammonia gas at their companies. After knowing the demand situation from members of the trade body, the BCIC would finalise the quantity of allocation. He said that the BCIC would provide dealership of gas to the association and the association would allocate gas to its members. Belayet said that the BCIC agreed to allocate some cylinders to the association from Shahjalal Fertilizer Company Limited to address the urgent situation in the sector as the dealers were still charging Tk 16,000-22,000 for a cylinder of gas. ‘The quantity of emergency allocation is yet to be decided and we will go to Shahjalal Fertilizer Company Limited on Monday to receive the gas,’ he said. Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/27150/frozen-food-sector-to-get-allocation-of-ammonia-gas
NBR yet to finalise LC station policy after 5yrs of drafting The National Board of Revenue is yet to finalise the policy on setting up land customs stations even after five years of drafting it which suggests closure of inoperative LC stations. Currently, around 82 per cent or 151 LC stations of the country remain inoperative as no incident of export and import is taking place through the LC stations. The revenue board drafted the policy in mid-2012 to bring discipline to the sector amid pressure from influential business groups having political backing for setting up new LC stations and against closure of inactive stations. The draft says inactive LC stations would be closed permanently after one-year notice period while no new LC station would be opened without feasibility study. The Cabinet Division also in early 2013 recommended that the NBR close down inactive LC stations and not to set up any new station within 50 kilometres of the existing ones. The revenue board could not shut down any of 147 either postponed or officially declared inactive LC stations over the years due to pressure from the influential quarters. In June, 2009, the revenue board had postponed export and import activities through 98 LC stations and declared 49 others inactive because of an absence of import and export activities through the stations. In addition, the revenue board is now under pressure for opening more new LC stations. Influential quarters are lobbying for opening a dozen of new stations along the border. Since the country’s independence, the NBR set up 185 LC stations for facilitating border trade with India and Myanmar. But currently only 34 LC stations including 24 land ports under the Bangladesh Land Port Authority are active and the remaining 151 are inactive as most of the LC stations were opened under persuasion of influential quarters. More than 80 per cent of the land border trade is conducted through the country’s largest LC station, Benapole. Many of those LC stations were used only once or twice in their life time for import or export of products. The LC stations were opened without carrying out feasibility study on trade potentiality of the stations. Though there are no customs officials deployed at the inactive LC stations, the infrastructure developed at the stations has remained unutilised causing wastage of investment from the public exchequer, customs officials said. The government needs to maintain the infrastructure though at limited scale through budget allocation, they said. The NBR may also face pressure or strong lobbying from influential quarter to declare the inactive LC stations functional again, they said. A senior official said the NBR was now very cautious in giving approval for new LC station. The NBR has decided to examine trade potentiality before giving approval for any new proposal, he said. Less-used LC stations are also vulnerable to smuggling of goods and human trafficking on the border. The NBR reviews the status of LC stations and their operations after two to three years but none have faced closure so far, the official said. There is a list of some specific products that can be imported through a LC station with the permission of the customs authorities. Except those listed products, other products cannot be exported or imported those LC stations. 8|Page
Customs officials said that there were proposals from India as well as local businesses to import motor parts, chassis and bicycle parts through the LC stations at some locations including Bhomra. A specific policy is needed to address the issues, they said. Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/27149/nbr-yet-to-finalise-lc-station-policy-after-5yrs-of-drafting
Bangladesh most vulnerable to cyber attacks: Microsoft A recent Security Intelligence Report of Microsoft found that Bangladesh is the most vulnerable to cyber attacks in the world. According to the report, the threats that were unusually common in Bangladesh included the worm family Win32/Ippedo, the virus family Win32/Floxif and the worm family Win32/Vercuser. The bi-annual global report from the first quarter of 2017 revealed that Pakistan was the second highest vulnerable country of malicious software attacks. The report showed that the encounter rate for the malware in Bangladesh in March was 26.6 per cent which was highest in the world followed by Pakistan 26.2 per cent on the month. Encounter rate is the percentage of computers running Microsoft real-time security products that report a malware encounter, the report said. Citing the report, tech magazine TechWire Asia said that the other at-risk countries ranking behind Bangladesh and Pakistan are Cambodia and Indonesia. The report showed that an approximate one in four computers running Microsoft real-time security products in these countries reported a malware encounter in Q1 2017. Findings revealed an approximate average of 12.9 per cent in Malaysia reporting a malware encounter in the first quarter of 2017, the TechWire Asia reported. Japan perceived the least amount of cyberattacks in the region, reporting only 2 per cent of computers as having malicious programme incidents, the report showed. Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/27028/bangladesh-most-vulnerable-to-cyber-attacks-microsoft
বাাংলাদেদে টেকসই নগরায়দনর ওপর গুরুত্ব আদরাপ ববশ্বব্াাংদকর বাাংলাদেদে টেকসই নগরায়দনর ওপর গুরুত্ব আদরাপ কদরদে ববশ্বব্াাংক। বাাংলাদেদে সাংস্থাবের আবাবসক পবরচালক বকবিয়াও ফ্্ান বদলদেন, ২০২১ সাল নাগাে উচ্চ িধ্্ আদয়র টেদে উন্নীত হদত হদল বাাংলাদেেদক তার টেকসই নগরায়ন অবে্ই ধ্দর রাখদত হদব। আজ েবনবার ঢাকায় বাাংলাদেদে নগরগুদলার সিস্া ও উত্তরদের উপায় ববষযক একবে সদেলদন বতবন এসব কথা বদলন। বাাংলাদেদে ববশ্বব্াাংদকর আবাবসক পবরচালক ফ্্ান বদলন, বাাংলাদেদের েীর্ঘবেদনর উন্নয়ন সহদযাগী বহদসদব আিরা এ টেদের নগরগুদলার বাসদযাগ্তা, প্রবতদযাবগতািূলক ও টেকসই অবস্থান উন্নয়দন কাজ করার প্রত্াো কবর। টেদের বববিন্ন স্থান টথদক বতন েতাবধ্ক টিয়র, অন্যান্য টেদের টবে কদয়কজন টিয়র, নগর পবরকল্পনাববে ও টপোজীবীরা এ সদেলদন অাংে টনন। ফ্্ান বদলন, নগর হদলা প্রব ৃবির ইবিন, বকন্তু দ্রুত, অপবরকবল্পত ও নগরায়ন নগরগুদলার পূেঘ সম্ভাবনা বাস্তবায়দন বাধ্া টেয়। সদেলদন অাংেগ্রহেকারীরা বদলন, বাাংলাদেদে নগর পবরকল্পনা আদরা অবধ্কতর টেকসইিাদব করা েরকার যাদত টেদের দ্রুত নগরায়ন হওয়া অাংেগুদলাদত সুন্দরিাদব বসবাদসর উপদযাগী প্রদয়াজনীয় অবকাঠাদিা থাদক। বাাংরাদেদে দ্রুত ও অপবরকবল্পত নগরায়দনর কারদে নগরগুদলার বাসদযাগ্তা প্রিাববত হদয়দে। বতঘিাদন বাাংলাদেদে প্রায় পাাঁচ টকাবে ৪০ লাখ টলাক নগদর বসবাস কদর এবাং আগািী ৩৫ বেদর এ সাংখ্া বিগুে হদব। বতঘিাদন নগরবাসীদের এক পঞ্চিাাংে োবরদয্র িদধ্্ বসবাস কদর থাদকন। ববশ্বব্াাংদকর বহদসব িদত, বাাংলাদেদের অবধ্কাাংে বসবে ও বিউবনবসপাবলবে অবকাঠাদিা অপযঘাপ্ত এবাং টসবাও বনম্নিাদনর। টেদের স্থানীয় পযঘাদয় অবকাঠাদিা খাদত ব্য় বাড়াদনা েরকার। বাাংলাদেদে টিাে সরকাবর ব্দয়র তু লনায় স্থানীয় পযঘাদয় ব্দয়র পবরিাে প্রায় বতন েতাাংে, যা বববশ্বকিাদব বনম্নতি ব্দয়র অন্যতি। দ্রুত নগরায়দনর চ্াদলি টিাকাদবলায় সদেলন নগদরান্নয়দন একবে টসন্োর ফ্র এবিদলন্স চালু কদরদে। এবে নগরগুদলার বাসদযাগ্তা উন্নয়দনর লদয্ জ্ঞান-বববনিয় করদব এবাং বিউবনবসপাবলবেগুদলার সযিতা বাড়াদব। বাাংলাদেে বিউবনবসপাল অ্াদসাবসদয়েদনর সিাপবত টিাহােে আবদুল বাদতদনর সিাপবতদত্ব জাতীয় সাংসদের বিকার ড. বেরীন োরবিন টচৌধ্ুরী, ঢাকা েবযে বসবে কদপঘাদরেদনর টিয়র সাঈে টখাকন সদেলদনর উদিাধ্নী অবধ্দবেদন বক্তৃতা কদরন। বিউবনবসপাল অ্াদসাবসদয়েন অব বাাংলাদেে, বাাংলাদেে ইনবিবেউে অব প্ল্্ানারস, ইনবিবেউে অব আবকঘদেক্টস, বাাংলাদেে ইনবিবেউোন অব ইবিবনয়ারস, বাাংলাদেে-এর সদে পােঘনারবেপ এবাং সুইস এদজবন্স ফ্র টডদিলপদিন্ে অ্ান্ড টকা-অপাদরেদনর আবথঘক সহদযাবগতায় ববশ্বব্াাংক এ সদেলদনর আদয়াজন কদর।
Source: http://www.arthosuchak.com/archives/383511/%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%82%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE%E0%
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International News Russia cuts interest rate for fifth time this year Russia's central bank reduced Friday its key interest rate to 8.25 percent, the fifth reduction this year as inflation hits a record low. The bank took the decision to trim its main interest rate by 0.25 percentage points as "inflation expectations remain elevated...their decline has yet to become sustainable and consistent," it said in a statement. The bank also said it would continue its "gradual" monetary policy as medium-term inflation risks persist. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/russia-cuts-interest-rate-fifth-time-year-1483276
Amazon fears hit drugstores after Aetna-CVS tieup report Shares of CVS Health tumbled Friday with other drugstore chains following a report it could acquire insurer Aetna to fortify itself against a possible Amazon entry into the sector. CVS Health has offered to buy Aetna for more than $200 per share, The Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The newspaper described the talks as serious, but said they may not lead to a deal. Around 1630 GMT, CVS Health was down 4.8 percent to $69.75, while rivals Rite Aid dropped 4.5 percent and Walgreens Boots Alliance 3.9 percent. Aetna, which spiked 11.5 percent in the final moments of trading Thursday afternoon following the Journal's report, dipped 1.4 percent to $177.73, holding most of its gains. The possible deal comes amid signs that Amazon is preparing to expand into pharmacy distribution. A report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said Amazon, which has disrupted the grocery business with its $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Market, had obtained licenses in 12 states to become a wholesale pharmaceutical distributor. "While these licenses do not seemingly permit (Amazon) to act as a dispensing pharmacy, it does allow it to deliver relevant pharmaceutical and medical products to pharmacies," said a note from Credit Suisse. "We can only speculate as to what Amazon's next steps may be," the note added. "While we acknowledge the inherent challenges and complexities of the supply chain, the specter of Amazon continues to weigh on sentiment across our universe of distributors, pharmacies, and (pharmacy benefit managers)." CFRA Research analyst Joe Agnese said Amazon's move was the "big threat for the sector right now."
Source: http://www.theindependentbd.com/post/119905
Brexit keeps UK debt outlook 'negative': Fitch, S&P The specter of a messy Brexit means the outlook for British sovereign debt remains negative, the ratings agencies S&P and Fitch said Friday. Both agencies affirmed their 'AA' high-grade rating on British short- and long-term sovereign debt but they pointed to the recent deadlock in Brexit talks as reason to worry for the British economy. Six months since authorities in London triggered the process for exiting the European Union, a second phase of talks on future EU-British trade relations has yet to begin. Failure to reach an agreement could leave Britain without privileged access to the largest market for its goods and services after it leaves the economic bloc in 2019. "The limited time left for negotiating a framework for a future relationship, along with internal divisions among British policymakers, has increased the risk of a disorderly Brexit," S&P said a in statement. A clear sticking point is the exit payment, or the amount of money Britain will have to pay into the EU budget, honoring commitments made during Britain's EU membership even as it prepares to leave. British officials appear to have offered about 18 billion pounds ($23.64 billion) while the European side favors something close to 100 billion euros ($116 billion). 10 | P a g e
According to S&P, British negotiators are seeking to sever ties to the EU Single Market and Customs Union to regain control of their borders and immigration while at the same time retaining trade arrangements as close possible to those provided by EU membership. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/brexit-keeps-uk-debt-outlook-negative-fitch-sp-1483270
ExxonMobil, Chevron earnings jump on higher oil prices Higher oil prices and refining margins boosted third-quarter earnings at ExxonMobil and Chevron, more than offsetting the hit to operations from US hurricanes, the companies reported Friday. Better earnings for both of the top two US oil giants reflected the lift from moderately higher commodity prices during the quarter and came despite losses for both companies in the US exploration and production business. US oil futures prices ranged from about $46 to $52 per barrel during the quarter, up about $4 from the year-ago period. ExxonMobil and Chevron enjoyed higher profits in the downstream division, which is responsible for refining crude oil into gasoline and other petroleum products. This included gains in the US, where the effect of temporary closures of refineries by ExxonMobil and others resulted in higher gasoline prices, lifting refining margins. ExxonMobil reported earnings of $4.0 billion, up 49.8 percent from the year-ago period. US hurricanes resulted in a hit of $160 million. Revenues were $66.2 billion, up 12.8 percent. "A 50 percent increase in earnings through solid business performance and higher commodity prices is a step forward in our plan to grow profitability," said ExxonMobil chief executive Darren Woods. "For the fourth-consecutive quarter, we generated cash flow from operations and asset sales that more than covered our dividends and net investments in the business." Chevron reported a 52.1 percent increase in earnings to $2.0 billion. Revenues rose 16.2 percent to $36.2 billion. "We continue to see improvement in the underlying pattern of earnings and cash flow," said Chevron CEO John Watson. “Cash flow is at a positive inflection point, with oil and gas production increasing and capital spending falling." Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/exxonmobil-chevron-earnings-jump-higher-oil-prices-1483267
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