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Banking

Trade deficit drops to $1.53b in H1

The country’s trade deficit decreased by 58.28 per cent in the first half of the current financial year compared with that of 34.13 per cent fall in the same period of the FY13 due to a rise in exports against negative growth in imports. According to the latest BB data, the deficit narrowed to $1.53 billion in July-December of the FY14 from $3.67 billion in the corresponding period of the FY13, reports the New Age. A BB official told New Age on Thursday that the trade deficit had declined significantly in the first half of the FY14 due to the political unrest over the general elections. bb

Foreign exchange regulation relaxed for industrial enterprises

Bangladesh Bank (BB) relaxed foreign exchange transactions rule for industrial entrepreneurs to help accelerate industry- driven growth. The central bank in a circular on Sunday said industrial enterprises would get guarantee through authorized dealers (ADs) for borrowing from external sources. The enterprises, however, should have approval from the Board of Investment (BoI), BSS reports. bb Earlier in a circular, the central bank advised all ADs to take prior approval from BB to furnish guarantees to or hold collaterals on-behalf of overseas bank branches or correspondents in respect of credit...

Labour market needed to expand amid fall in remittances

The inward flow of remittance is going down as the country is failing to send more workers abroad to traditional labour markets and explore new markets. The country’s remittance inflow dropped by nearly 3.0 per cent to $13.83 billion in 2013 from $14.17 billion in 2012. In fact, the latest drop in remittance occurred in line with predictions by the economists. They say if Bangladesh cannot send new workers abroad, there will not be significant growth in remittances. The migrant workers are now sending money home as per their maximum capacities and have little capacity to increase the flow.

New monetary policy announced aiming 7pc inflation

Aiming to bring down average inflation to 7 percent, Bangladesh Bank (BB) on Monday announced cautious monetary policy for the 2nd half of the current fiscal year. Terming it a challenge, BB governor Dr. Atiur Rahman said,  BB will pursue in half fiscal (January-June 2014), based on an assessment of global and domestic macro-economic conditions and outlook. 1655132_10201551289089731_1602810251_n He announced the Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) for January to June of the FY 2013-14 in his office in the capital. ...

Call money market robust after easing political climate

Country’s call-money market is witnessing accelerated transactions as both the lending and borrowing increased throughout the last one week thanks to the changed and improved political climate following the January 5 national election. As the demand for cash rises, the weighted average rate of interest on the overnight borrowing from the money market increased to 7.21 percent Sunday from 7.15 percent a week ago. call moneyBangladesh Bank data show that a total of Tk 6623.50 crore was transacted at the call...

Recent decline in remittances in Bangladesh

Migrant workers sent $6.77 billion home to Bangladesh in July-December, down 8.41% from the same time a year ago. For the first time in recent memory, Bangladesh has experienced a decline in remittances in the first half of the fiscal year. There are four factors that can potentially account for the decline in remittances: the stock of Bangladeshi migrants abroad, earnings per migrant worker, their average propensity to save, and their average propensity to remit money home out of those savings. remittances-decline