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Economy

April remittances up for third straight month

Money sent home by Bangladeshis working overseas in April rose 3.2 percent from a year earlier to $1.23 billion, the third straight month of gains.

Millions of expatriate Bangladeshis remitted $11.73 billion from July to April, the first 10 months of the current financial year, down nearly 4.8 percent from the same period the previous year, central bank data showed.

Officials say remittances have dropped over the last few months because of political turmoil in the months leading up to an election in January.

Political instability hampers investment: FBCCI president      

Absence of political stability and poor infrastructure facilities are the major impediments to boosting FDI (foreign director investment) inflow into Bangladesh, said president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed Monday. “The hurdles are not only discouraging the overseas investors but also the local ones who have immense interest to invest in many potential sectors here,” he said at a meeting with visiting National Defence Course (NDC) delegation at the Federation Bhaban in the capital, UNB reports.

Forex reserves hit record high in April  

Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves reached a record high $20.37 billion at the end of April, more than 37 percent higher than a year earlier, the central bank said on Sunday. The higher reserves, which stem from a widening current-account surplus, can to cover more than six months of imports. At the end of April 2013, reserves were $14.83 billion. The total last month was $1.06 billion above the March 2014 level. [caption id="attachment_4203" align="alignleft" width="300"]The reserves now stand at $19.04bn, enough to pay off six months’ imports and second highest among SAARC countries

BB governor reaffirms promoting women entrepreneurship

Reaffirming Bangladesh Bank’s (BB) commitment to promoting women entrepreneurship, bank governor Dr Atiur Rahman said, banks and non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) have been asked for prioritization of women entrepreneurs in providing financial services. “Promoting women entrepreneurship is one of our key policy interventions . . . half of our population is women and unless we engage them in activities where they have competitive edge over others we will be losing national output by under utilizing their skills, creative and innovative ideas,” said the governor while speaking at a seminar here, reports BSS.

GDP to be lower than 6pc 

Experts blamed political unrest and uncertainty surrounding elections held in January for economic slowdown in Bangladesh. As predicted by International Monetary Fund (IMF), Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Bangladesh this year is to be a little over five percent, lower than the six percent GDP last year. Dr.-Hossain-Zillur-RahmanApart from the political instability, investment stagnation and reduced remittance inflows are also quoted as major cause of slowdown. As per Bangladesh Bank, remittance flow has di...

Compliance not possible without factory relocation   

Stating that ensuring the compliance is not possible without the relocation of poorly-equipped factories, business leaders at a meeting here on Wednesday suggested the government set up an industrial zone with all utility services either near Chittagong or Dhaka for shifting the RMG factories. “Many of our garment factories are now facing difficulties in ensuring compliance. It’s not possible to ensure that in all factories with the existing infrastructures. The government can set up an industrial zone either near Chittagong or Dhaka where there are gas, power and other facilities to relocate the factories so that they can ensure the compliance,” said former FBCCI president Anisul Haq.
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