Bangladesh's Corporate World

Beximco Ltd informed the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) that it wants to be a director of the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, whereas the latter says it has no clue regarding the matter. On 14 November, Beximco announced on the DSE website that it has decided to participate in the Shipping Corporation's board of directors, and said that it acquired 5.25% or 80 lakh of the corporation's shares at Tk10 each. Based on Beximco's board decision from a meeting that was held on 13 November. In response to a DSE query, the corporation said it was unaware of the issue and that it did not have any communication with Beximco regarding nomination or election of members in the board of directors. The corporation further said any information about Beximco's acquisition of the corporation's shares can be known after the record date.There is no opportunity to comment now on the authenticity or viability of Beximco's announcement. Earlier, between August and September this year, th

The bond market is more secured than the equity market and it could be a better investment option for investors, said Salman F Rahman, private industry and investment adviser to the prime minister. He made the comment at a programme titled ‘Bond market, the ultimate solution for long-term financing’ held at the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry auditorium in the capital Dhaka. Salman said that people must understand that there could be possibility of losing capital in equity investment.‘But there is no chance of losing capital in bond market investment,’ he said. There is a lack of campaign and the absence of professional experts in the bond market that should get importance now, Salman said. ‘It is a milestone for the country as trading of government treasury bonds took place today,’ he said. Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam said that popularity of the overall bond market had been rising day by day. People are gett

 Internet freedom in Bangladesh improves after 3 years of decline Internet freedom in Bangladesh improved over the last year, following three years of decline, as internet users experienced fewer restrictions on online mobilisation, says a report by Freedom House, a US-based think tank. Bangladesh has scored 43 points out of 100, improving three notches from the year before, according to the "Freedom on the Net 2022" report, released Wednesday, indicating the country partly enjoyed internet freedom. Since 2013, Bangladesh has been consistently categorised as a "Partly Free" country on the internet freedom index of Freedom House which documents how governments censor and control the digital sphere. The report assessed the level of Internet freedom in 70 countries based on 21 indicators pertaining to obstacles to access, limits on content, and violations of user rights – between 1 June 2021 and 31 May 2022. "Internet penetration and internet speeds have improved

Prime Minister's Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman emphasized on diversification of exports and reducing imports to stabilize the currency's depreciating trend. He was speaking at a business luncheon meeting organized by Bangladesh-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry at a city hotel. Salman said the austerity measures initiated by the government and the central bank to rein in a bullish trend of import since the beginning of the second half of last fiscal year are paying dividends as import costs have shrunk to $6 billion from over $8 billion a month. "It [imports] used to be $8 billion a month, which came down to $7 billion last month and $6 billion this month. I believe our issues will be resolved pretty soon," he said. Salman said the prime minister took proactive initiatives to protect the economy in pandemic times and she did the same when the dollar prices began skyrocketing. "Alongside, Bangladesh Bank has taken initiatives to r

Salman F Rahman, adviser on the private sector to the Prime Minister and one of the country's leading businessmen, has said all export-oriented industries should get similar facilities to meet the objective of export diversification. Salman, also a first-time MP, was speaking as the chief guest at a webinar organised by the think-tank Policy Research Institute (PRI) on improving export trade facilities. The Prime Minister's private industry and investment adviser admitted that there is a problem with bureaucracy. Although the bureaucratic mentality in the administration has changed at the highest level, at the ground level it still remains the same. Every export-oriented sector can be improved if the bureaucratic complexities are reformed, he said. "I always say that everything was confined to high-level bureaucracy earlier. But now the problem has been reduced. There is a positive mental change at the highest levels of the bureaucracy. However, problems remain at the lowe

Bangladesh needs to highlight the shining examples of foreign companies that have achieved success after setting up businesses here, said a delegation of American investment management firm T Rowe Price Group Inc. The delegation, led by Johannes Loefstrand, portfolio manager of Frontier Markets Equity Fund, suggested successful utilisation of special economic zones and attracting foreign companies there. The recommendations came after the delegation met with officials of the international trade, investment and ICT division at the foreign ministry, said a press release. The delegation enquired about the steps taken for attracting more foreign investment, initiatives for increasing exports, activities and successes of economic zones and progress in digitalisation in Bangladesh. Syed Muntasir Mamun, the division's director general, highlighted Bangladesh's geographical position between northeastern India and south and east Asia. He cited the increasing participation of women in th