Economy

The Bangladesh economy will grow at 8 percent this fiscal year, which would be the highest in Asia, as per the latest forecast of the Asian Development Bank. The forecast is close to the government target of 8.2 percent growth in fiscal 2019-20. Last fiscal year, Bangladesh pulled off 8.13 percent...

Japan is likely to reduce the interest rate on its lending to Bangladesh by 0.30 percentage points to 0.65 per cent from next month (October), officials said on Monday. In October 2017, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) increased its loan interest rate to 0.95 per cent...

India’s government slashed corporate taxes on Friday, giving a surprise $20.5 billion break aimed at reviving private investment and lifting growth from a six-year low that has caused job losses and fuelled discontent in the countryside. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters the effective corporate tax rate...

The tax collector has moved to remove the complexities over issuing the VAT registration after it found 80 per cent of the businesses have not updated their identification yet. Some 20,000 businesses have updated their Business Identification Number (BIN) since July according to guideline under the new...

A number of UAE business groups are set to invest $10 billion (Dh36.7 billion) into Bangladesh, according to data compiled by Bangladesh Economic Forum, which takes place at Conrad Dubai Hotel today (September 15). More than 300 government officials, business leaders, investors and entrepreneurs will participate in...

The prices Chinese firms pay factories for their goods fell last month at the fastest pace in three years, official data showed Tuesday, as slackening demand and the bruising US trade war drag on the economy. Consumer prices were also broadly subdued and only supported by a...

The government yesterday raised the hopes of aspiring entrepreneurs as it announced a Credit Guarantee Fund (CGF) to act as guarantors for them when they apply for loans to banks or financial institutions to kick-start their venture. The development comes after the cabinet approved the four-year-long SME Policy 2019. The CGF...

Inflation declined 13 basis points to 5.49 percent in August, helped by the downward movement of both food and non-food prices. Last month’s rate also bucked the rising trend as inflation had risen 10 basis points to 5.62 percent in the first month of the current fiscal...

The government’s net borrowing from the banking system in the first 51 days of the current fiscal year (2019-2020) almost touched its net borrowing from the source in the entire last fiscal year (2018-2019). In the period from July 1 to August 20 of the current...

The World Bank will provide $185 million to Bangladesh to add up to 310 Megawatts (MW) in renewable energy generation capacity and mobilise private sector participation to meet the growing demand for electricity in the country. Bangladesh will sign a loan agreement with the global lender...