IMF Loan: Bangladesh may get next tranche in June
15 March 2026, 02:52 AM
Bangladesh could receive a $1.3 billion tranche from its loan programme with the International Monetary Fund by June if the new government moves ahead with reforms to make the dollar exchange rate more market-based, strengthen revenue collection, reduce subsidies, and address weaknesses in the banking sector.
15 March 2026, 02:52 AM
US-Israel war on Iran: Seven-minister committee to shield shocks
11 March 2026, 02:24 AM
The government has formed a high-powered cabinet committee to draw up a crisis management plan, aiming to safeguard economic stability amid the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran.
11 March 2026, 02:24 AM
Family Card pilot to cover 40,000 households
8 March 2026, 03:04 AM
Some Tk 39 crore has been set aside from the block allocation from this fiscal year’s revised budget, a finance ministry official told The Daily Star.
8 March 2026, 03:04 AM
Govt aims to gradually issue 2cr family cards
25 February 2026, 02:36 AM
The government is set to launch the pilot phase of its family card programme on March 10 with the ultimate aim of gradually bringing two crore families under monthly cash support.
25 February 2026, 02:36 AM
Govt faces $30b debt servicing bill
23 February 2026, 02:04 AM
Bangladesh is set to spend over $30 billion this fiscal year to service its debts, covering both principal repayments and interest on domestic and foreign loans, according to projections by the International Monetary Fund.
23 February 2026, 02:04 AM
Salehuddin leaves office outlining 20 priority tasks for Khosru
22 February 2026, 00:00 AM
The list includes managing high inflation, weak tax collection, rising debt
22 February 2026, 00:00 AM
LDC graduation: Government asks UN for three-year deferment
20 February 2026, 02:36 AM
The government, on its first full day in office, formally sought a three-year deferral of Bangladesh’s graduation from the least developed country (LDC) category.
20 February 2026, 02:36 AM
New govt faces 5 early economic tests
19 February 2026, 02:35 AM
The new finance minister, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, may have arrived in office with a long list of priorities -- fiscal reform, banking stability, and negotiations with international lenders.
19 February 2026, 02:35 AM
Kamal marshalling development partners to help with COVID-19 wreckage
Bangladesh has turned to multilateral lenders in earnest to pull the country out of the wreckage of COVID-19, which has left the country’s tremendous growth momentum of recent years coming crashing down.
19 April 2020, 18:00 PM
Incentives for those on the front line
The government will provide two months’ basic salary as incentive for doctors and other health workers who are on the front line in the war against Covid-19 pandemic.
19 April 2020, 18:00 PM
Govt in great pickle over next fiscal year’s budget
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal plans to unveil the national budget for next fiscal year on June 11 amid deepening uncertainties brought on by the deadly coronavirus.
16 April 2020, 18:00 PM
GDP growth to plunge to 33-year low this year
There is no denying that 2020 is a write-off for the high-flying Bangladesh economy, shot down to the ground by the novel coronavirus.
15 April 2020, 18:00 PM
Firms praying for an extension to hand in VAT returns
An announcement from the National Board of Revenue regarding the filing of value-added tax returns have thrown businesses into trouble.
13 April 2020, 18:00 PM
Direct cash transfer for 1.5cr poor during Ramadan
The government is set to transfer Tk 2,000 in cash to each of about 40 lakh families whose breadwinners have lost jobs because of lockdown, as part of its efforts to keep the most vulnerable segment of the society at home to tackle the deadly virus.
13 April 2020, 18:00 PM
Premature to project growth now
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal yesterday said it was premature to project what will be the country’s economic growth in the current fiscal.
12 April 2020, 18:00 PM
Outlook is grim for Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s tremendous growth momentum in recent years is set to come to a crashing halt for the coronavirus outbreak in the country, with the poor and informal sector bearing the most brunt, said the World Bank yesterday.
12 April 2020, 18:00 PM
Cash aid for extreme poor
The government is set to unveil its third stimulus package soon, offering cash aid to poor families that have been hit hard by the ongoing shutdown amid coronavirus scare.
10 April 2020, 18:00 PM
Govt battling an unknown quantity
Bangladesh has thus far announced a $8.56 billion stimulus package that is nearly three times the initial projected economic losses from the coronavirus pandemic.
6 April 2020, 18:00 PM
Factories can pay wages for 3 months from stimulus package
The owners of export-oriented companies and factories can pay wages to their workers for up to three months from the Tk 5,000 crore stimulus package unveiled by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
1 April 2020, 18:00 PM
OMS rice for Tk 10 a kg in cities from next week
The government is going to launch a special open market sale (OMS) of coarse rice at Tk 10 a kg in all city corporation areas to ensure food for the urban poor amid the countrywide shutdown.
31 March 2020, 18:00 PM
Bigger relief package needed to make up for lost economic activities
Bangladesh has announced one of the lowest stimulus packages among South Asian and Asian peers in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) to counteract the impact of the coronavirus pandemic that is on course to bringing about an economic recession.
31 March 2020, 18:00 PM
Soft loans, wages to come from stimulus package
The government will disburse interest-free soft loans for two years among the export-oriented sectors from the Tk 5,000 crore stimulus package the prime minister unveiled to cope with the fallout from COVID-19.
30 March 2020, 18:00 PM
Logistics for stimulus package allocation to be finalised by next week
The government has started work on devising a method to allocate its Tk 5,000 crore stimulus package for the export-oriented sectors announced by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on March 25.
29 March 2020, 18:00 PM
Funds begin to flow in from ADB
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved $300,000 in emergency grant for Bangladesh in its first of the planned support that the lender is preparing to help the country’s fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic.
28 March 2020, 18:00 PM
State coffer was topping up nicely before outbreak
crore in the first eight months of the fiscal year aided by healthy income tax generation but the shortfall against the government target has kept widening.
28 March 2020, 18:00 PM
Helping The Poor: Govt needs to do more, faster
Anwara Begum was seeking alms sitting in front of her shanty at the capital’s Bhashantek slum with the summer sun dipping towards the horizon yesterday.
27 March 2020, 18:00 PM
Govt seeks $1b from IMF, WB
Bangladesh yesterday sought $1 billion in support from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank as the country looks to support its people, businesses and industries reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.
25 March 2020, 18:00 PM
Small victory for BB as NY court dismisses appeal challenging case
A US court has rejected an appeal that challenged a Bangladesh Bank case against a Filipino bank and others over $81 million reserve heist from its account with the New York Federal Reserve.
23 March 2020, 18:00 PM