SOAS professor says oligarchs fuel growth but fail to create jobs

Persisting political uncertainty and energy crisis are holding back investment growth in Bangladesh, business leaders and policy experts said yesterday.

In our country, the word “sorry” is rarer than electricity on a summer evening. Not because we do not make mistakes. We produce them in bulk. From call drops to collapsing bridges, from delayed mega projects to disappearing dollars, we are world-class exporters of errors.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has recommended improvements in fire prevention and response, operational supervision, and equipment preservation at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) ahead of its commercial launch of the first unit.

Bangladesh’s external debt servicing surged 16 percent year-on-year in the first month of the current fiscal year (FY) 2025-26, while inflows from bilateral and multilateral lenders fell sharply.

The least developed countries (LDCs) have been struggling to graduate to developing nations for years. But at the same time, these countries fear losing preferential trade, exports, and employment. So, they hesitate and step back even after becoming eligible for graduation.

Air conditioner (AC) sales slumped this summer, as milder temperatures compared to previous years and frequent rains meant fewer households felt the need to invest in cooling appliances.

Bangladesh is expected to import larger volumes of rice and wheat in the marketing year (MY) 2025-26 owing to rising domestic rice prices, according to a report by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

All four are located at the Bangladesh-India border

The DSEX gained 74.63 points to close at 5,517.94

Lower capital goods imports and slower construction indicate stalled investment

The DSEX gained 42.99 points to 5,486.30 by 11:26 am

The government is moving away from scattered projects and will adopt an integrated multimodal transport plan to ensure cost and time-efficient transport, said Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, adviser to the Road Transport and Bridges ministry, yesterday.

The government has decided to privatise mobile financial service (MFS) provider Nagad to increase competition in the sector, said Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Ahsan H Mansur.

Islami Bank Bangladesh’s earnings took a heavy hit in 2024 as surging payouts to depositors and higher provision expenses dented its bottom line.

Dutch-Bangla Bank, a listed lender in the country, has decided to buy a building for its headquarters  in Dhaka’s Motijheel at a cost of Tk 1,016 crore.

LDC graduation a turning point for local plastics industry

Top banks' investment woes highlight behavioural problems among investors

Lack of infrastructure, trust key barriers to digital economy

Blockchain. Some hear the word and think of Silicon Valley hype. But if we look past the buzz, we find something else, something that is not just about money or technology. At its core, blockchain is about trust. And in a country like ours, where trust in systems and data is often fragile, that matters.