Bangladesh yesterday made three major decisions to cushion the economy against critical risks such as stubborn inflation and depletion of foreign currency reserves.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) emphasised more reforms in the banking sector and tax collections and reducing subsidies to help the economy turn around.

Best Holdings, which operates five-star hotel Le Méridien Dhaka, registered a 32 percent year-on-year growth in profit in the July-March period of the current fiscal year of 2023-24, attributing it to an increase in occupancy.

The government yesterday appointed two commissioners at the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) for a four-year term while extending the tenure of an existing commissioner by another term.

Zahid Hussain, a former lead economist of the World Bank’s Dhaka office, termed as the most significant step the abolition of the SMART system among the three changes brought yesterday by the central bank.

The exporters have already welcomed the central bank's move to devaluate the local currency, which they have long been waiting for.

PRI Executive Director Ahsan H Mansur says

IMF mission concluded its 15-day visit to Bangladesh today

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed to provide $1.15 billion to Bangladesh in the third instalment under its multi-billion-dollar loan programme.

The prime index of the DSE decreased 0.6% before closing the day at 5,690.78

Cooperation is sought for product development, technology upgradation, monitoring and financial literacy

Bangladeshi taka has lost its value by 6.3 percent against the US dollar as the central bank introduced a new exchange rate under the crawling peg

Bangladesh Bank today raised the policy rate by 50 basis points to 8.5 percent to bring down the runaway inflation

Insurance companies in Bangladesh will no longer be able to charge policyholders for commissions or service fees while settling claims, according to the “Insurance Claims Management Guideline 2024”.

The profit amounted to Tk 999 crore, soaring 70 percent year-on-year. It was Tk 587 crore in 2022.

The combined bad loans of the banks surged 27 percent year-on-year to Tk 62,913 crore at the end of last year. Two years prior, total bad loans of the four state banks stood at just over Tk 38,200 crore, according to financial statements.

At present, there are 36 life and 46 non-life insurance companies in Bangladesh, which stands in stark contrast to just 24 life insurance companies in India, 10 in Pakistan, and 16 in Sri Lanka.

The tax on cigarettes in Bangladesh should be raised in the national budget for fiscal 2024-25 to boost the country’s revenue generation and minimise health risks, according to experts.

State-owned Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) has witnessed a year-on-year drop in both revenue, generated from renting out its seven vessels, and associated profit in the first nine months of this fiscal year of 2023-24.

Bangladesh is going to seek more than 36 billion yuan, equivalent to $5 billion, as soft loans from China to reduce pressure on its dollar reserves.