Jagaran Chakma

The government should expand social safety net programmes immediately to support the people reeling under escalated food prices, said Selim Raihan, executive director of the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (Sanem).

Firms, both local and foreign, have put on hold their investments in Bangladesh owing to the surge in the dollar price, the energy crisis, the escalated cost of production, and the deep uncertainty caused by the Russia-Ukraine war. 

Twelve private economic zones in Bangladesh have received good responses from investors drawing investment proposals involving $4.27 billion from local and foreign entrepreneurs in the past six years.

Initiatives expected over the manufacture of automobiles in Bangladesh is yet to become visible in spite of the unveiling of a policy by the government for the first time in 2021 to develop the sector. 

Reconditioned car imports surged by more than 75 per cent year-on-year in July-October despite the ongoing economic uncertainty and the government’s efforts aimed at discouraging the purchases of luxury items from external sources, traders say.  

Bicycle exports from Bangladesh declined year-on-year in the first four months of the current fiscal year apparently for shrinking demand in Europe propagated by the war-induced cost-of-living crisis.

With sugar prices making new records almost every day for a supply crunch at home and abroad, pushing up the cost of making sweetener-based foods, state-run Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation (BSFIC) can’t increase the supply to provide some relief to consumers. 

Bangladesh’s steel industry is set to see the entry of a couple of large business houses while several existing steelworks are looking to expand their capacities in order to gain from the rising demand for the key construction material.

Partex Petro Ltd, an oil refinery, has started production and marketing of aviation fuel, becoming the first company in Bangladesh to manufacture the finished product for the growing air transport market. 

The demand for large-screen and premium-branded televisions has picked up in Bangladesh as sports-loving fans are gearing up to watch cricket and football world cups.    

Eastern Cables Limited, a subsidiary of the Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation, was once the only cable manufacturer in Bangladesh.

Industries, already under huge pressure for the fall in gas supply and higher input costs, have been hit with power outages in the last few days, which have raised the production cost and may force factories to cut output. 

Like always, investors and experts apprehend that there will be challenges in implementing the new industrial policy to achieve maximum benefits due to a lack of ownership and coordination among line ministries and various stakeholders.

Bangladesh’s entire business sector, particularly the producers focused on the domestic market, is facing troubles due to an unprecedented hike in the US dollar price as their cost of production has witnessed a sharp spike. 

One of the Rampal power plant’s two units was inaugurated last month but it still requires some machinery to practically start running. 

The market for glass used in construction has increased steadily in Bangladesh over the past 15 years thanks to expansion in the real-estate sector resulting from rapid urbanisation, according to industry insiders.

Six Bangladeshi companies have showed their interest to invest $457 million at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar in Chattogram and Sabrang Tourism Park in Cox’s Bazar.

The steel industry in Bangladesh is currently witnessing a steep drop in sales as the depreciation of taka against US dollar has hiked production costs at a time when consumers are unwilling to pay higher prices for the key construction material.

Just two decades ago, one could hardly hope to see a well-furnished bathroom in the country’s semi-urban and rural areas.

Foreign assistance utilisation by the government has gone up by 1.57 per cent year-on-year during the first two months of the current fiscal year, thanks to improvements in the use of project aid.