Jagaran Chakma

After the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, then East Pakistan was not an ideal place for local entrepreneurs to do business as non-Bangalees from West Pakistan were in complete control.

For one and a half years, Premier Cement has repeatedly pushed back its plan to start the commercial production at a newly built manufacturing unit in Chattogram.

The railways ministry recently requested the Economic Relations Division to urge the Chinese government to re-evaluate its decision to not finance the Joydebpur-Ishwardi double-line project.

Although eight months have passed since the closure of six sugar mills, there has been little progress in modernising them owing to red tape.

Car importers and retailers in Bangladesh are in a tight spot as they are finding it difficult to keep businesses running because of the plunge in sales caused by the second wave of coronavirus infections.

Rawhide traders running small-scale operations are in trouble as they cannot sell their salt-cured hides at prices of their expectations due to influential traders seeking to slow the pace of purchases at this moment.

One and a half years ago, the demand for surgical masks in Bangladesh was met through imports. But the deadly coronavirus pandemic has pushed the local companies to build capacity to produce the essential item locally as the country struggles to tame the contagion.

The value-added tax exemption for producing air conditioners, refrigerators and freezers locally has created interest among home appliance manufacturers in Bangladesh as firms are increasingly setting up full-fledged facilities, cutting their reliance on assembling.

Inflation spurted to 5.64 per cent in June, the highest in eight months, reflecting the disruptions faced by the supply chain and the rise in the cost of living, official figures showed yesterday.

Bangladesh is advancing towards taking up the trade of refining gold in a bid to cater to the nearly $230 billion worth global gold jewellery market, meet domestic requirement and curb smuggling.

Hardly any improvement in workplace safety has taken place at the non-garment factories over the years as the authorities were primarily bogged down in fixing the loopholes in the apparel industry.

Bicycle exports have hit a new high, buoyed by increasing demand for the green mode for transportation aiding social distancing in the face of a surging number of coronavirus infections.

Pharmaceutical shipments from Bangladesh grew 25 per cent year-on-year to $169 million in the last fiscal thanks to the addition of anti-coronavirus drugs to the export basket, continuous improvement of quality and policy support.

The demand for premium quality tiles has grown by around 10 per cent annually for the past decade thanks to a section of affluent customers who look for the finest products to decorate their homes and offices.

The price of mild steel (MS) rods has increased by Tk 1,500 per tonne in Bangladesh in the past month because of the rising cost of raw materials globally, making building houses and implementing infrastructure projects costlier.

Sales for home appliances could dry up in the run-up to Eid-ul-Azha as non-essential retail outlets will remain closed during the strict countrywide lockdown beginning tomorrow.

The market of motorcycles witnessed a slow pace in 2020 due to the impact of Covid-19, but it has seen an auspicious start in 2021.

The government has withdrawn its plans to phase out reconditioned car imports over the next five years considering the growing demand for private transport, according to the draft Automobile Industry Development Policy 2021.

Buoyed by the government policy aimed at developing the motorcycle industry, local companies are gradually making a foray into the component manufacturing segment with a view to cutting the country’s reliance on imports.

Butterfly Group has made its name in Bangladesh with its consumer electronics available on hire purchase, transforming in 34 years from just three outlets to employing around 2,000 employees and having an annual turnover of Tk 850 crore.