Jagaran Chakma

The government is keen on implementing the Dhaka East-West Elevated Expressway project with support from China instead of Malaysia under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills (BSRM) will invest Tk 50 crore to set up a cashew nut processing plant at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN), a move that will boost the local economy and encourage farmers.

Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza) has apparently gone back on its words to recently impose utility service charges, topped off with VAT, alongside a conservancy charge on investors.

Foreign nationals working legally and illegally in the local, foreign and multinational companies in Bangladesh send home billions of dollars every year, but there is no reliable data that can capture the true extent of the outbound remittance.

The Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN) seems to be taking shape day by day as investors have started developing the physical infrastructure of the 30,000-acre economic zone.

Development spending rose 16 per cent year-on-year to Tk 8,950 crore in September in a reassuring development for the government desperately trying to give a leg-up to the economy reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.

The government has sought financial support of $500 million from Japan for the procurement of Covid-19 vaccine.

Unitex Group plans to invest about Tk 650 crore to set up manufacturing plants for chemicals, steel and paint at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN) in Chattogram.

The government’s plan to introduce ‘made in Bangladesh’ cars will benefit the country only if a level playing field is created for the reconditioned and locally assembled motor vehicles.

Premier Cement is yet to begin production at two of its new manufacturing units despite getting fully prepared in March, as a few key foreign experts and workers of the company could not return to Bangladesh due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Importers are facing difficulty in availing duty benefit under the South Asian Free Trade Area after a recent change in rules that are compelling them to offer the hard copy of a key trade document or a bank guarantee to qualify.

Maf Shoes, a sister concern of TK Group, is set to invest Tk 1,118 crore to establish an export-oriented footwear manufacturing unit alongside other backward linkage industries at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN) in Chattogram.

The cement makers are finally getting some respite from the Covid-19 fallout thanks to a slight increase in sales but they believe it will not be possible to book any profit this year.

A return to normalcy is still a far off reality for Bangladesh’s leather sector as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has led to low domestic demand and a decline in exports, according to industry insiders.

In countries like Bangladesh, being successful in life means achieving financial solvency but while many individuals try to do so by starting their own businesses, they are often impeded by numerous roadblocks, said Mohammed Amirul Haque, managing director of Seacom Group.

Almost all of the country’s major development projects being funded by China are back on track following a prolonged hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Economic Relations Division and project officials said.

The Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN) will be brought under a digital security system as a part of the government’s plans to build it up as a ‘smart industrial city’.

Delta Agrofood Industries, a joint venture of SEACOM and Samuda, is set to invest Tk 1,200 crore in the production of various soy and wheat products with an aim to meet the country’s growing demand for healthier consumer goods.

A return to normalcy for Bangladesh’s steel manufacturing sector is still a far cry as factories have been forced to limit their operations due to declining demand amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according industry insiders.

Samuda Food Product and Samuda Chemical Complex, two sister concerns of the TK Group of Industries, will invest Tk 1,744.80 crore at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN) to produce consumer goods and chemicals.