Jagaran Chakma

Nitol Motors’ plan to roll out locally assembled electric vehicles (EVs) has faced a setback as a fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, which is forcing the company to take two and a half years in additional time before making the cars available in Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has proposed reducing the motorcycle registration fee for two slabs to 4.9 per cent and 8.4 per cent respectively to make the popular two-wheelers cheaper for users.

Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Ltd (HPL) is going to invest about Tk 220 crore ($25.68 million) to establish large-scale active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and formulation facilities to meet their growing demand in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh could sign an agreement with India within a short time to begin construction of the India Special Economic Zone (ISEZ), where billions of dollars of investment are expected to pour in from the neighbouring country.

Meghna Group of Industries (MGI) is investing Tk 400 crore to set up a ceramics factory at the Meghna Economic Zone in Narayanganj as the conglomerate looks to establish its footprint in the country’s burgeoning sector.

Bangladesh’s first dedicated bitumen plant established by Bashundhara Group at a cost of around $143.7 million is all set to begin commercial production at the end of this month to meet the domestic demand for asphalt.

Japanese firm Ship Healthcare Holdings in partnership with Bangladesh’s Aichi Medical Group will set up a 1,000-bed dedicated cancer hospital and research centre in Dhaka at a cost of Tk 2,000 crore.

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.