Sukanta Halder

Shajedul Islam Sajal, who lives in the WASA staff quarter near Pallabi Extension in Dhaka’s Mirpur, had pooled his money with other youths in the area to buy a projector for Tk 15,000 before the FIFA World Cup began on November 20 this year.

Infrastructural inadequacies, such as potholes, are the biggest concern for businesses based in industrial estates of the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), according to 67 per cent of the entrepreneurs with factories inside BSCIC areas across the country.

The number of registered taxpayers is gradually increasing in Bangladesh but return submission is low relative to the size and growth of the economy, which has expanded significantly in the past decade.

Eighty-year-old Renu Bibi left home in the capital’s Lalbagh before daybreak to queue up for subsidised rice and flour sold at a truck under the government’s Open Market Sale programme.

Cottage, micro, small-and-medium enterprises (CMSMEs) in Bangladesh are suffering from significantly lower sales at a time when inflationary pressure has pushed up production costs, according to entrepreneurs.

The prices of powdered milk have increased again by Tk 50 to Tk 110 per kilogramme (kg) in the last one month for rising prices in the international market, shortage of US dollars owing to depleting foreign currency reserves and complexities in opening letters of credit. 

The decision to increase the wholesale price of electricity by 19.92 per cent to Tk 6.20 per unit has raised concerns among businesses who say consumers may soon have to bear the added burden.

When SM Laizur Rahman got a notice from his landlord saying that his flat’s monthly rent would go up by Tk 3,000 starting next January, he could not believe it.

 For the Bangladesh economy, the next three months are expected to be delicate as the measures the government has taken so far to steady the ship amid the global economic tempest start to play out.

The insurance regulator of Bangladesh has directed all life insurers to set up an actuarial department and appoint actuaries with a view to assessing and managing the risks of financial investments and insurance policies. 

Retailers in Bangladesh are feeling the pinch as consumers have been buying less for the last few months because of the continuous increase in the prices of daily necessities and growing uncertainty. 

Nurseries across Bangladesh saw a massive drop in sales in the last four months due to the rising cost of living along with higher production costs and low rainfall.

Sugar prices have started rising afresh to hit a record high of as much as Tk 125 per kilogramme at retail in the two main cities of Bangladesh, namely Dhaka and Chattogram, further straining the wallets of consumers as inflation continues to bite.

The furniture sector is considered a promising sector of Bangladesh thanks to the abundance of labourers, the flow of capital, technological facilities, and higher demand in the global market. 

The price of wheat flour has kept rising in the retail market of Bangladesh due to a decrease in imports amid higher costs of the staple in the global markets, handing a fresh blow to the consumers already struggling to make ends meet. 

The price of wheat flour has increased in retail markets due to a decrease in imports and rise in international market prices, dealing a fresh blow to the people who are already struggling to make their ends meet.

Bangladesh Bank data show deposit growth in the banking sector fell to 9.35 per cent in June this year from 13.80 per cent in June last year.

Reducing the regulatory duty on sugar imports from 30 per cent to 10 per cent could stabilise sugar prices in the domestic market, according to a report by the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC).

Cyclone Sitrang is over and the weather is forecast to be sunny today. But for thousands of people in Bangladesh, including farmers, it is rather gloomy. 

The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA), the sole regulatory body for insurance companies in Bangladesh, has identified nine issues that are impeding growth in the country’s non-life insurance sector.