The stimulus packages for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the agriculture sector should be expanded and redesigned in the next budget considering the Covid-19 fallout, experts said at a webinar held yesterday.

The Bangladesh EPZ Investors’ Association (BEPZIA) has requested the government to keep the export processing zones (EPZs) open during the nationwide lockdown to ensure smooth payment of salaries and allowances to workers.

Garment factory owners have expressed their intention to keep running their industrial units during the upcoming lockdown, while union leaders are divided on the issues of ensuring workers’ safety and livelihoods.

The government has taken steps for faster import of 5 lakh tonnes of wheat from Russia.

The amnesty to legalise undisclosed income without any question and on payment of 10 per cent tax is likely to continue in the upcoming fiscal year for individuals who will make a new investment to set up factories, officials said.

Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov has lauded the success Bangladesh has achieved in garments and medicine sectors and urged the entrepreneurs of the south Asian country to invest in the landlocked nation.

Customs houses at ports and field offices for value-added tax will remain open during the seven-day countrywide complete lockdown starting from Monday.

The investors of the export processing zones (EPZs) have requested Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (Bepza) to keep the EPZs open during the upcoming countrywide shutdown starting from June 28.

The government is going to import 5 lakh tonnes of wheat from Russia.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said the nation should be prepared with skills, education and infrastructure as a major shift is taking place in the world economy.

Bangladesh’s primary textile sector is undergoing rapid changes with local millers taking to producing significant amounts of manmade fibres alongside cotton fibres to meet rising global demand.

Eighty-three per cent of the cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises did not receive stimulus relief as it was not well-tailored and did not consider the challenges and needs of small entrepreneurs, a new survey found.

Bangladesh’s manufacturing sector risks becoming uncompetitive because of lower productivity and its reliance on low labour costs as wages are rising locally and the use of labour-saving technologies is growing globally, said the World Bank yesterday.

The potent greenhouse gas methane is spewing out of natural gas infrastructure across the European Union because of leaks and venting, video footage made available to Reuters shows.

Confidence among Canadian exporters has surged to its highest level in more than 20 years, amid mounting optimism that a sustained global economic recovery is underway, a survey by Export Development Canada (EDC) showed on Thursday.

Brac Bank has recently witnessed the appointment of a new deputy managing director and chief anti-money laundering compliance officer.

Mastercard on Thursday announced the appointment of a new division president for South Asia and country corporate officer, India.

President Joe Biden was scheduled to meet with a bipartisan group of US senators on Thursday to discuss their proposed framework for an infrastructure bill as he looks to push a large-scale spending package through Congress despite Republican opposition.

Investors have been struggling to interpret signals from the Federal Reserve about how hot it is willing to let inflation run before it begins unwinding pandemic-era monetary stimulus.

Hundreds of temporary workers of nine Chattogram-based state-owned jute mills staged a four-hour sit-in before Amin Jute Mills starting 8:00am yesterday with a three-point demand including reopening all mills and paying all dues.