Six state-run banks’ progress in bringing down the defaulted loans last year on the back of recovery and the payment holiday was overshadowed by a large volume of net losses.

US President Joe Biden will rely on ally countries to supply the bulk of the metals needed to build electric vehicles and focus on processing them domestically into battery parts, part of a strategy designed to placate environmentalists, two administration officials with direct knowledge told Reuters.

Some 3.34 crore families across the country benefitted from the sale of basic commodities at subsidised rates by the state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) between March last year and May this year, claimed a commerce ministry statement yesterday.

China’s market regulator has begun an investigation into suspected anti-competitive practices by KE Holdings, the country’s biggest housing broker whose top backer is Tencent Holdings, two people who know of the matter said.

India is preparing an economic stimulus package for the sectors worst affected by Covid-19, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Britain’s competition regulator is reviewing AstraZeneca’s $39 billion buyout of US-based Alexion on concerns it could reduce competition in the UK market or elsewhere.

Bangladesh Bank today asked banks to keep their branches open in areas where lockdowns have been imposed amid a surge in Covid-19 infections, after having discussion with respective metropolitan and district administrations.

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, founder of ecommerce giant Aibaba, is going to step down as president of the elite business school he founded after having been caught in a Beijing clampdown on tech titans, the Financial Times reported Monday.

HSBC Bangladesh has stepped up its efforts to support customers to run operations amidst the coronavirus pandemic and connect them with global opportunities using its unrivalled geographical footprint, its top executive said.

The VAT Audit, Intelligence and Investigation Directorate has formed four teams mainly to bring under the associated law’s purview eligible business organisations, including shopping malls, factories and service providers, which were not paying their dues.

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) yesterday formed a four-member committee to investigate the recent rumours over sharing stock price predictions and undisclosed information about listed companies on social media platforms.

DataBird, a Bangladeshi company having products across online travel, news, keyboard, eReader and lifestyle mobile applications, recently stated to have raised $3 million in foreign funding to build a messaging app resembling Facebook’s messenger, WhatsApp and China’s WeChat.

Mobile phone subscribers are still being flooded with promotional and commercial messages even a month after they opted to block them, which highlighted that the regulator’s directive to the carriers to stop the nuisance is not working.

Inflation went up for the third consecutive month in April owing to the rise in the prices of major food items such as rice, wheat, lentil, and sugar.

Walton Hi-Tech Industries yesterday made public the good news of its surging profits and plans to strengthen its footprint abroad, leading to a three per cent rise of its stocks.

The amusement park industry is on the brink of collapse as owners are struggling to pay salaries, bank loans and hefty maintenance costs amid an ongoing closure that began in April due to the recent resurgence of Covid-19.

The government is likely to offer a 10-year tax exemption to investments in manufacturing of home appliance to diversify the country’s manufacturing base and cut import dependence, said finance ministry officials yesterday.

Big US banks are prepared for credit-card balances to start ticking up again this year as pandemic restrictions ease and stimulus checks stop arriving, setting up the industry for a bump in one of its most profitable businesses.

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor plans to ship a new series of fuel-cell trucks to Europe later this year, turning up the heat on rivals in a battle to test the viability of hydrogen-powered heavy goods transport.

Britain said on Monday it had launched a review of its tariffs levied against imports from the United States in response to an ongoing trade conflict around steel and aluminium.