The Dhaka bourse continued to gain for the third consecutive day yesterday thanks to the investors' increasing interest on shares of bank and non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs).

The number of the country's active internet connections increased about 20 percent year-on-year to 8.78 crore at the end of June on the back of fast-growing mobile internet and the government's push for digitalisation.

Biman is set to increase flights to London by the end of this year after taking delivery of its second Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner in

Bangladesh's exports to China—one of the most promising Asian markets—fell 26.79 percent year-on-year to $694.97 million in 2017-18.

The Bangladesh Bank yesterday warned banks to heighten measures to repel cyber attacks after a multinational hacking ring made off with Rs 94.4 crore from India's Cosmos Bank last week.

Cyber criminals hacked the systems of India's Cosmos Bank and siphoned off nearly 944 million rupees ($13.5 million) through simultaneous withdrawals across 28 countries over the weekend, the bank tells police.

The government yesterday approved four applications for tower operations licences as part of its move to separate the network business from telecom services with the view to rationalising the number of towers in the country.

Standard Chartered Bangladesh yesterday launched MortgageOne, a home financing solution enabling clients to enjoy a reduced interest rate and loan tenure through maintaining deposits with current accounts.

Exports started fiscal 2018-19 on a bright note, fetching $3.58 billion in July, which is 19.73 percent more than a year earlier.

The central bank yesterday allowed banks to open foreign currency clearing accounts in yuan in keeping with the soaring trade with China.

A uniform minimum call rate of Tk 0.45 per-minute for mobile phones is going to be effective from early hours of Tuesday as the government approved the fresh tariff to establish a level playing field for the country's telecom operators.

Grameenphone crosses seven crore active mobile connections in Bangladesh, a magic figure for any mobile operators even in the global perspective.

Citibank NA Bangladesh has recently hosted a forum on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) underlining the bank's commitment to support Bangladesh, global clients and investors with the opportunities offered by the programme launched by China.

All is set for Symphony to start assembling mobile handsets in Bangladesh as the leading vendor has already set up the plant in Ashulia.

Bangladesh has the potential to be a major player in the global halal market if given the right support and market development initiatives, said Abul Kasem Khan, president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

With audits into Grameenphone and Robi's books already complete, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is on way to appointing firms to get the same done for Banglalink and Airtel.

Banks should increase their number of branches to give a boost to financial inclusion, said Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday.

The government yesterday set $39 billion as the merchandise export target for the current fiscal year, which is 6.36 percent higher than the immediate past fiscal year's achievement of $36.66 billion.

Grameenphone's alleged financial discrepancies have ballooned almost three times to Tk 11,530.15 crore after the telecom regulator ran another audit of the operator's books.

The interest rate on savings instruments will remain unchanged for the time being, in a development that can be termed an about turn for Finance Minister AMA Muhith, who only a couple of days ago indicated it would be lowered.