IDLC Finance Ltd, the largest non-bank financial institution in Bangladesh, is set to launch its Islamic financing window as it looks to tap business opportunities in a segment that is growing rapidly at home and abroad.

International air traffic to and from Bangladesh hit the highest at least in four years in 2022, riding on pent-up demand for travel by migrant workers, non-resident Bangladeshis and the upper-middle-class segment.

A delegation of Bangladesh yesterday urged Japanese businesspeople to invest more in the country, especially in its economic zones.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday again directed the authorities concerned to bring women’s unpaid household work into the calculation of Bangladesh’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the next national budget.

Spending through credit cards hit a four-month low in February as people have become cautious in spending based on loans in the face of spiralling inflation, several bankers said yesterday.

There is no alternative to a central bank digital currency (CBDC) as it will be very prominent in the global financial system in the coming decades, said Atiur Rahman, former governor of Bangladesh Bank, yesterday. 

Standard Chartered Bangladesh recently won three awards -- “Best Mobile Banking Application”, “Digital Bank of the Year” and the “Best Digital Upgrade” -- at The Asset Triple A Digital Awards 2023. 

Stocks in Bangladesh continued to drop for a third consecutive day yesterday while turnover remained below Tk 450 crore as most investors are not pouring money into stocks. 

The central bank has allowed banks to open foreign currency accounts in the names of shipping companies, airlines and freight forwarders to support their global operations.   

Kay & Que (Bangladesh) Limited’s profit fell more than 76 per cent year-on-year to Tk 5.66 lakh in the third quarter of the current financial year.  

Legacy Footwear Ltd has received the regulator’s nod to increase the paid-up capital by Tk 30 crore.

Planning minister hints

People spent Tk 2,312 crore in February, down by 8% from January’s Tk 2,506 crore

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has directed the authorities concerned to take strong efforts to unlock the potentials of blue economy in the vast sea area of the country

Public debt soared to a record during the pandemic, topping global gross domestic product. Now, with government debt still elevated, the rise in interest rates and the strong US dollar is adding to interest costs, in turn weighing on growth and fueling financial stability risks.

The Dhaka and Chattogram stock exchanges rose slightly in the morning trade today.

While the government aims to expand railway services across Bangladesh, the country’s largest locomotive workshop in Saidpur of Nilphamari is still unable to operate at full capacity as it lacks adequate manpower, funds and machinery.

The business sector in Bangladesh has been going through severe challenges for the past four years, which, for many, have been the toughest period in decades, with the coronavirus pandemic being the dominant factor in the early part before the Russia-Ukraine war broke out. Today, we are running the third report of a series to present how various sectors fared in the face of the two unprecedented shocks.

Sales of passenger cars declined significantly in the first quarter of 2023 owing to higher prices and macroeconomic volatility, industry people said

The central bank has set a goal so that at least 75 per cent of retail transactions are settled through digital technologies by 2027, a move that may give Bangladesh’s digital transformation a massive fillip and turn the cash-based economy into cashless.