Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (Idcol) declared a dividend of Tk 120 crore, including Tk 70 crore in cash, for fiscal year 2022-23 at its 26th annual general meeting recently. 

HSBC Bangladesh has won “International Retail Bank of the Year” and the “Best Marketing and Brand Initiative of the Year 2023” awards by the Asian Banking and Finance, a publication for banking and finance executives in Asia.

A recent decision by the Indian government requiring firms to get a licence to import personal computers could hinder the country’s efforts to improve the ease of doing business, said trade experts and industry watchers.

The number of bank branches in Bangladesh rose to 11,212 in June 2023, up 2.11 percent year-on-year, according to central bank data.

Transactions through cards hit an all-time high in June thanks to increased economic activities during Eid-ul-Azha as consumers enthusiastically embraced the spirit of the occasion by making purchases.

Bureau 555, a joint venture between two entrepreneurs of Bangladesh and the United Kingdom, has been facilitating garment exports through the country’s first digital fabrics development facility in Gulshan, Dhaka.

The Bangladesh Bank has raised the interest rate for the loans secured from the Export Facilitation Pre-finance Fund (EFPF) and the refinance scheme for pre-shipment credit as part of its efforts to make rates market-based.

Deposit growth of shariah-based banks in Bangladesh plunged in 2022 mainly due to lower confidence among savers after a number of scams in the sector were unearthed by the central bank.

Bangladesh’s currency taka depreciated by 13.3 percent against the US dollar in 2022, said Financial Stability Report 2022 of Bangladesh Bank. 

Although wage growth in Bangladesh has been slowly climbing since July 2021, it has remained below the inflation rate for the past 18 months consecutively, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

A dozen eggs now cost the same as 1kg broiler chicken

A majority of banks in Bangladesh are facing difficulties in running their day-to-day banking activities owing to a tightening liquidity caused by the dragging foreign currency crisis, slower deposit growth and lacklustre loan recovery. 

Ali Ahmed has been re-elected as chairman of the executive committee of the board of directors of NRB Bank Ltd in a meeting of the bank recently.

Md Siddiqur Rahman recently joined the shariah-based Standard Bank Ltd as its deputy managing director and chief operating officer.

Swedish government’s private arm Swisscontact and the Swedish embassy in Dhaka yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with local Team Group to groom the skilled young workers in the making of high-end value-added garment items.

A two-day exposition of goods made in Bangladesh titled “Best of Bangladesh” will begin at Gashouder of Westergas in the Netherlands’ Amsterdam on September 4.

United Commercial Bank PLC (UCB) organised a daylong agricultural entrepreneurship skills development training titled “Voroshar Notun Janala” at Cumilla Fun Town Park yesterday under an Agro-CSR Project 2023. 

The Islami Bank Training and Research Academy organised an executive development programme styled “Four Decades of Islamic Banking in Bangladesh and the Way Forward” yesterday. 

The Bangladesh China Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCCCI) and Jamuna Bank Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding recently for VISA signature credit cards and tailored services and products for the former’s members. 

According to a 2021 study of the International Organisation for Migration, there could be an estimated 2.4 million Bangladeshi diaspora members in the UK and the US alone. Therefore, it can be assumed that the total number of Bangladeshis living abroad is huge. Even if a small portion of them contribute their skills, expertise and capital back to Bangladesh, it could make a huge difference.