Our everyday relationship with financial services – their scope, their function, and how we use them – is constantly shifting in profound ways.

Coffee and cashew cultivation are rapidly expanding in Bangladesh thanks to a government initiative that aims to meet the growing domestic demand for these two crops.

Until the current fiscal year, a bank account-holder requires paying a 10 per cent withholding tax on the interest earnings on deposits if the individual furnishes banks with the taxpayer identification number (TIN).

The pace of implementation of development schemes of the government hit a three-year high in May of the outgoing fiscal year with Jatiya Sangsad secretariat topping the list while the Finance Division sits at the bottom.

Bangladesh’s productivity has increased but the country is still struggling for a lack of skilled labour force, said Dulal Krishna Saha, executive chairman of National Skills Development Authority. 

The government yesterday signed an agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a $250 million policy-based loan to further improve the social protection system in Bangladesh for supporting the vulnerable population against socioeconomic challenges.

The production cost of steel makers in Bangladesh is going to increase as the revenue authority seeks to hike the value-added tax on rod and other steel products by up to 20 per cent, two leading producers said yesterday.

Bangladesh has once again called upon nations not to put any restrictions on their food grain exports and sought the continuation of its TRIPS waiver until December 31, 2032, to save the lives of people and newborns.

Two companies, which handle a major portion of Bangladesh’s hydrogen peroxide exports, have been forced to stop production as most shipping lines are declining to carry the chemical following a deadly fire at an inland container depot (ICD) last week.

The profits of state-owned enterprises in Bangladesh fell to their lowest in nine years, owing to higher commodity prices in the global market and selling of essentials among the poor and low-income groups at subsidised rates.

The currency of Bangladesh has depreciated further against the US dollar, hitting Tk 92.50 on the interbank platform yesterday.

The government is planning to formulate a national quality policy to ensure the local manufacturing of products at global standards, which will pave the way for Bangladesh to increase exports, Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun said yesterday.

The domestic stock market took a dive yesterday, the first trading session since Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal proposed the national budget for the fiscal year of 2022-23 in parliament on Thursday.

The government has cut its target on food distribution, which supports poor and low-income people, by 5 per cent to 30.95 lakh tonnes in the next fiscal year from the revised budget of 2021-22, finance ministry documents showed.

The monetary policy must be used as a proper tool to contain demand, reduce inflation, and stabilise the exchange rate in Bangladesh, a noted economist said yesterday.

A high risk of cyber-attacks looms large over 36 per cent of banks in Bangladesh mainly due to a shortage of investment in strengthening security measures, skilled personnel and a lack of awareness among bankers and customers.

Till the end of May our inbound remittance totaled $19.19 billion, $3.6 billion dollar less than that last year. With the current downward trend, in an optimistic estimate, we can eye a near $21 billion by the end of the financial year which would be 15 per cent less on a year-on-year basis. But based on this figure alone will it be justified to arrive at a decision that the magic of remittance have waned, we have run out of means to fill the increasing trade gaps, and are quickly embracing a bleak financial future? Before siding with a yes or a no let us revisit the trend of remittance flow. 

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has extended for another year a value added tax (VAT) reduction for local liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder manufacturers, who believe it would help keep fuel prices low against rising demand.

The national budget for fiscal year 2022-23 predicted a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 7.5 per cent, which is unrealistic and not objective, AB Mirza Azizul Islam, former adviser to the caretaker government, said yesterday.

The government should reconsider the proposals on increasing source tax on interest income of all companies, raising taxes on mobile phones, laptops and broadband internet services and giving amnesty to laundered money, Unnayan Shamannay Chair-Professor Atiur Rahman said yesterday.