The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (Idra) has asked six troubled life insurance companies to submit their plans for addressing prolonged failures in settling claims as policyholders continue to suffer due to corruption and irregularities.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) recently approved a Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network (NTTN) licence for Bangla Phone Ltd, the first such licence to be issued in the country in 11 years.

In order to increase vibrancy and attract more investors to the stock market, a taskforce on capital market reforms has recommended the regulator lift a prerequisite stipulating that anyone intending to subscribe to an initial public offering (IPO) must have at least Tk 50,000 invested in the secondary market.

Availing loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) helps to get support from other development partners, which is needed to meet resource gaps in the budget, Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed said yesterday.

Bangladesh’s education system is failing to produce skilled human resources for industries, leading to rising unemployment among educated youth while industries struggle to find qualified workers, according to economist Selim Jahan.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) from China in Bangladesh has risen to $2.67 billion as of September 2024, according to official data, cementing China’s position as the country’s second-largest investor.

“In some cases, anticompetitive clauses can be found inserted within existing laws. So that this syndicate becomes almost legal, lawful and institutional,” said the envoy, Lutfey Siddiqi.

The ban will be lifted if they clear the payments by March 27; otherwise, it will remain in effect

EBL’s board has recommended a 17.50 percent cash dividend and a 17.50 percent stock dividend

Bangladesh has continued to witness a decline in the inflow of foreign loans as it has yet to accelerate the implementation of development projects.

The board of Paramount Textile PLC has decided to invest approximately Tk 29 crore in solar power generation activities.

Bangladesh Bank has instructed commercial banks to ensure uninterrupted transactions through automated teller machines (ATMs), point of sale (POS) terminals, internet banking, online e-payment gateways, and mobile financial services (MFS) during the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays.

The government may stop yarn imports through land ports in consideration of the greater interests of the local textile and spinning sector, Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman said yesterday.

Bangladesh is witnessing a concerning rise in poverty, leading to worsening food insecurity, according to a recent study by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS).

Analysts are turning more cautious on US corporate earnings for the first quarter of this year, with the Trump administration’s policies threatening to trigger a global trade war that could undermine economic growth.

The golden rule of crony capitalism, in which profits are private but losses are social, has led to blatant injustice, as is generally recognised. The extra-market connections of crony capitalists facilitated transactional benefits while leading to entrenched market power, distorted competition, and depressed productivity growth, all contributing to growing inequalities. Yet, attempts to change the crony business model are facing their own dilemmas.

At least 52 garment factories, both small and large, have closed in the past six months in Chattogram thanks to a 25 percent drop in work orders amid political instability, according to Industrial Police sources.

The government will increase the number of beneficiaries of various social safety net schemes by at least 10 lakh from fiscal year (FY) 2025-2026, but allowances will see a small increase, although poor groups have been facing stubbornly high inflation for years.

China has been the single largest trading partner for Bangladesh for many years, but imports from the country have far outweighed exports

He pointed out that while some economic indicators suggest resilience, persistent governance failures, particularly in the banking sector, remain a major concern.