Diversification of exports

Prime Minister's Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman has emphasized on diversification of exports and reducing imports to stabilize the currency's depreciating trend.

He was speaking at a business luncheon meeting organized by Bangladesh-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry at a city hotel.

Salman said the austerity measures initiated by the government and the central bank to rein in a bullish trend of import since the beginning of the second half of last fiscal year are paying dividends as import costs have shrunk to $6 billion from over $8 billion a month. "It [imports] used to be $8 billion a month, which came down to $7 billion last month and $6 billion this month. I believe our issues will be resolved pretty soon," he said.

Salman said the prime minister took proactive initiatives to protect the economy in pandemic times and she did the same when the dollar prices began skyrocketing. "Alongside, Bangladesh Bank has taken initiatives to reduce imports at the right time." "When this government came to power, we had about 4 thousand MW capacity in electricity but now it has become 22 thousand MW which reveals our potent energy situation. Though we now have a better situation to attract the FDI and I also admit there is room for development," he says. The policies that make RMG a successful enterprise have to be replicated in other sectors," he added.

New business strategy for Biman

Biman Bangladesh Airlines has drafted a new business strategy with special focus on cutting its ticket prices for domestic routes to maximize revenue and turn itself around in the domestic airways market.

The national flag carrier has also decided to improve passenger services on different routes as per its business policies to restore its strong position in the domestic aviation market. However, the move has irked private aviation operators, who claim the new move will push private airlines into competing on an unhealthy and uneven field, as Biman’s ticket prices would be reduced through using subsidies from the government.

In a recent letter to Prime Minister's Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman, the Aviation Operators Association of Bangladesh (AOAB) said eight private airlines have invested thousands of crores in the industry, but many were forced to shut down their operations as they could not survive in the face of Biman's business strategy. Biman Bangladesh Airlines has drafted a new business strategy with a special focus on cutting its ticket price for domestic routes to maximize revenue and turn around its position in the domestic airways market. The national flag carrier has also decided to improve passenger services on different routes as per its business policies, to reinstate its strong position in the domestic aviation market.

Salman F Rahman is not satisfied with Dhaka airport services

An airport represents the image of a country. It is not a good image when it comes to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.Prime Minister's Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman has expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of passenger services at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. "Overall, I am not satisfied. There are many scopes of improving the services. Those working at the field level have to change their attitude. I have talked to people concerned about these," the adviser told reporters after inspecting the airport. "Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sent me to visit the airport after she came to know about various types of passenger harassment," he added. He also said since the present manpower for airport management cannot reduce passenger suffering, there are plans to outsource ground handling, luggage handling, and scanner management at the third terminal. But, that will take a lot of time. For now, the goal is to improve the present situation, Salman added.

 

 

"The government has taken this matter very seriously. After this inspection, if we see that the rate of complaints is not decreasing, we will take more stringent measures," said Salman F Rahman. He said he identified a few places where passengers are harassed the most. "Many have complained that money is demanded for immigration clearance. Authorities are taking actions in this regard," he added.

Passengers can file harassment complaints to the special branch office. An immigration app is also being developed, which is expected to reduce passenger harassment. At the press briefing, the prime minister's adviser said that the passengers who bring gold from abroad have to declare the amount of gold to the customs based on which the tariff is determined. Then they have to pay the amount to a bank which is far. After depositing the money, they come back to the customs, which is a lengthy and inconvenient process.  

However, the authorities have been asked to move the bank next to the customs so that passengers have to walk less. The authorities have also been asked to consider if rescanning of baggage is possible before it reaches the belt, which can lessen the pressure on the customs.  

He said that an airport represents the image of a country so when someone has a negative experience at an airport, he gets a negative image of the country.

 

Beximco Pharma recieved sub-licence from the United Nations-backed Medicines Patent Pool

Beximco Pharma got a sub-licence from the United Nations-backed Medicines Patent Pool to produce a generic version of Paxlovid, Pfizer's oral treatment for Covid-19.

Beximco will manufacture this drug – a combination of nirmatrelvir and ritonavir – in Bangladesh following successful technology transfer and manufacturing regulatory approvals. Nirmatrelvir is a novel main protease inhibitor that specifically blocks the activity of the enzyme needed for SARS-CoV2 viral replication.

Ritonavir is a strong cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 inhibitor and pharmacokinetic boosting agent for nirmatrelvir. Paxlovid got the emergency use authorisation from the US Food and Drug Administration in December 2021 for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Covid in adults and pediatric patients (12 years of age and older). The sub-licence was granted under a voluntary licencing agreement between Pfizer and Medicines Patent Pool to facilitate broader global access to this antiviral combination.

On 20 January 2022, Beximco got a sublicence from Medicines Patent Pool to produce another Covid drug, molnupiravir, which was developed by MSD and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. Beximco Pharma managing director Nazmul Hassan said, ‘We are delighted that Medicines Patent Pool has granted us a sub-licence to produce Pfizer's breakthrough Covid-19 treatment, which builds on the licence granted to us in January 2022 for the production of molnupiravir.’

Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries gives suggestion to Bangladesh Bank

Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries president Md Jashim Uddin said that the Bangladesh Bank’s new guidelines for the payment of bank employees’ salaries would hinder banks’ lending to cottage, micro, small and medium entrepreneurs.

The FBCCI president came up with the observation at a webinar on ‘Bi-annual economic state and future outlook of Bangladesh economy: private sector perspective’ organised by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the day. Speaking about the BB’s guidelines, Jashim requested the central bank to relax the guidelines so that the banks can serve the CMSMEs. He thanked the central bank for allowing banks to open sub-branches and agent banking.

However, he said that the banks would not be able to compete with the micro-financial institutions or non-government organisations if the BB’s guidelines on bankers’ salaries remain unchanged. NGOs can appoint a field officer at Tk 10,000 monthly pay and the entities can charge interest at above 20 per cent, he said.

On the other hand, banks are not allowed to charge more than 9 per cent interest on their borrowers, he said, adding that it would be tough for banks to compete with NGOs.

To strengthen the CMSME sector, he also asked the central bank to specify the sub-sector-wise lending targets for banks. Highlighting the importance of CMSME sector in different economies, DCCI president Rizwan Rahman said that the sector contributed only 25 per cent to Bangladesh’s GDP and that was significantly lower considering its contribution in India and China.

Most of the loans under stimulus packages are disbursed among medium industries, Rizwan said. To solve the financing issue, the central bank should set separate targets for the cottage, small, micro and medium entrepreneurs, he said. Rizwan also proposed that a separate bank for the cottage, micro and small entrepreneurs should be allowed to operate as only the medium entrepreneurs can only fulfil the requirements of traditional banks.

The governor also agreed to separate CMS and medium parts of the CMSME loans to emphasise the CMS segment. Speaking about the inflation, the governor said that the central bank was closely monitoring the inflation as it was creeping up during the coronavirus in the country and it was a global phenomenon.

Speaking about the country’s plan to attain $80 billion export earnings by 2024, Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Md Saiful Islam said that the country had attained significant growth in export earnings in the current fiscal year mainly due to the peace and tranquillity prevailed in social sector of the country for past two and a half year.

BEXIMCO Group takes control of Fareast Islami Life Insurance

Beximco Group has taken control of board of scam-hit Fareast Islami Life Insurance Company Limited by purchasing 19.81 per cent shares of the insurance company.

On February 3, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission gave its nod to the group to nominate representative of the BEXIMCO Group for the board of Fareast Life, BSEC officials said. The new board of directors can start activities after taking consent from shareholders at upcoming annual general meeting of the company.

Besides, the new board must comply with individually 2 per cent and jointly 30 per cent shareholding rules of the BSEC. Tradenext International Limited and Jupiter Business Limited, two associate companies of BEXIMCO, purchased 9.91 per cent and 9.9 per cent shares of Fareast Life respectively in recent days. On January 30 this year, both companies applied to the commission to be directors of Fareast Life.

As per the approval, the companies namely Tradenext International Limited and Jupiter Business Limited who hold more than 2 per cent shares each in Fareast Islami Life Insurance Company may nominate one or more individuals against their shareholding in the company.

Tradenext International proposed Beximco Group executive director Mostafa Zamanul Bahar and Shanta Asset Management vice-chairman Arif Khan to be directors of the insurance company while Jupiter Business recommended Beximco Pharmaceuticals chief financial officer Ali Nawaz, Beximco Textiles general manager Masum Mia and businessman Jahurul Islam Chowdhury. Apart from them, the BSEC also allowed Sheikh Kabir Hossain, Lafifa Jamal, Mozammel Haque, Ibrahim Hossain Khan, Sheikh Mamun Khaled and Rafiqul Islam as independent directors of the board.

Besides, Fareast Life sponsors Md Helal Miah and Fareast Securities was made directors of the company. The Group wants to revive the image and business of the company, the BSEC officials said. On September 1, 2021, the BSEC restructured the board of directors of Fareast Islami Life Insurance Company and nominated 10 independent directors for the company.

The new directors would replace them. The media reported that an investigation of the BSEC found that the owners of Fareast Islami Life Insurance Company Limited embezzled and laundered more than Tk 2,125 crore from the company in the past decade. The BSEC shared its investigation report recently with finance ministry and the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit to look into the matter.

Institutional investors should be key stocks traders: Salman F Rahman

Prime minister’s private industry and investment adviser Salman F Rahman, also vice-chairman of Bangladesh Export Import Company, speaks at a programme on the debut trading of BEXIMCO’s green Sukuk Al Istisna’a at the DSE office premises at Nikunj in Dhaka on Thursday. Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam, DSE chairman Md Eunusur Rahman and DSE managing director Tarique Amin Bhuiyan were present on the occasion. — New Age photo

The institutional investors should dominate trading activities in place of retail ones for reducing volatility on the country’s stock market, said Salman F Rahman, private industry and investment adviser to prime minister and vice-chairman of Bangladesh Export Import Company.

He made the comment at a programme on the debut trading of BEXIMCO’s green Sukuk Al Istisna’a at DSE’s office premises at Nikunj in Dhaka.Earlier on July 8, 2021, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission gave the final approval to BEXIMCO for issuing Tk 3,000 crore Shariah-compliant green Sukuk. On its debut trading day, prices of the Sukuk increased by 1 per cent to close at Tk 101 each.

Salman said that the country’s stock market has structural defects including that it is retail based one and participation of institutions in the market are very minimal. ‘Participation of institutional investors in matured markets is very high, but we see opposite on our market that results in significant volatility on the market,’ he said.

Brokerage houses should act as real institutions and adopt corporate culture to gain trust of the retail investors for managing their portfolios, he said. Another problem of the market is that it is an equity-based market where debt market is rarely visible, he said. ‘The BSEC is working to introduce various products on the market, but we need more innovative products like Sukuk to address banks’ interest rate sensitivity,’ Salman said.