Daily News Flash, 31st July, 2017€¦ ·  · 2017-07-31The BB's latest move came against the...

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Daily News Flash, 31 st July, 2017 1 GOVT TARGETS $ 37.5B MERCHANDISE EXPORT ......................................................................... 1 BB RESUMES SELLING US DOLLAR TO STABILISE EXCHANGE MARKET ......................................... 2 STOCKS STAY DOWN FOR SECOND DAY ...................................................................................... 4 TOP 10 COS GRAB 28PC TURNOVER............................................................................................ 5 STOCKS SEE INVESTORS' CAUTIOUS BEHAVIOUR ........................................................................ 5 IMPORTS TO BE COSTLIER ........................................................................................................... 6 BTRC RECOMMENDS DRASTIC HIKE IN ISP LICENCE FEES ............................................................ 7 IMPORTS HIT RECORD $44B IN FY17 DESPITE SLUGGISH EXPORTS ............................................. 8 JS PANEL FOR VAT NET EXPANSION .......................................................................................... 10 বালাদেশ পাশাক রɃানিদে নʿেীয় অবʍাি ধদর পরদেদ................................................................................. 10 পেেু র কাজ ঘানয়ে হদে.............................................................................................................. 11 ইʑাদের বন˥ক উৎােি পবদেদ......................................................................................................... 12 মূʓীনে নিয়ণ মুািীনের বে যাদল ................................................................................................... 12 অফদশার ানকদয় ঋণেীমা পবদধ পেওয়া হদে............................................................................................ 12 নবনিদয়াদে ননেদয় পেেব াক .............................................................................................................. 13 GOVT TARGETS $ 37.5B MERCHANDISE EXPORT The government has fixed the country's target of earnings from merchandise export at US $37.5 billion (3750 crore) for the current fiscal year (FY), 2017-18. In addition, the government targets earnings worth $3.5 billion from the services sector. The targeted growth of export of goods is fixed at 8.21 per cent for the current FY, while that from services (including computer services) at 4.42 per cent. "The government has taken all initiatives to increase the country's export," said Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed while making the announcement of export earnings at a press conference at the ministry conference room. The country earned $ 34,655.90 million from goods (including computer services) and $ 3352.00 million from services during the previous fiscal. The export target was $ 37 billion during FY 2016-17. The growth in export of goods was 1.61 per cent and that for services was 6.09 per cent (estimated) during the last fiscal. The proposed target of export earnings from the knitwear sector during the current fiscal is fixed at $ 15100.00 million with 9.76 per cent projected growth, while that for woven garments at $ 15,060.00 million with 4.64 per cent growth in sight. DSEX -13.02 Gold (Ounce) $1,269.00 Dollar 81.70 (Buy) 82.70 (Sell) CSCX -37.21 Oil (Barrel) $49.79 Euro 93.50 (Buy)97.50 (Sell)

Transcript of Daily News Flash, 31st July, 2017€¦ ·  · 2017-07-31The BB's latest move came against the...

  • Daily News Flash, 31st July, 2017

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    GOVT TARGETS $ 37.5B MERCHANDISE EXPORT ......................................................................... 1

    BB RESUMES SELLING US DOLLAR TO STABILISE EXCHANGE MARKET ......................................... 2

    STOCKS STAY DOWN FOR SECOND DAY ...................................................................................... 4

    TOP 10 COS GRAB 28PC TURNOVER ............................................................................................ 5

    STOCKS SEE INVESTORS' CAUTIOUS BEHAVIOUR ........................................................................ 5

    IMPORTS TO BE COSTLIER ........................................................................................................... 6

    BTRC RECOMMENDS DRASTIC HIKE IN ISP LICENCE FEES ............................................................ 7

    IMPORTS HIT RECORD $44B IN FY17 DESPITE SLUGGISH EXPORTS ............................................. 8

    JS PANEL FOR VAT NET EXPANSION .......................................................................................... 10

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    GOVT TARGETS $ 37.5B MERCHANDISE EXPORT The government has fixed the country's target of earnings from merchandise export at US $37.5 billion (3750 crore) for the current fiscal year (FY), 2017-18. In addition, the government targets earnings worth $3.5 billion from the services sector. The targeted growth of export of goods is fixed at 8.21 per cent for the current FY, while that from services (including computer services) at 4.42 per cent. "The government has taken all initiatives to increase the country's export," said Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed while making the announcement of export earnings at a press conference at the ministry conference room. The country earned $ 34,655.90 million from goods (including computer services) and $ 3352.00 million from services during the previous fiscal. The export target was $ 37 billion during FY 2016-17. The growth in export of goods was 1.61 per cent and that for services was 6.09 per cent (estimated) during the last fiscal. The proposed target of export earnings from the knitwear sector during the current fiscal is fixed at $ 15100.00 million with 9.76 per cent projected growth, while that for woven garments at $ 15,060.00 million with 4.64 per cent growth in sight.

    DSEX -13.02 Gold (Ounce) $1,269.00 Dollar 81.70 (Buy) 82.70 (Sell) CSCX -37.21 Oil (Barrel) $49.79 Euro 93.50 (Buy)97.50 (Sell)

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    On the other hand, the target of export earnings from home textile sector is $ 880.00 million with 10.12 per cent projected growth, while that of jute and jute goods $ 1055.00 million with a 9.62 per cent growth target. Leather and leather products are expected to fetch $ 1380.00 million with 11.83 per cent growth target, pharmaceuticals $ 100.00 million with 12.15 per cent growth target, agriculture products $ 576.00 million with 4.13 per cent growth target, engineering products $ 876.00 million with 27.17 per cent growth target. Frozen and live fish are expected to fetch $ 535.00 million with a growth target of 1.62 per cent, plastic products $ 148.00 million with a growth target of 26.55 per cent, and ceramic products $ 43.00 million with 9.86 per cent growth target. On the other hand, the export target and expected growth for major services for FY 2017-18 are: from government goods and services $ 1317.00 million with 3.38 per cent growth target and other business services $ 550.00 million with 9.71 per cent growth target. Besides, the export target from transportation is fixed at $ 436.00 million with 0.6 per cent growth target, telecommunication services $ 380.00 million with -0.37 per cent target, travel $ 296.55 million with 7.34 per cent growth target. Computer services are expected to fetch $ 230.00 million with 16.44 per cent growth target, and construction services $ 119.04 million with 1.96 per cent growth target. The commerce minister said the country will be able to meet $ 60 billion export target by 2021. Out of the target, $ 50 billion will come from the ready-made garment (RMG) sector. President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Md Shafiul Islam (Mohiuddin) said, "The export target is challenging. But it is achievable through taking concerted efforts by businessmen, the government and other stakeholders." Mr Mohiuddin, also the former president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said if the RMG sector gets smooth supply of gas, power and other logistic supports, the export target from the sector will be achieved. Chairman of Bangladesh Finished Leather and Leather Goods Exporter Association Mohiuddin Ahmed Mahin also urged the government to ensure all logistic supports at the Savar Tannery Estate. Industries Secretary Md Abdullah said the government would ensure all facilities for the country's leather sector. Commerce Secretary Shubhashish Bose and officials of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh Bank and National Board of Revenue, among others, were present. Source: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/07/31/179279

    BB RESUMES SELLING US DOLLAR TO STABILISE EXCHANGE MARKET The central bank has resumed after one month the sales of US dollar to the commercial banks to provide them with foreign exchange support and stabilise the market, officials said. As part of the move, Bangladesh Bank (BB) sold US$ 20 million at market rate to two commercial banks directly on Thursday to meet the growing demand for the greenback in the exchange market. "We've sold the US dollar to facilitate the banks for making payments against import bills of petroleum products," a senior official at the BB told the FE.

    http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/07/31/179279

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    He said the central bank might continue supporting the banks with the foreign currency subject to market requirement. "We've provided such foreign currency support to the banks only for settling import payment obligations against food grains and fuel oils," he explained. Earlier on July 25, the BB sold same amount of the US currency to a leading state-owned commercial bank for making payment of their food grains import bills. In May last, it sold $21 million to the banks, according to the BB statistics. The BB's latest move came against the backdrop of depreciation of the Bangladesh Taka (BDT) against the US dollar in both the inter-bank foreign exchange market and customers' end in the recent days. The US dollar was quoted at Tk 80.65-Tk 80.66 in the inter-bank foreign exchange market on the day against Tk 80.64 on July 26, according to the market operators. On the other hand, the exchange rate of the greenback for BC (bills for collection) selling rose to Tk 81.7338 Sunday from Tk 81.7326 of the previous working day. It was Tk 81.7062 on July 26, according to the statistics of the Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Dealers Association (BAFEDA). The country's foreign exchange reserve stood at $32. 84 billion Sunday, despite selling of $40 million to the commercial banks for settling import bills in the last week, according to another BB official. "We expect that the inflow of foreign exchange may increase in the month following the upward trend of the inward remittance ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha," he said. Bangladesh received $1.02 billion in remittances between July 1 and July 28 from expatriate Bangladeshi nationals who are working abroad. It may cross $1.10 billion by the end of July. "But the flow of inward remittance may rise in the month of August ahead of the Eid," the BB official said. Meanwhile, some banks are now holding sufficient amount of the greenback as the central bank raised substantially the net open position (NOP) limit of the banks last year, according to market insiders. They said the banks are now following a 'go-slow' strategy for selling the greenback to the other banks. "The banks believe that the exchange rate of BDT against the US dollar will depreciate further in the near future for making import bills of different commodities, particularly food grains," a senior treasury official of a leading private commercial bank explained. He said the import of food grains might increase substantially in the coming months to meet the growing demand for the essential commodities in the domestic market. The NOPs of all the 56 scheduled banks have been increased by more than 45 per cent to US$ 2.19 billion from previous $1.51 billion. It was determined on the basis of 20 per cent of the total regulatory capital of the banks as on March 31, 2016, according to the BB officials. Source: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/07/31/179285

    http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/07/31/179285

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    STOCKS STAY DOWN FOR SECOND DAY Stocks ended lower for the two consecutive sessions Sunday with falling turnover as most of the investors maintained their cautions stance after announcement of monetary policy statement. Dealers said the market passed another sluggish session as a section of investors continued to book profit while some observed the market movement carefully amid ongoing earnings declaration session, taking the market to the red zone for second day. "The market fell as most of the investors kept their cautiousness amid mixed earnings declaration of some big-cap companies," said an analyst at a leading brokerage firm. AT Capital Partners, an asset management company, said, "The market fell into negative trajectory embarking on negative earnings declaration of large-cap stocks". Lafarge Surma Cement's consolidated earnings per share (EPS) fell to Tk (0.07) for April-June, 2017 as against Tk 0.38 for the same period a year ago. Accordingly, the multinational cement maker's share price plunged by 5.0 per cent to close at Tk 60.80 each on Sunday at DSE. Following the previous day's mild correction, the market opened lower and the downward trend continued till end of the session amid modest volatility and finally ended more than 13 points lower. DSEX, the prime index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), settled at 5,802, shedding 13.02 points or 0.22 per cent over the previous session. LankaBangla Securities, a stockbroker, said, "Index started the day with a sharp fall of almost 32 points, reaching to 5,783 level within the first 30 minutes. From that point, index slowly moved upward and closed red at 5,802". The two other indices also edged lower. The DS30 index, comprising the blue-chips, fell 2.29 points or 0.10 per cent to finish at 2,127. The DSE Shariah Index (DSES) also lost 6.84 points or 0.52 per cent to close at 1,311. "The market witnessed another sluggish trading session as the risk-averse investors continued their selling spree," commented International Leasing Securities, a stockbroker, in its regular market analysis. The stockbroker noted that selling frenzy in several large-cap issues mostly from cement, fuel & power and telecom sectors contributed in the plunge in indices while IT, financial institution and bank sectors got buyers attention. "Trading activities decreased by more than 15 per cent over last session which indicates that investors were staying on the sidelines and observing the market movement carefully," said the stockbroker. Turnover on the DSE came down to Tk 6.02 billion, which was more than 15 per cent lower than the previous day's turnover of Tk 7.12 billion. Bank sector alone contributed nearly 27 per cent of the day's turnover, keeping its dominance in turnover chart for fourth day in a row, with City Bank topped the chart. Non-bank Financial institutions followed next, capturing 12 per cent turnover. A total number of 0.098 million trades were executed in the day's trading session with trading volume of 176.41 million securities.

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    The total market capitalisation of the DSE also fell to Tk 3,922 billion, from all-time high of Tk 3,931 billion recorded in the previous session. Only 6 out of all sectors registered positive movement. Among the major large-cap sectors only non-bank financial institutions, bank, and pharmaceuticals posted gain with 0.50 per cent, 0.24 per cent and 0.01 per cent respectively. Losers took a strong lead over the gainers as 329 issues traded, 191 closed lower, 101 closed higher and 37 remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor. The port city bourse, the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), also closed lower with its Selective Categories Index - CSCX - losing 37 points to settle at 10,860 points. Losers beat gainers as 152 issues closed lower, 72 closed higher and 26 remained unchanged on the CSE. The port city bourse traded 11.88 million shares and mutual fund units' worth Tk 363 million in turnover. Source: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/07/31/179293

    TOP 10 COS GRAB 28PC TURNOVER Top ten traded companies, including four banks, grabbed more than 28 per cent transaction of the premier bourse on Sunday while City Bank topped the list. Brokers said investors continued to show their buying appetite on banking issues as most of the banks posted positive earnings for the second quarter (Q2) for April-June period of 2017 compared to the same quarter in the previous year. The total transaction on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) stood at Tk 6.02 billion on the day, which was more than 15 per cent lower than the previous day's value of Tk 7.12 billion. City Bank, LankaBangla Finance, IDLC Finance, ONE Bank, Lafarge Surma Cement, Prime Bank, Mercantile Bank, Fortune Shoes, Simtex Industries and Confidence Cement were the most-active shares in terms of value on the DSE. Of them, share price of five companies fell up to 3.35 per cent, four advanced up to 2.49 per cent while one remained unchanged. According to the statistics available with the DSE, about 8.31 million shares of City Bank were traded, generating a turnover of Tk 321 million, which was 5.33 per cent of the premier bourse's total turnover value. Source: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/07/31/179295

    STOCKS SEE INVESTORS' CAUTIOUS BEHAVIOUR Dhaka bourse Sunday declined marginally as most of the major sectors witnessed correction. On the day, the banking sector played a pivotal role in saving the market from large fall. The sector contributed significantly in turnover and broad index due to investors' concentration created following better earnings of banks reported for April-June, 2017. Subsequently, the dominance of banks was observed in the charts of turnover leaders and top gainers. The market started the session negatively and witnessed ups and downs throughout the whole session on Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).

    http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/07/31/179293http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/07/31/179295

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    At the end of the session, the DSE broad index DSEX declined 0.22 per cent or 13.02 points to close at 5,802.04. According to EBL Securities, the premier bourse sank further for second consecutive session in a row due to investors' cautious behaviour. The shariah-based index DSES lost 0.51 per cent or 6.84 points and closed at 1,310.80, while the blue chip index DS30 closed at 2,126.81 points. "Investors spurred their selling pressure on sector-specific stocks from cement, fuel & power and telecommunication," said the EBL Securities. Of 329 issues traded, 101 advanced, 191 declined and 37 were unchanged on the premier bourse. The turnover stood at above Tk 6.01 billion which was 15.61 per cent less than the turnover of the previous session. Of total turnover, Tk 5.09 billion came from transactions of 'A' category shares, Tk 265 million from transactions of 'B' category and Tk 154 million from transaction of 'Z' category shares. Among the gaining sectors, bank advanced 0.2 per cent, financial institutions 0.5 per cent and IT 0.6 per cent. Among the declining sectors, engineering lost 0.4 per cent, fuel & power 0.6 per cent, telecommunication 0.4 per cent, textile 0.6 per cent and travel & leisure 1.3 per cent. Investors' participation was concentrated mostly on banks which grabbed 26.50 per cent of the market turnover followed by financial institutions 11.60 per cent. City was the number one turnover leader, featuring a value of Tk 321 million followed by LankaBangla Finance Tk 212 million, IDLC Tk 209 million, One Bank Tk 173 million and Lafarge Surma Cement Tk 156 million. Dutch-Bangla Bank topped the gainers chart with a rise of 9.46 per cent to close at Tk 124.90, while Pragati Life Insurance was the worst loser after declining 12.86 per cent to close at Tk 109. Source: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/07/31/179319

    IMPORTS TO BE COSTLIER The gap between buying and selling rates for US dollar has recently widened to Tk 1.50 from Tk 1, in a development that has made imports costlier and can go on to create inflationary pressure and squeeze the foreign exchange reserves. For years, the gap has been Tk 1 a dollar as per the instruction of the central bank, according to data from the Bangladesh Bank and Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Dealers' Association. Basically, it's a supply-demand conundrum, said Anis A Khan, managing director of Mutual Trust Bank and a former chairman of BAFEDA, about the widening gap. Exports and inward remittances, the two major sources of foreign currency in Bangladesh, are on the wane while imports are rising, widening the current account deficit. All these factors have led to the increase in demand for the greenback and the rising gap between the selling and buying prices, he said. Remittance inflow in fiscal 2016-17, of $12.77 billion, was the lowest in six years. And for the first time in 15 years, Bangladesh's apparel exports failed to register even single digit growth. The apparel export growth last fiscal year was just 0.20 percent. In contrast, in the last 10 years growth averaged about 13 percent.

    http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/07/31/179319

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    On the contrary, import payments grew more than 9 percent last fiscal year. Still, the gap should not cross Tk 1, according to Nurul Amin, chairman of BAFEDA and managing director of Meghna Bank. All banks though will not profit from the situation; only those with good reserves of the greenback will, he added. Islami Bank Bangladesh that brings in more than one-fourth of remittance and handles a good sum of export receipts along with two foreign commercial banks may gain from the scenario, bankers said. Banks provide foreign exchange services to their customers, including buying foreign currency from exporters and remitters and selling it on to importers. These transactions can be very profitable to banks when the gap between the buying and selling rate widens. For example, if a bank buys $10 million from exporters at Tk 80.25 a dollar (yesterday's rate) and sells it on at Tk 81.73, it makes a profit of Tk 1.48 a dollar. The bank's gain will be nearly Tk 15 million (Tk 1.5 crore) from the arrangement. Last year, banks bought dollars from exporters at Tk 78 at most and sold them at Tk 79. This means, in the last one year taka has depreciated nearly 3 percent. Amid the mismatch between demand and supply, the BB is trying to cool down the exchange rate by injecting dollar in the market: it yesterday sold $20 million to banks. Market forces, such as demand and supply, determine the exchange rate, said Shafiqul Alam, managing director of Jamuna Bank. Alam though believes no bank is playing in the foreign exchange market as there is huge competition to hook good clients. The heat of the exchange rate was also felt in the kerb market, where a cash dollar sold at nearly Tk 84 yesterday. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/imports-be-costlier-1441222

    BTRC RECOMMENDS DRASTIC HIKE IN ISP LICENCE FEES Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission initiated a move to increase the licence acquisition fees of internet service providers drastically following an instruction from the post and telecommunication ministry. Internet service providers said that increasing licence fees would benefit heavyweight investors in the ISP business, while small area-based ISPs might fail to continue business due to imposition of such high licence fee and annual fee. Besides, increase of licence fees would impact negatively over the broadband internet penetration and quality of service across the country, they said. The BTRC initiative was taken at a special commission meeting presided over by its chairman Shahjahan Mahmood that has already forwarded to the ministry, a BTRC official told New Age on Sunday. Under the move, the telecommunication regulator has already forwarded a letter to the posts and telecommunication ministry. As per the fresh proposal, BTRC would issue three categories of ISP licences nationwide, urban and rural. Nationwide ISP service providers would be allowed to operate their business across the country, while urban ISP service providers will operate their business within a metropolitan city, divisional headquarters and district areas.

    http://www.thedailystar.net/business/imports-be-costlier-1441222

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    Nationwide licence providers will have to pay Tk 25 lakh as licence acquisition fee along with Tk 5 lakh annual licence fee. The urban service providers will have to pay Tk 15 lakh licence acquisition fee along with Tk 3 lakh annual licence fee. Under the existing guidelines, nationwide and urban ISPs have to pay Tk 1 lakh as licence acquisition fee and annual licence fee respectively. The licence acquisition fee and annual licence fee were proposed at Tk 1 lakh and Tk 25,000 respectively. Besides, the regulator proposed that the all the three types of ISP licencees will have to share revenue with government at 1 per cent rate and payment to the governments social obligation fund at the rate of 1 per cent would be a must. The commission also decided to issue registration certificate to cyber cafe instead of issuing licence, while they will have to pay Tk 25,000 as registration fee. BTRC gave the proposal to the ministry following a decision of the telecommunication ministry that was taken at a meeting in February this year, another BTRC official said. Assuring quality service of the ISPs and keeping the number of ISP licencee companies low were the reasons behind the ministrys instruction, he said. Besides, the ministry also decided to scrap licences of the ISP service providers which would fail to fulfill licensing conditions. The ministry issued a letter to the BTRC on May 29 this year in this regard asking the telecom regulator to propose for increasing ISP licence acquisition fees. Asked, Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh General Secretary Emdadul Hoque, however, told New Age that the governments move to increase licence acquisition fee and annual licence fee would impact the countrys broadband penetration and quality of service at large. He also said that implementation of proposals would eliminate small-scale ISPs from the business and help the heavyweight ISPs to grab the market. Besides, increase in licence acquisition fees and annual licence fees would ultimately increase broadband internet price at the consumer end, Edadul said. Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/20897/btrc-recommends-drastic-hike-in-isp-licence-fees

    IMPORTS HIT RECORD $44B IN FY17 DESPITE SLUGGISH EXPORTS Countrys import payments hit an all-time high in the recently concluded fiscal year (2016-17) due to large payments for capital machinery imports, arousing suspicion that money were laundered in the process as the growth came against the backdrop of a dull investment situation in the country. The settlement of letters of credit, or actual import payments, increased by 10.47 per cent in FY17 against the 4.22-per cent rise registered in FY16.According to the provisional data of the Bangladesh Bank, the import payments stood at $44.27 billion in FY17 compared with that of $40.07 billion in FY16. The central bank prepared the latest import statement on the basis of freight on board (FoB) data, so the amount of payments may increase when it would calculate the figure considering information related to the cost and freight (C&F), a BB official told New Age on Sunday. The import payments in FY16 stood at $42.92 billion in accordance with the C&F data. The import payments stood at $38.45 billion in FY15, $37.18 billion in FY14, $32.35 billion in FY13, $34.81 billion in FY12 and $31.95 billion in FY11, according to the statements prepared by the BB using the FoB data.

    http://www.newagebd.net/article/20897/btrc-recommends-drastic-hike-in-isp-licence-fees

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    The import figures, however, changed when it made the statements through using the C&F information as the payments stood at $40.70 billion in FY15, $40.73 billion in FY14, $34.08 billion in FY13, $35.51 billion in FY12 and $33.65 billion in FY11. The BB official said that the import payments had increased significantly in last fiscal year while the export earnings growth hit a 15-year low at 1.69 per cent. Export earnings in FY17 stood at $34.83 billion with a shortfall of more than $2 billion from the government-set target of $37 billion, according to the provisional data of the Export Promotion Bureau. The BB data showed that import payments for capital machinery in FY17 increased by 37.39 per cent to $4.85 billion from $3.53 billion in FY16. Former interim government adviser AB Mirza Azizul Islam told New Age on Sunday that the import of capital machinery increased in recent times that aroused suspicion that money might have been laundered by some businesses through over-invoicing in their LCs as the overall business situation in the country remained dull in the period. A huge volume of capital machinery was imported in the period in line with the commercial banks statements, but apparently there was no investment in the countrys private sector, he said. The businesspeople usually pay zero per cent tariff to import capital machinery, he said, adding that they might take the opportunity to launder capital from the country using the system. The BB, customs department and finance ministry should investigate the matter jointly, he said. Former BB governor Salehuddin Ahmed told New Age that in recent times the import of capital machinery increased significantly that aroused suspicion that money laundering might have occurred behind such activities. He feared that some businesspeople were laundering money through over-invoicing in their LCs. The BB should strengthen its monitoring system to see whether the businesspeople are importing goods in accordance with LCs invoice, he said. According to a Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management research report released in June, a large amount of money is being laundered abroad from Bangladesh through export and import business or trade financing as a section of unscrupulous businessmen is playing four tricks for the purpose. The four tricks being used are over- and under-invoicing, over- and under-shipment, false description of the products and showing multiple invoicing in the LC authorisation forms submitted in the banks by the businessmen, the report said. In FY17, the import of industrial raw materials also posted a growth of 3.52 per cent against the 3.15-per cent growth in FY16. Settlement of LCs for the industrial raw materials amounted to $16.22 billion in FY17 against $15.66 billion in FY16. The BB data showed that settlement of LCs for petroleum products in FY17 registered a 3.30-per cent growth against a negative growth of 29.48 per cent in FY16. The import payments for the petroleum products stood at $2.52 billion in FY17 against $2.44 billion in FY16. The BB official said the import of petroleum products showed a lower growth due to lower petroleum prices on the global market during the period. The BB data showed that opening of LCs posted an 11.05-per cent growth in FY17, while it had witnessed a 0.62-per cent growth in FY16. The data showed that the total value of the LCs opened in FY17 was $48.12 billion, which was $43.33 billion in FY16. Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/20899/imports-hit-record-44b-in-fy17-despite-sluggish-exports

    http://www.newagebd.net/article/20899/imports-hit-record-44b-in-fy17-despite-sluggish-exportshttp://www.newagebd.net/article/20899/imports-hit-record-44b-in-fy17-despite-sluggish-exports

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    JS PANEL FOR VAT NET EXPANSION The parliamentary standing committee on the ministry of finance has recommended taking steps to expand the area of Value Added Tax and recover the arrears revenue to offset the revenue deficit to be created following the non-enforcement of VAT and Supplementary Duty Act, 2012. The committee in its 20th meeting on Sunday also discussed misinterpretation about the deposit of money by Bangladeshis in Swiss banks in the media and recommended taking steps to highlight fact about it in the media. The meeting was informed that the board of directors of AB Bank was given strong warning through Bangladesh Bank for irregularities in transferring money abroad by its offshore banking unit. It also recommended taking steps to recover the transferred money and carry out an investigation by the Central Intelligence Unit of the National Board of Revenue and inform the committee about it. Committee chairman Md Abdur Razzak presided over the meeting and it was attended, among others, by Md Abdul Wadud, Nazmul Hasan, Farhad Hossain, Mostafizur Rahman Chowdhury, Md Shawkat Chowdhury and Akhter Jahan. Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/20869/js-panel-for-vat-net-expansion

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