The Business Standard
Low revenue growth, stagnant investment: Can BNP, Jamaat deliver on job creation and social security pledges?
As Bangladesh heads towards the 2026 national election, the country’s two main political parties – the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-islami – have unveiled a range of election pledges, placing the economy, jobs, industrialisation...
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RMG exports at risk
Garments account for 85% of Bangladesh’s total exports Textile mill shutdown to disrupt the entire supply chain BTMA’S shutdown threat from 1 Feb, just 11 days before the 12 Feb election Around 10 lakh workers in textile sector to face wage...
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Slow unloading, capacity limits choke Ctg port, importers asked to clear cargoes in 5 days
Chattogram Port is facing severe congestion due to an acute shortage of lighterage vessels, as some of the major importers continue to keep more than 200 lighter vessels unloaded, prompting the Ministry of Shipping to issue a five-day ultimatum to...
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Silt chokes Payra Port, forcing vessels to Chattogram
International Power Limited (RNPL) now unload at Chattogram’s outer anchorage. The coal is then brought to Payra via lighter vessels, a slow, costly, and increasingly unsustainable workaround. Additional lightering strains an already stretched system...
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Media convention protests mob violence, urges unity for courageous journalism
A media convention in Dhaka yesterday protested recent mob violence, with organisers warning that such incidents pose unprecedented threats to freedom of expression and democratic values, while calling for unity in defence of independent, responsible...
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Pharma must sell 25% essential drugs for new medicine approval, govt mandates
Alongside expanding the essential medicines list, the government is set to introduce a new pricing policy mandating pharmaceutical companies to ensure at least 25% of their annual sales from these essential drugs. Under the new policy, companies that...
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Cargo congestion at Bay
With Ramadan fast approaching, Bangladesh’s supply chain for essential food items is coming under strain as a severe shortage of lighterage vessels has stalled cargo discharge at Chattogram Port’s outer anchorage, raising fears of shortages and price...
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Enforced disappearances weren’t isolated incidents, but instrument of governance: Commission
Enforced disappearances in Bangladesh over the past 15 years were not isolated deviations but a core instrument of governance, according to the final report of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances. The report said the practice was...
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How big cement, steel makers survive lean demand investing in tech, ships
Bangladesh’s steel and cement industries have spent much of the past two years in survival mode, battered by weak demand, high financing costs and a prolonged squeeze on margins. Yet, even in this prolonged downturn, a group of large millers have...
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Why stock market failed to fund businesses when they needed it most
Companies turn to the stock market to raise long-term capital and ease balance-sheet pressure, particularly when bank borrowing becomes costly. Yet even as lending rates in Bangladesh climbed to 14–15% from single digits over the past two years, the...
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Default loans exposed, market stability restored as banking reforms usher in new hope
Bangladesh Bank’s sweeping reform measures under the interim government – ranging from exposing the true scale of default loans to stabilising the foreign exchange market and enforcing monetary discipline – have marked a decisive turning point for the...
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To delight of businesses, NBR rolls out E-VAT refunds today
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has taken a long-awaited step towards digitising tax refunds, moving away from the slow, manual process that businesses have long criticised as cumbersome and corruption-prone. Starting today, VAT refunds will be...
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Tarique tells biz leaders BNP to focus on security, energy, lending rates if voted to power
BNP acting chairperson Tarique Rahman has assured business leaders that if the party returns to power, it will prioritise restoring law and order, resolving the energy crisis, reducing interest rates, strengthening the capital market, and developing a...
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Borrowers face jail even after losing assets as banks pursue dual legal action
Banks are increasingly pursuing defaulting borrowers through a parallel legal strategy that critics say amounts to double punishment: seizing assets through loan recovery courts while simultaneously pushing the same borrowers towards jail or heavy...
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High taxes squeeze telecom sector, push costs onto consumers
When 28-year-old ride-sharing driver Hasan Mahmud tops up his mobile each week, he does not think about supplementary duty, VAT or spectrum fees. Hasan only notices that mobile internet feels increasingly expensive and sometimes slower. What he does...
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NBR scans bank transactions of 100 exporters to crack down on bond misuse
Amid allegations that nearly $5 billion worth of fabric, garments and accessories enter Bangladesh’s domestic market every year through misuse of bonded facilities and smuggling, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has launched a major enforcement...
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Millions say tearful goodbye to Khaleda Zia
After a grand funeral attended by millions from all walks of life, Bangladesh’s first female prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has been laid to eternal rest beside her husband, late president and BNP founder Ziaur Rahman, at the capital’s...
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The uncompromising light goes out
Bangladesh woke up Tuesday morning to grieve for Khaleda Zia as her eventful life came to an end. She left for heavenly abode at a critical time for Bangladesh politics when she was needed the most – once again, like before. Khaleda Zia was not born...
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How unexpected cost of bank merger puts govt in liquidity stress
The rise of an unexpected Tk20,000 crore cost for bank mergers has created liquidity stress for the government, prompting additional borrowing from the banking system and crowding out private sector credit. Moreover, election costs, higher house rent...
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A paper plan to curb health treatment abroad
Some promising healthcare reform plans taken a year ago by the interim government remain largely unmaterialised, with severe gaps in hospitals, equipment, and skilled personnel, leaving critical care patients in Bangladesh with no choice but to...
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I have a plan – let us build a safe Bangladesh for all: Tarique
BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman finally returned to Bangladesh yesterday, delivering a message of peace and unity while declaring that he has a plan to rebuild a nation that serves its citizens. In his first speech on home soil after more than 17...
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Tarique Rahman returns home today
BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman is finally returning home today after 17 years in exile. The BNP has completed extensive preparations to make his return memorable. The government welcomed Tarique Rahman’s scheduled homecoming, affirming that all...
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Fleet crunch deepens at Biman as leasing efforts fail, new aircraft years away
At a time of surging passenger demand, Biman Bangladesh Airlines is facing a worsening fleet crisis after failing to add a single aircraft over the past five years. Instead of expanding, the national carrier’s fleet has shrunk to just 19 aircraft,...
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Wanted democracy, but got mobocracy: BNP’S Salahuddin
BNP Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed yesterday expressed concern over a growing trend of targeting media outlets, saying mobocracy is flourishing instead of the democratic transition people had fought for. “We wanted democracy. But why...
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Saving govt sugar mills – is it possible?
Bangladesh’s state-owned sugar mills have an average extraction rate of about 6%, meaning six kilograms of sugar are produced from every 100 kilograms of locally produced sugarcane, according to annual financial statements of these mills. By contrast,...
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‘Assault on Bangladesh’: Editors’ Council, NOAB condemn Prothom Alo, Daily Star attacks
The Editors’ Council and the Newspaper Owners’ Association of Bangladesh (NOAB) have expressed deep concern, anger, and strong condemnation over the shocking attacks, vandalism, and arson at the offices of the country’s leading dailies, Prothom Alo and...
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Violence erupts after Hadi’s death, Prothom Alo, Daily Star offices attacked
Violence flared up in different areas, including the capital, Chattogram and Rajshahi, following the death of Inqilab Mancha Spokesperson Sharif Osman Hadi last night. Hadi, who was critically injured in a gun attack on 12 December, passed away while...
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New microcredit bank in the offing, to operate on social business model
Draft ordinance mandates borrowers own 60% of shares; Microcredit Regulatory Authority to regulate instead of Cenbank The interim government has moved to institutionalise the “social business” model championed by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus,...
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From dream homes to legal maze: Flat buyers’ decade-long battles for ownership
For thousands of Bangladeshis, buying a flat or plot was meant to secure a stable future. Instead, many have found themselves trapped in a legal labyrinth stretching for years, and in some cases, decades, with little hope of timely redress. Delays in...
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Tk10,000cr equity fund, tax breaks proposed for capital market boost
A finance ministry-formed committee has recommended creating a Tk10,000 crore fund to boost liquidity in the capital market, alongside a Tk3,000 crore fund offering loans to small investors at a 4% interest rate. The committee in its report also...
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Govt moves to revise Rampal, Payra power TARIFFS USING MATARBARI RATE AS BENCHMARK
Using the tariff of the Matarbari coalfired power plant as a benchmark, the interim government has begun renegotiating electricity prices from the Rampal and Payra coal plants, which officials and experts say were set excessively high under the...
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Who and why? Targeted shooting of Hadi prompts outcry
Hadi’s condition critical; CA orders swift investigation; BNP, Jamaat, NCP condemn attack A day after the schedule for the 13th parliamentary election was announced, Sharif Osman Hadi, an aspiring candidate for the Dhaka-8 constituency, was shot in...
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Polls set for 12 February: Businesses relieved as year-long uncertainty lifts
Ending a year of uncertainty, the country now has a firm date for the 13th parliamentary election and the July National Charter referendum, raising hopes for economic stability and business confidence. The election and the referendum will be held on...
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