STOCKS | PSI
Intraco's 2 gas stations to start operations from 18 Dec
The company has invested around Tk8 crore for the two stations
BSEC fines Jashim, associates Tk50 lakh for Alltex Industries' share manipulation
Bank Asia sues Western Marine Shipyard to recover Tk505cr
Economy
NBR specialized unit to boost revenue, curb trade frauds
December 13, 2022
· The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has drafted a revenue strategy up to 2032, aiming at broadening the tax base and making the tax admin more efficient as revenue collection is under stress.
· Revenue officials said this would help drive up the tax-to-GDP ratio – which is below 8% and the lowest in South Asia – to 12.3% by 2025 and 17% by 2031.
· The revenue board's mid-term duties to be completed by 2027 include setting up a specialised unit to curb trade frauds and mis-invoicing, which according to Washington-based Global Financial Integrity, syphoned off around USD 8.27 billion annually on average between 2009-2018.
· If it is implemented properly and the global economic situation normalises, the tax-GDP ratio will be 12.3% by 2025 said Syed Mushfequr Rahman, commissioner of Customs, Excise & VAT Commissionerate Chattogram who led the formulation of the draft.
From: https://www.tbsnews.net/nbr/nbr-specialised-unit-boost-revenue-curb-trade-frauds-551086
From: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/bb-return-biannual-monetary-policy-3193741
Adani’s coal power will add pressure to hike power tariff in Bangladesh: IEEFA
December 13, 2022
· The Adani Godda coal-fired power plant, set to start commercial generation on 16 December, will supply very expensive power to Bangladesh and add pressure to hike power tariff, finds a new report by the Institute of Energy and Economic Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
· Initially, the cost per kilowatt-hour (or a unit) of electricity from the Godda plant was estimated at BDT 8.71, but was revised up to BDT 15 due to the high cost of coal in the international market and high capacity charges, said a source at the Power Division.
· This price is two-and-a-half times the price at which the state-owned utility BPDB sells power to distributors.
· The report said that Bangladesh will need to focus more on renewable energy going forward if it wants to limit the burden of fossil fuel imports and increase energy security.
Banking
Deposits in no-frill accounts up by BDT 8.64 Billion YoY
December 13, 2022
· The number of no-frill accounts increased by BDT 1.43 Million to 25.8 million in the July-September period this year.
· The amount of deposits in no-frill bank accounts has gone up by BDT 8.64 billion in a span of one year despite rising commodity prices.
· The no-frill account, which is a savings account that does not need any minimum balance month after month.
· According to the quarterly data (July-September) from the Bangladesh Bank, these NFA accounts have a total of BDT 34.36 billion in deposits at the end of September, which stood at BDT 25.72 billlion at the same time of the previous year.
· At the end of September, the total deposits in the farmers' accounts stood at BDT 6.02 billion which is 5.79% higher than that of the previous quarter (April-June) and 24.45% higher than that of the July-September quarter of 2021.
· Around 70% of these accounts have been opened with four state-owned banks – Sonali, Krishi, Agrani and Janata.
From: https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/banking/deposits-no-frill-accounts-tk864-crore-yoy-551062
Deferred payment for 8 Ramadan essentials import
December 13, 2022
· Traders will now get 90 days to pay import bills for eight essential commodities as the central bank has given the opportunity in order to ensure adequate supply of the items on the market in Ramadan.
· The commodities are edible oil, chickpea, pulse, pea, onion, spices, sugar and dates.
· Based on the bank-client relationship, traders can import these Ramadan essentials by also opening letters of credit with a minimum margin.
· The central bank previously fixed the opening margin rate for LC settlement at 75% to 100% in a bid to limit imports to save the depleting foreign currency reserves in the country.
https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/short-term-foreign-loans-allowed-import-3195421
Business
Denim exports to US surge
December 13, 2022
· Exports of denim garments to the US in January-October of 2022 grew by 36.23% to USD 839.13 million from USD 615.95 million in the same period of 2021, according to the latest US Department of Commerce’s Office of Textiles and Apparel data.
· The country’s denim apparel exports to the US in 2021 stood at USD 798.42 million, which is 42.25 % higher than the earnings of USD 561.26 million in 2020.
· Of the total USD 3.62 billion of the US denim import in January-October of 2022, Bangladesh’s share was 23.16%, the data showed.
· Some geopolitical reasons prompted buyers to diversify their sourcing destinations and at the same time many of the production units in China remained closed under zero Covid policy might be a reason for it.
From: https://www.newagebd.net/article/189011/denim-exports-to-us-surge
SSLCOMMERZ gets payment system operator licence
December 13, 2022
· SSLCOMMERZ Limited has received a licence from the central bank to run operations as a payment system operator.
· SSLCOMMERZ would work as a white-label merchant acquirer.
· Operating since 2010, SSLCOMMERZ is the largest payment gateway aggregator in Bangladesh and a pioneer in the fintech industry.
Capital Market
IFC offers USD32.5m to Agrocorp
December 14, 2022
· The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is providing a USD 32.5 million loan to Agrocorp International Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based company that supplies wheat and pulses to Bangladesh, in order to improve food security in the South Asian country.
· The investment will allow Agrocorp to buy wheat and pulses from Australia and Canada and deliver them to Bangladesh.
· These staples are sold to millers and food processors, which depend on them to produce basic foods for the Bangladeshi population.
· Since 2010, the IFC has invested more than USD 3.6 billion in Bangladesh to help the private sector.
From: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/ifc-offers-325m-agrocorp-3195361
Blemished by scams, bank stocks lose value more than key index
The banking sector has experienced annual erosion of stocks' market capitalization to the economic volatility at a higher rate than the overall market, with the newly-listed Union Bank and Global Islami bank excluded from the scene. The Dhaka Stock Exchange's...
note: this news is for research and analysis purpose only