business
Robi signs tower-sharing deal with Teletalk, Summit
Robi Axiata, Teletlak Bangladesh and Summit Towers have entered into an agreement for sharing existing network infrastructure.
Robi and Teletalk will be able to share their infrastructure in collaboration with Summit Tower as per infrastructure or tower sharing guidelines under the agreement.
A deal was signed among the companies recently in Dhaka.
Read: Robi launches sales academy
The partnership will help the operators with the quick rollout and serve their customers better. It will also help them optimise assets.
Teletalk Managing Director (MD) AKM Habibur Rahman, Summit Tower MD and CEO Md Arif Al Islam and Robi ACEO and CFO M Riyaaz Rasheed signed the agreement, said a media statement.
Genex Infosys inks deal with City Bank
Genex Infosys has signed an agreement with City Bank to provide the commercial bank with managed contact centre services under an outsourced model.
Under this agreement, part of the City Bank's customer service operation will be outsourced from Genex, a publicly listed business process management and IT services company.
The agreement signing ceremony was held in Dhaka Tuesday.
Read: Standard Chartered teams up with Genex to reach more clients
Prince Mojumder, CEO of Genex Infosys, said: "We're happy that City Bank has put its trust in us following the global trend of outsourcing non-core services. We strongly believe that we can add significant value to it and take the partnership to new heights with our diversified expertise in customer experience management and revenue generation."
Kazi Azizur Rahman, DMD and chief information officer of City Bank, said: "With Genex onboard, we will continue to deliver our customers with stellar experience and diverse service offerings in years to come."
Standard Chartered teams up with Genex to reach more clients
Standard Chartered Bangladesh has partnered with Genex Infosys to engage with more clients.
An agreement was recently signed in Dhaka.
Genex – a publicly listed business process management and IT services company – will help Standard Chartered Bangladesh scale up its distribution network, reach new client segments more efficiently, and deliver banking products and services to a broader customer group.
Sabbir Ahmed, head of consumer, private and business banking at Standard Chartered Bangladesh, said: "As we build a more collaborative ecosystem and foster more strategic partnerships, we aim to continue to deliver our world-class suite of banking solutions at an unprecedented scale in the coming years."
Read: COVID-19 pandemic: Standard Chartered Bangladesh contributes USD 1.6 million
Prince Mojumder, chief executive officer of Genex, said: "We are excited to partner up with a reputed brand as Standard Chartered. We believe we can share our expertise in achieving the goal of our partner, and at the same time strengthen our foothold in the BFSI Sector."
Commerce Minister finds RMG workers’ demand for wage hike 'logical'
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Friday said the garment workers’ demand for a wage hike is logical, against the background of rising inflation triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war.
"So it is necessary to form a wage commission and conduct a study on the overall aspects of workers' living costs, product prices, production costs," Munshi said.
He was speaking at the 16th biannual conference of the National Garment Workers Federation, held at the Jatiya Press Club in the city.
Read: Indian businesses for investing in fuel, transport: Commerce Minister
The garment sector has reached its present position today due to the sincere efforts of the workers and owners. The interests of both workers and owners need to be ensured, he added.
“For this, it is necessary to ensure the fair wages of the workers as well as the appropriate price of the products. These two things are very important to sustain the industry.”
A workers’ organisation should be formed according to the labor law, he said. “Both workers’ organisations and leaders should be educated and responsible.”
Tipu urged everyone to work in the interest of the organisation. “If the company does not survive, neither the workers nor the owners will survive,” he added.
The government will continue to provide all necessary assistance to workers and employers, he added.
Read:Trade deficit in FY 2021-22 is $21,528.74 million: Commerce Minister
The minister said the contribution of workers for the solid foundation of the economy of Bangladesh is a lot.
Besides, under the guidance of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, one crore enlisted families are buying some daily essential products including oil, lentils, sugar at affordable prices through Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).
Rice is also in the process of being added to the TCB sale, he added, noting about five crore people of the country are being benefited from this.
“Efforts are being made to include a segment of apparel workers in the list,” he added.
“Insurance Dev Project a major step in Bangladesh-China tech cooperation”
Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming has said insurance will play an increasingly important role in Bangladesh’s social-economic development.
Ambassador Li witnessed the contract signing between Sinosoft Co. Ltd and Bangladesh Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority on Thursday (September 15, 2022).
Read:"Bangladesh-India are connected through the heart"
Dr Mohammad Jainul Bari, Chairman of Bangladesh Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority; Dr Md. Kamruzzaman, Project Director; and Sun Xijie, Executive Senior Vice-President of Sinosoft Co. Ltd., attended the ceremony.
“This project will help accelerate the process of informatization and digitization of Bangladesh’s insurance industry,” said Ambassador Li.
He said that Bangladesh Insurance Sector Development Project, contract of which was signed, marks another major step forward in technology cooperation between Bangladesh and China.
The envoy also pointed out that the "Chinese Dream" of national rejuvenation and “Sonar Bangla” goals are interconnected.
The Belt and Road Initiative and the Vision 2041 perspective plan will integrate further, said the Chinese envoy.
Read:US exploring ways to expand security cooperation with Bangladesh
He wished the project great success and hoped the two countries would work together to enhance technology cooperation and provide better services to the people.
Jainul Bari spoke highly of China’s cooperation in various fields of Bangladesh, such as trade, investment, mega projects and technology.
China has played an “overwhelmingly positive” role in the development of Bangladesh, the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka quoted him as saying.
Towards a cashless society: MFS monthly transactions cross Tk 1.11 lakh crore
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, people are preferring cashless transactions which have brought about a boom in growing mobile financial service (MFS) activities and transaction volume in the country.
The latest data of Bangladesh Bank show that more than Tk 3000 crore is being transacted daily on an average through MFS like bKash, Rocket, and others.
According to Bangladesh Bank, in July – the first month of the current financial year – customers have transacted Tk 89,167 crore through mobile banking.
Also read: MFS sector led financial transactions during Covid-19 pandemic: Nagad MD
However, information of Nagad has not been added here. Adding the cash account will increase the transaction volume by another Tk 22,000 crore. Accordingly, MFS transactions will stand at around Tk 1.11 lakh crore. The daily transaction, then stood at Tk 3700 crore.
Sector insiders say that with the convenience of sending money everywhere instantly through mobile banking, new services are being added, including shopping, salary, and allowances of workers, payment of various bills, and loan disbursement.
As a result, people's interest as well as dependence on mobile financial services (MFS) like bKash, Rocket, Nagad is increasing. The volume of transactions with customers is also increasing. Mobile banking now has more than 18 crore customers.
Recently, the central bank has increased the limit of mobile banking transactions considering the growing demand of customers.
Also read: Tap MFS launches iftar offer campaign
Now, through MFS customers can deposit Tk 30,000 from agents and Tk 50,000 from bank accounts or cards per day.
Earlier daily deposits could not exceed Tk 30,000. The limit of depositing money from the card was also not fixed. Now one customer can send Tk 2 lakh per month to another. Earlier this limit was Tk 75,000.
Md Serajul Islam, executive director and spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank told UNB that considering convenient transaction opportunities and encouraging a cashless society, the central bank is gradually easing transactions through MFS.
“E-commerce and online trading and payment system is growing in the country to require the need of people special in the urban life, the BB has increased the limit of transaction volume,” he added.
Currently, 13 banks are providing mobile banking services in the country under different names including bKash, Rocket, Ucash, MyCash, SureCash. At the end of July 2022, the number of customers registered in mobile banking is over 18.11 crore.
Among them, there are 10.7 crore customers in villages and 8.4 crore customers in urban areas. Apart from this, among the registered 10.43 crore are male and 7.64 crore female customers. The number of mobile banking agents stood at 15.26 lakh till July, 2022.
Export Development Fund loans can be repaid in instalments from now on
Bangladesh Bank has introduced an instalment facility to repay loans from the Export Development Fund (EDF).
From now on, the entire loan liability can be paid in three instalments, which had to be paid at once earlier.
The Foreign Exchange Policy Department (FEPD) of Bangladesh Bank issued a guideline in this regard today (September 15, 2022) and sent it to all authorized dealers engaged in foreign exchange transactions.
Read:Like Singapore, Bangladeshi traders can now buy goods and export directly to third countries
According to the Bangladesh Bank directive, exporters can partially repay the EDF loan liability. A maximum of two partial repayments can be made during the loan tenure.
The circular stated that the remaining liability is to be repaid in one go during the loan tenure. That means exporters can pay the entire debt in three instalments.
Sector insiders say that exporters had to face issues with the repayment at once, as export income is not available at the same time.
Read:300,000 VAT collecting machines to be installed in Dhaka, Ctg by pvt firm
In such a situation, the exporters will be able to partially pay the EDF liability in instalments only after receiving the export proceeds under the new directive.
The central bank provides foreign currency support to exporters for the import of manufacturing raw materials, under EDF. The tenure of an EDF loan is 180 days. Subject to the approval of Bangladesh Bank, this period can be extended by another 90 days.
FBCCI wants testing lab at ports for ease of doing business
The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) has called for setting up testing labs at the ports to ensure the faster delivery of imported goods and products and uninterrupted production.
Products imported through Chattagram port are sent to the capital for testing, which takes weeks or months – delaying the delivery, increasing the cost of business, and disrupting production, FBCCI President Md Jashim Uddin said Wednesday at a meeting in Dhaka.
Earlier, the members of the FBCCI Standing Committee on Port and Shipping said customs officials are "enthusiastic" to penalise importers for unintentional HS Code mistakes as they receive 15 percent incentives on the fines imposed.
They called for the withdrawal of the incentives and suggested bringing the entire system online to make HS code entry of products easy and accurate.
Also read: Economic zones can turn Bangladesh into global investment destination: FBCCI
Strengthening business interactions to benefit both Bangladesh, India: BGMEA
– Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) on Wednesday said Bangladesh is seeking to harness the potential of man-made fibre (MMF) apparel export as the demand for clothing made of synthetic materials is rising globally.
In alignment with the global trend and demand, the RMG industry of Bangladesh is strongly focusing on diversifying RMG product basket, especially to non-cotton and high-value items, it said.
On the other hand, India has a big textile sector having a considerable capacity of supplying man-made fibre and blended textile products while the country is also a promising destination for Bangladeshi RMG exports.
The business situation has created opportunities for Bangladesh and India to drive development in the RMG and textile industry in both countries.
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan came up with the observations while speaking at a meeting with Dhiraj Raichand Shah, Chairman of The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC).
BGMEA Vice President Shahidullah Azim, Chair of BGMEA Standing Committee on Trade Fair Kamal Uddin, Chair of BGMEA Standing Committee on Cash Incentive Humayun Kabir Salim and Chair of BGMEA Standing Committee on Schedule Bank Md. Israfil Atique were also present at the meeting held at BGMEA Complex in Dhaka.
Read: BGMEA seeks uninterrupted energy supply by special arrangements
Faruque Hassan laid emphasis on increasing more direct business interactions between Bangladeshi RMG exporters and Indian textile products suppliers to strengthen the reciprocal relationship that would be useful for both sides.
SRTEPC Chairman Dhiraj Raichand Shah invited BGMEA to participate in the Source India Mumbai exhibition which will be held in Mumbai from 28th November to 30th November, 2022.
Different categories of the latest range of Indian textile products including Fibre, Yarn, Fabrics for Men’s and Women’s Wear, Home Textiles, Made-ups, Technical textiles, etc. will be displayed in the exhibition.
The BGMEA President invited the SRTEPC Chairman to the “Made in Bangladesh Week” which will be organized by BGMEA to showcase prospects and strengths of the RMG industry.
Bangladesh Bank holds workshop on ‘Trust Fund cum Settlement Management’ for Nagad officials
Bangladesh Bank organized an awareness workshop for the officials of the Bangladesh Postal Department’s mobile financial service Nagad, aiming to provide an overview of the Bangladesh Bank-authorized financial institutions.
The workshop titled ‘Guidelines for Trust Fund Management in Payment and Settlement Services’ was led by Hafia Tazrean, Joint Director of the Bangladesh Bank's Payment System Department which was held at a city hotel in Dhaka recently.
Read: Nagad offers Tk50 cashback on 'add money' from banks
Hafia Tazrean and Tanvir A Mishuk, Founder and Managing Director of Nagad Limited, distributed certificates to the participants at the end of the session.
Besides, Mohammad Aminul Haque, the Executive Director of Nagad Limited, Sheikh Aminur Rahman, the Chief Business Officer, and Md. Nurul Alam, FCS were present from Nagad Limited.
Postal Attaché of Postal Department Masud Khan and Additional Post Master General Al Mahbub represented the Bangladesh Postal Department during the session.
Tanvir A Mishuk, Managing Director of Nagad, thanked Bangladesh Bank at the end of the workshop and said, “Nagad always believes in preserving utmost transparency. We are dedicated to adhering to all Bangladesh Bank policies as the regulating authority. With this in mind, we attended the program to gain more knowledge about Trust Fund.”
The session was conducted to provide information about the financial institutions that have been approved by Bangladesh Bank. Hafia Tazrean, Joint Director of Bangladesh Bank, discussed digital transactions, starting from the initial commodities trade and gold exchange system to banknotes. Throughout the workshop, she emphasized the obligations and duties of non-banking financial organizations.
Read:Nagad to disburse allowances under govt’s employment generation program
The joint director also spoke about Nagad's obligations as an MFS institution and how MFS business can safeguard its customers' funds and the Bangladesh Bank's regulations in this respect. She later discussed what a "Trust Fund" is, how it is administered, and the guidelines for utilizing the Trustcom Settlement Account.
Following the successful completion of the program, certificates were handed to all attendees.