Business
Samsung tops ‘World’s Best Employers 2022’
Samsung has ranked number 1 on Forbes’ ‘World’s Best Employers 2022’ list for the third consecutive year with the commitment to providing the best work culture to its employees.
With major global technology companies regularly at the top of the rankings, Samsung has ranked first for the past three years, maintaining the company’s top-notch reputation in the IT and technology industry.
In cooperation with Statista, Forbes conducted a survey over 150,000 employees across 800 companies globally, including companies from the UK, Germany, the US and many more, before ranking Samsung as first on the list of ‘World’s Best Employers’.
Those who attended in the survey were asked to rate their willingness to recommend their employers to friends and family. Besides, they were also asked to rate the companies on various aspects such as economic impact and image, talent development, gender equality and social responsibility.
Read more: Samsung Bangladesh brings new B Series TVs
Samsung Electronics is having its branch office in Bangladesh, to market quality Consumer Electronics products & Handheld devices.
The organisation claimed it is the no. 1 Mobile Handset Brand in Bangladesh for the last 4 years in a row.
Hwansung Woo, managing director of Samsung Bangladesh Branch, pointed out his vision of working with a purpose- “We are relentless in serving our purpose of delivering the most advanced Mobile Devices & Consumer Electronics items in Bangladesh.
“In addition, we have always been a firm believer in employee satisfaction through meaningful relationships, personalized efforts and advancement opportunities,” he said.
In today’s advanced job sector and purpose-driven work are a great priority, and Samsung takes this very seriously, he said adding that they are hopeful of continuing to create a workspace of great value for our employees.
Car importers still unable to open LCs from banks
Despite fulfilling the criteria of 100 percent margin, importers cannot open letters of credit (LCs) from the banks for importing cars, pushing this business to dire straits.
Businessmen said this during the second meeting of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) standing committee on automobile in Dhaka Thursday.
In Bangladesh, cars have long been considered luxury items, and the government has imposed a 100 percent LC margin on importing cars to deal with the dollar crisis. However, in the context of the country's current economic growth, cars have appeared as a necessary item, they said.
"There is no alternative to trucks and pickups for goods transport on the road. These vehicles kept the supply chain running during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic," the businessmen said.
They urged the government to keep cars out of the luxury list and called for incentives for hybrid cars like in other countries.
Read: Automobile industry lacks policy to grow in Bangladesh: FBCCI
In contrast to the global trend, in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority BRTA does not register electric vehicles. So, businessmen urged the government to introduce registration policies for electric vehicles.
FBCCI Vice-President and Director in-charge of the committee Md Habib Ullah Dawn said: "During this global crisis, we agreed with a 100 percent LC margin decision, but the banks do not want to open LCs and discourage us through continuously seeking different documents."
Also, the businessmen demanded amending the rule of mandatory driving licence while purchasing a motorcycle, harassment-free issuance of driving licence, specific HS code for an electric vehicle, registration for three-wheelers and sector-friendly policy support.
Tipu Munshi seeks more US investment
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Thursday urged the United States to invest more in Bangladesh while the country could import more from the South Asian nation.
Munshi said Bangladesh has a strong trade relation with the US and there is scope to expand the bilateral bonding to a greater extent.
Munshi made the remarks in a bilateral meeting with a US team led by Arun Venkataraman, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director-general of the US Foreign Commercial Service, at the Pan-pacific Sonargaon Hotel.
He said that American investors could benefit enormously by investing at special economic zones Bangladesh is readying. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked the authorities to set up 100 special economic zones across the country to woo foreign investment.
The commerce minister said Bangladesh is giving special incentives to the foreign investors.
“Bangladesh gives special importance to the US investment. Safety has been ensured for the investors. Bangladesh is emphasising on the skill development in digital commerce,” he said.
Read: Time to invest in Bangladesh, Tipu Munshi tells Nordic countries
While the US is a major market of Bangladeshi garment products the country can be a good destination of Bangladeshi furniture and pharmaceutical products, he said.
Bangladesh needs support from the US in other sectors such as agro-food processing, technology and ICT, the minister said.
Arun Venkataraman said Bangladesh is a vital trade partner of the US. He appreciated Bangladesh’s development, saying that the US will continue to strengthen its relations with the country in the fields of investment, trade and technology.
Ship recycling industry sees remarkable progress: Nurul Majid
Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun on Sunday said Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in the ship recycling industry in terms of environmental issues, professional and health safety.
The Minister made the remark when Norwegian Ambassador to Bangladesh Espen Rikter-Svendsen met him at the latter’s office here in Dhaka, said a PID handout.
Nurul Majid said the ship recycling sector was on the verge of closure due to failure to prevent environmental pollution, various accidents and negative publicity at home and abroad.
In 2011, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina declared ship recycling as an industry.
The Ministry of Industries issued the 'Shipbreaking and Ship Recycling Rules' in 2011 and enacted the 'Bangladesh Ship Recycling Act' in 2018 as part of developing the sector, he said.
Read: Stock of urea fertilizer sufficient: Industries Minister
The Norwegian ambassador urged the Government of Bangladesh to ratify the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009 (The Hong Kong Convention).
As a result of the ratification of this convention, Bangladesh will have the opportunity to take the lead in ship recycling, he said.
The ambassador said Norway is a shipbuilding nation and a large number of its expired vessels are there for recycling. Bangladeshi yards can be benefited by exploiting this opportunity, he said.
“For this, environmental and safety issues should be given importance,” said the Norwegian envoy, adding that if the Hong Kong Convention is ratified by 2023, Bangladesh will get two more years to comply with the related conditions.
In response, the Industries Minister said Bangladesh's government is considering the ratification of 'The Hong Kong Convention' introduced by the International Maritime Organization.
He said a yard named PHP Shipbreaking and Ship Recycling Industries Limited in Bangladesh has already achieved the industry's highest compliance certificate.
In the light of the decision of the Ministry of Industry, 85 yards have already prepared 'Ship Recycling Facility Plan' for the technical and structural development of the yards and the target was set for implementation of the plan within the next two years, he added.
What are the 3 reasons behind Bangladesh’s falling forex reserves?
Despite curbing imports, Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserve fell to USD 36 billion – the lowest in 28 months – due to 3 reasons, economists believe.
The reasons are an imbalance in export-import, high dependency on imported oil and gas, and decreasing trend in inward remittance flow.
The forex reserves stood at USD 35.98 billion on Wednesday, according to data from Bangladesh Bank. The country’s reserve was USD 46.19 billion a year ago (October 19, 2021).
Read: Forex market may be more volatile unless reforms are done
Former governor of Bangladesh Bank, Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, told UNB, increasing the flow of inward remittance and curtailing import liabilities are ways to secure forex reserves, as exports are facing a slump due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
Despite increasing the cash incentives to 2.5 percent from 2 percent in the current fiscal year (2022-23), the inward flow of remittance saw a fall of 25 percent in September compared to August.
Bangladesh is receiving an average of USD 59.22 million inward remittance per day in the current month through banking channels which was USD 76.66 million in July.
Read: Bangladesh’s forex reserves now $36.90 billion
The fiscal year started with a growth trend of inward remittance while the country received USD 2.09 billion in July and USD 2.03 billion in August. But remittance fell to USD 1.54 billion in September.
Dr Abdur Razzaq, a trade expert and a former researcher of WTO, said overall exports of Bangladesh have declined by 6.25 percent in the last month, mainly due to a decline in apparel exports.
The export of readymade garments was worth USD 3.16 billion in the previous month, which is 7.52 percent lower than in September last year. Export of both woven and knit garments declined last month, he said.
Read Market-based foreign exchange rate may be introduced soon
Exporters of readymade garments have said that inflation in the USA and EU countries has become severe due to the Russia-Ukraine war. People there have cut back on purchases other than fuel and groceries.
Because the foreign buyers have reduced new purchase orders, some companies were not allowing shipment even after the products were ready, sector insiders said.
Higher dependency on importing oil and LNG gas, directly and indirectly, affected the foreign exchange reserves. The foreign exchange payment liabilities have been surging due to increasing oil and gas prices in the global markets.
Read Explainer: What it means to let taka float
Q3 2022: Grameenphone reports 6% revenue growth despite ban on SIM sales
Telecom operator Grameenphone has reported revenues of Tk11,286.75 crore for the first nine months of 2022, logging a growth of 5.7 percent from the same period last year, despite a regulatory ban on SIM sales amid complaints about the quality of services.
In the third quarter, the company lost 2.9 million subscribers, taking the subscriber base down to 81.8 million at the end of the quarter.
"Grameenphone's growth momentum continued in the third quarter driven by strong market execution aided by higher revenue and usage amid several external challenges. It was adversely affected by a regulatory ban on SIM sales from the end of June, resulting in a 3.4 percent quarter-on-quarter decline in subscriber base," Grameenphone CEO Yasir Azman said.
"As we continue to engage with our regulator to overcome this restriction, we received a partial withdrawal of the embargo from mid-September, allowing us to resume SIM sales immediately. We are also facing a tense macroeconomic climate in Bangladesh driven by higher inflation, rising energy prices and austerity measures by the government to curb energy usage."
Read: Grameenphone turns to work from home for Thursdays
Grameenphone's total revenue for the third quarter saw a growth of 6.7 percent, reaching Tk33,864.93 crore, while subscription and traffic revenue grew by 6.9 percent from last year.
"Our investment in network rollout and spectrum deployment resulted in higher data usage of 52.1 percent year-on-year supported by a higher 4G active user base," Jens Becker, CFO of Grameenphone, said.
"Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) for the quarter grew by 5 percent year-on-year driven by top-line growth, while EBITDA margin was 62.2 percent. Net profit after tax for the third quarter stood at Tk907.66 crore, with a margin of 23.5 percent."
During the third quarter of 2022, Grameenphone invested Tk278.15 crore in network coverage and expansion.
At the end of the quarter, Grameenphone's total number of sites stood at 19,719.
The company paid Tk7,850 crore equaling 69.5 percent of its total revenues, to the national exchequer in the form of taxes, VAT, duties, fees, 4G licence and spectrum assignment during the first nine months of 2022, according to a media statement.
Bangladesh is one of the key Asian markets: edotco Group CEO
Edotco Group Director and Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mohamed Adlan Ahmad Tajudin has said Bangladesh is one of the key markets for the regional and integrated telecommunications infrastructure services company.
"We also recognise our talent in Bangladesh and have established a Centre for Design Excellence here, serving as an innovation research centre for our clients in the country and the rest of our footprint markets across the Group," Adlan said during a discussion with the Telecom and Technology Reporters' Network Bangladesh Thursday.
The edotco Group CEO arrived in Dhaka from Kuala Lumpur for his first official visit to Bangladesh earlier this week.
Read: edotco wins multiple awards at the Global Best Employer Awards 2022
The core agenda of Adlan's visit was to get a first-hand perspective of the fastest-growing markets in Asia and to gain insight into how Bangladesh contributes to Asia's resilience, dynamism, and growth.
As part of his work visit to Dhaka, Adlan had meetings with the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission officials, telecom operators, edotco's clients, and other industry stakeholders.
Adlan was appointed as Group CEO of edotco Group in November 2020, with over 17 years of experience in the telecommunications field. Before his current role, he served as the chief financial officer and director of PT XL Axiata Tbk (Indonesia).
Over the years, edotco brought many unique and environment-friendly designs such as bamboo towers, carbon towers, low-cost structures, SPC towers, and hybrid solar wind towers to fulfil connectivity demands in Bangladesh. It has employed more than 400 people nationwide.
TCB to procure 1.65 crore liter of soybean oil, 8,000 MT of lentil
State-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will procure 1.65 crore (16.5 million) liters of soybean oil from local private firms and 8,000 metric tons of lentil from a Turkish supplier for its ongoing open market sale (OMS) programme.
The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase (CCGP) approved three separate proposals in its meeting on Wednesday. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal presided over the meeting.
Import of 90,000 MT of fertiliser also received approval of the committee.
Officials said the purchase of soybean oil and lentils by state-marketing agency TCB is part of its move to run the ongoing OMS operation to sell some essential produces at subsidized rate for the low-income group.
Earlier, the CCGP gave nods to similar proposals placed by the Commerce Ministry on behalf of the TCB. The TCB is a subsidiary body of the Commerce Ministry.
As per the proposals, the TCB will procure 1.10 crore (11 million) liters of soybean oil from local Meghna Edible Oil Refinery Limited at a cost of Tk 189.03 crore with each liter costing Tk 171.85, down from previous rate of Tk 185 per liter.
Read: TCB starts selling essential items for 1 crore low-income families
It will purchase 5.5 million (55 lakh) liters of soybean oil from local Super Oil Refinery limited at Tk 87.97 crore, with each liter costing 156.95 per liter, down from previous Tk 185 per liter.
The TCB will procure some 8000 metric tons of lentil from a Turkish firm at a cost of Tk 70.98 crore, with each kilogram Tk 88.73, down from Tk 110 per kg.
The CCGP also approved two proposals of the Agriculture Ministry to import a total of 90,000 metric tons of fertiliser from abroad under state-level agreements.
As per the proposals, the Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) will import 50,000 metric tons of MOP fertiliser from Canadian Commercial Corporation at Tk 437.05 crore and 40,000 MT of DAP fertiliser from OCP, SA of Morocco at a cost of Tk 302.37 crore.
T20 World Cup: Banglalink Howzzat begins
On the occasion of the World cup T20 Tournament, Banglalink has arranged a one-of-a-kind quiz competition styled "Banglalink Howzzat Quiz" during the break time of the cricket matches.
In cricket vocabulary, "Howzzat'' is a word that is used to express excitement by the bowling team when they appeal together for the batter to be out. During that time, extreme joy and chaos take all over the stadium. Keeping the same spirit in mind "Banglalink Howzzat Quiz" has been arranged, said a press release on Monday.
In Bangladesh, it is next to impossible to find someone who never played cricket in the alleys, in the yard or on rooftops as the country is renowned as a cricket-crazy nation in the world.
Interestingly, the people of Bangladesh have quite a sound understanding of cricket regardless of age or gender. “Just like we are fluent in cricket vocabulary, we also have knowledge about the important and happening events of the recent time and in history as well as the national and international cricket stars,” the organisers said.
There is a great opportunity for the people of our country to evaluate this cricket knowledge in a very fun way through this "Banglalink Howzzat Quiz". This programme will be conducted by famous actor and compere Saju Khadem. To ensure the active participation of the viewers, there will be a fun ambience full of humour.
Read: Banglalink brings Football World Cup'2022 through "Toffee"
The compere will ask 5 questions in total to viewers from all over the country who are genuine cricket lovers. Five participants with correct answers will be given attractive prizes instantly. This will be broadcasted on very popular TV channels Gazi TV (GTV) and Titas Sports (T-Sports).
In this very festive quiz programme, there will also be a special question for our television audiences who will be given attractive prizes every day. In addition to this exciting opportunity, the name of the winners will be announced by a live call from the " Cricket Extra" programme on TV.
Besides, the names of the quiz winners will also be shown in the scroll in the Cricket Highlights programme. But to avail of all these exciting opportunities, the participant viewer has to be the user of an active Banglalink sim. The most magnificent part is, there will be a mega prize for the winner.
“We, the Bangladeshis, are a cricket-loving nation. This love for the game of cricket is rooted in our hearts as a national emotion that we cannot deny even if we want. At this very hour of utmost excitement as the T20 World cup begins, this very fun and interesting cricket-related quiz programme by Banglalink will surely create even more enthusiasm among the spectators and enhance the overall excitement,” the press release reads.
South Asian entrepreneurs summit held in Melbourne
A day-long business summit was held in Melbourne on Saturday to connect South Asian entrepreneurs with Australian entrepreneurs to promote innovation in digital economy, exchange of knowledge and partnership, organisers said in a statement.
More than 300 successful entrepreneurs attended the summit held at the Crown Conference Hall in Melbourne, it said.
It said the main aim of the summit was to help emerging and existing entrepreneurs by bringing together both Australia-based and global leaders, decision makers, global industrialists from major sectors like education, health and wellbeing, digital technology, real estate and property investment.