agreement
Dhaka to sign legal cooperation agreement with Doha
The cabinet approved the draft of an ‘Agreement for cooperation in the Legal Field’ to be signed with Gulf state Qatar in its meeting Sunday.
The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The agreement will be signed between Dhaka and Doha very soon. It will help Bangladesh in seeking legal assistance from the Gulf country, said Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam at a briefing after the meeting.
“The agreement will let Bangladesh learn about the legal system of Qatar. The agreement will lead to the signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Qatar’s legal institutions, which will further lead to exchange of legal personnel between the two countries,” the Cabinet Secretary said.
Read: Dhaka seeks Qatar's investment
Anwarul added that the Cabinet has approved a proposal to support the amendment of Protocol 50(A) and 56 of International Civil Aviation.
“Through the amendments, the membership of the International Civil Aviation Organization Council (ICAO) will be increased to 40 from the current 36 and the membership of the Air Navigation Commission will be expanded to 21 from the existing 19. It’s an international agreement which Bangladesh had conformed to a long time ago. That’s why the amendment has been brought to the Cabinet for approval,” added Anwarul.
World Bank to provide US$300 million to help Bangladesh’s pandemic response
Bangladesh and the World Bank on Sunday signed a $300 million financing agreement to help the country strengthen its local urban institutions to respond to and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and improve preparedness to future shocks.
The Local Government COVID-19 Response and Recovery Project will benefit 39.9 million urban residents in all eight divisions. It will help its cities and towns to build back better as they recovers from the pandemic and prepare for future shocks, including climate change, disasters, and disease outbreaks, according to a release from the World Bank.
In addition, 329 municipalities and 10 city corporations will receive funds bi-annually from the project to improve critical urban services and infrastructures to mitigate and respond to climate change impacts, disasters, and future disease outbreaks.
Also read: World Bank happy, congratulates Bangladesh on Padma Bridge
The agreement was signed by Economic Relations Division Secretary Sharifa Khan Sharifa Khan and World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan Mercy Tembon Mercy Tembon on behalf of the Government and the World Bank, respectively.
The credit is from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), which provides concessional financing, has a 30-year term, including a five-year grace period.
World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan Mercy Tembon said that Bangladesh is rapidly urbanizing. With around 36 per cent of the population living in urban areas the city corporations and the municipalities can play a critical role in helping the urban poor recover from the pandemic as well as prepare to handle future shocks.
“This project will help local government institutions take the right measures to move toward climate-smart urbanization and prepare for resilience in future shocks.”
The project will carry out labor-intensive public works that in one hand will ensure water supply and sanitation, drainage, and other critical services benefitting the low-income areas, slums, and areas exposed to high disease outbreak and disaster risks and in other hand create jobs for the poor urban people. It will create 1.5 million days of short-term work as well as jobs for 10,000 women under the public works scheme.
All infrastructures will incorporate energy efficiency measures, including solar panels and cool roof measures in municipal buildings and services.
Also read: World Bank loan to bolster Bangladesh's economic growth
The project will install hand-washing stations and toilets, including separate facilities for women and improve sanitization in public spaces such as markets, burial grounds, and offices.
It will also help disabled people to access municipality-owned health clinics and conduct awareness programs on vaccines and other COVID-19 protocols, as well as outreach on gender-based violence and climate risks.
ERD secretary Sharifa Khan said that with quick and proactive measures, Bangladesh government will be able to address impact of the COVID 19 pandemic.
“The project will further support to ensure that the urbans areas remain prepared to any future shocks while benefitting the urban poor through job creation, better services, and infrastructure.”
AIBL signs agreement with Padma Diagnostic
Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited signed an agreement with Padma Diagnostic Centre Ltd on Sunday.
Md Shafiqur Rahman, Deputy Managing Director of the Bank and Md Kaiyum Khan, Director of Padma Diagnostic Centre Ltd exchanged the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations, said a media release.
Deputy Managing Directors Shabbir Ahmed, Md. Abdullah Al Mamun, Senior Executive Vice President Kazi Mahmood Karim, Head of AIBL Dhaka South Zone and Executive Vice President Manir Ahmad, Senior Vice President Jalal Ahmed, Assistant Vice President Molla Khalilur Rahman and Assistant Vice President of AIBL Mouchak Branch Md. Eleaus Mufti were present.
Also read: AIBL gets top sustainable bank recognition
General Manager, Accounts & Finance Md. Abdus Sayem and Chief Executive, Administration Md. Mizanur Rahman Khan of Padma Diagnostic Centre Limited were also present.
The new agreement will facilitate AIBL employees and their families to avail special discount on various pathology, radiology and other diagnostic and lab tests.
Also read: AIBL donates Tk 50 lakh to Patiya municipality
Banglalink signs agreement with Best Western Alliance Hotel
Telecom operator Banglalink has signed an agreement with Chattogram's Best Western Alliance Hotel to provide its Orange Club members with discounts on different services.
Soumen Mitra, cluster director of Banglalink, and Shahed Alam, general manager of Best Western Alliance, signed the agreement.
READ: Banglalink to observe 'Ethics and Compliance Week 2022'
Banglalink Orange Club members can get discounts of 50 percent on room rent, 20 percent on spa, and 10 percent on the À la carte menu. The offer will be valid till January 31, 2023.
Soumen Mitra said: "Chattogram is a unique market for Banglalink. It is a hub of business and other opportunities. While we strive to serve our customers with the fastest 4G network, we also want to appreciate their support through lifestyle benefits."
Nagad to partner LankaBangla in furthering financial inclusion
LankaBangla finance recently signed an agreement with Nagad Limited to launch its Digital sales window for marginal people at LankaBangla Corporate Head Office in Dhaka.
On this occasion, Khwaja Shahriar, Managing Director and CEO of LankaBangla Finance Limited, and Rahel Ahmed, CEO of Nagad, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations.
Under this agreement, LankaBangla will provide DPS facility, Credit Card and Loan applications through Nagad in urban and remote areas. The sole purpose of the agreement is to bring marginal people under the banking umbrella across the country.
READ: Nagad holds 'Distributors Meet 2022'
Commenting on the agreement Rahel Ahmed, CEO of Nagad Limited, said, “Nagad is the first mobile financial service that has designed all of its services focusing on easing the life of its users irrespectively the urban and rural areas. We are heading to a developed country, and now people need to access all financial services sitting anywhere in the country. “
This will also tremendously boost people’s adoption of digital financial services and bring more marginal people into financial inclusion across the country, he added.
Commenting on this agreement Khwaja Shahriar, LankaBangla MD & CEO, said LankaBangla always focuses on Financial Innovation and works relentlessly to provide customized financial products to our customers.
Read Nagad holds 'Distributors Meet 2022'
Digital Banking is changing the financial landscape in the country. Align with the fourth industrial revolution and Digital Bangladesh vision, we have established Digital Transformation Department to provide better and faster customer service to extend our presence all over the country through the digital platform, he said.
We believe this new Vertical will play a pivotal role in developing Women Entrepreneurs and marginal people in urban and rural areas. Now with the help of Nagad, we can reach six and a half crores of Nagad users in any area of Bangladesh, he added.
Md. Shihab Uddin Chowdhury, CSO of Nagad, Md. Saidur Rahman Dipu, Head of Business Sales, Md. Bayezid, Head of Insurance and NBFI, from LankaBangla A. K. M. Kamruzzaman, Head of Operations, Khurshed Alam, Head of Retail Business, Md. Kamruzzaman Khan, Head of SME and Sheik Mohammad Fuad, Head of ICT from LankaBangla Finance were present among other high officials.
Read Healthcare payments: Nagad offers discounts of up to Tk2,350
Elon Musk buys Twitter for $44B and will privatize company
Elon Musk reached an agreement to buy Twitter for roughly $44 billion on Monday, promising a more lenient touch to policing content on the platform where he promotes his interests, attacks critics and opines on social and economic issues to more than 83 million followers.
The outspoken Tesla CEO, who is also the world’s wealthiest person, has said he wanted to buy and privatize Twitter because he thinks it’s not living up to its potential as a platform for free speech.
Musk said in a joint statement with Twitter that he wants to make the service “better than ever” with new features, such as getting rid of automated “spam bots” and making its algorithms open to the public to increase trust.
“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” he said.
The deal was cemented roughly two weeks after the billionaire first revealed a 9 percent stake in the platform. Musk said last week that he had lined up $46.5 billion in financing to buy Twitter, putting pressure on the company’s board to negotiate a deal.
Twitter said the transaction was unanimously approved by its board of directors. The 11-member board includes Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, who has been planning to step down from the board in May. Twitter said the deal is expected to close sometime this year and is subject to the approval of Twitter stockholders and regulators.
READ: Elon Musk wants to buy Twitter, make it 'maximally trusted'
Shares of Twitter Inc. rose 6% Monday to $52 per share. On April 14, Musk announced an offer to buy the social media platform for $54.20 per share. While the stock is up sharply since Musk made his offer, it is well below the high of $77 per share it reached in February 2021.
Musk has described himself as a “free-speech absolutist” but is also known for blocking or disparaging other Twitter users who question or disagree with him.
In recent weeks, he has voiced a number of proposed changes for the company, from relaxing its content restrictions — such as the rules that suspended former President Donald Trump’s account — to ridding the platform of fake and automated accounts, and shifting away from its advertising-based revenue model.
Asked during a recent TED talk if there are any limits to his notion of “free speech,” Musk said Twitter or any forum is “obviously bound by the laws of the country that it operates in. So obviously there are some limitations on free speech in the US, and, of course, Twitter would have to abide by those rules.”
Beyond that, though, he said he’d be “very reluctant” to delete things and in general be cautious about permanent bans.
It won’t be perfect, Musk added, “but I think we want it to really have the perception and reality that speech is as free as reasonably possible.”
Twitter had initially enacted an anti-takeover measure known as a poison pill that could make a takeover attempt prohibitively expensive. But the board decided to negotiate after Musk updated his proposal last week to show he had secured financing, according to The Wall Street Journal.
While Twitter’s user base of more than 200 million remains much smaller than those of rivals such as Facebook and TikTok, the service is popular with celebrities, world leaders, journalists and intellectuals. Musk himself is a prolific tweeter with a following that rivals several pop stars in the ranks of the most popular accounts.
Last week, he said in documents filed with U.S. securities regulators that the money would come from Morgan Stanley and other banks, some of it secured by his huge stake in Tesla.
Musk is the world’s wealthiest person, according to Forbes, with a nearly $279 billion fortune. But much of his money is tied up in Tesla stock — he owns about 17% of the electric car company, according to FactSet, which is valued at more than $1 trillion — and SpaceX, his privately held space company. It’s unclear how much cash Musk has.
Musk began making his fortune in 1999 when he sold Zip2, an online mapping and business directory, to Compaq for $307 million. He used his share to create what would become PayPal, an internet service that bypassed banks and allowed consumers to pay businesses directly. It was sold to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002.
That same year, Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, after finding that cost constraints were limiting NASA’s interplanetary travel. The company eventually developed cost-effective reusable rockets.
In 2004, Musk was courted to invest in Tesla, then a startup trying to build an electric car. Eventually he became CEO and led the company to astronomical success as the world’s most valuable automaker and largest seller of electric vehicles.
Agreement signed for recruiting Bangladeshis in Australian ICT sector
Bangladesh Overseas Employment and Services Limited (BOESL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with an Australian company for recruiting Bangladeshis in the Australian ICT sector.
The state-owned manpower exporting company BOESL inked the MoU with Australian company Sterning on Thursday, said a PID handout on Friday.
BOESL Managing Director Md Billal Hossain and Operation Director of Sterning Paul Egan on behalf of their respective sides signed the document.
READ: Women’s participation in ICT sector to be raised substantially: Hasina
As per the agreement, Sterning will arrange employment for the skilled manpower of Bangladesh in the ICT sector in different client companies in Australia.
BOESL will provide competent candidates against the demand of Sterning. Bangladeshi ICT professionals will have job opportunities in Australia for the next three years under the deal.
Consulate General of Bangladesh in Sydney Khandaker Masudul Alam, Counsellor (Labour) of Bangladesh High Commission in Canberra Md Salahuddin, Sterning CEO Joseph Merz and BOESL Executive Manager Md Mahabubur Rahman, among others, virtually joined the agreement signing ceremony.
READ: Administrative work remain uninterrupted amid pandemic due to progress in ICT sector: Palak
Billal Hossain said the BOESL is now contacting other Australian companies to expand the skilled manpower export to Australia in other sectors.
Joseph Merz said there is demand for skilled IT professionals in Australia. So, recruitment of Bangladeshi professionals will help meet the demand.
Walton inks deal with Danby to expand footprint to North America
Walton has signed a partnership agreement with Danby Appliances, a renowned compact appliance brand in North America, to expand its footprint to the region.
The partnership will help Walton expand its market in the US and Canada.
Walton high officials recently visited the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2022 in Las Vegas.
Read: Walton offers up to 10% discount at Smartphone and Tab Expo
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Walton and Danby was signed at the CES – one of the biggest tech trade shows in the world.
Edward Kim, president of the global business division of Walton, and Andrew Raymond, CFO of Danby Appliances, signed the deal virtually Friday.
With this signing, Walton agreed to develop and manufacture products in line with the North American standard. Danby will be responsible for the sales and distribution of Walton products in the market.
Read:Walton Primo S8 Review: The Local Phone Unveils Powerful Processor
Edward Kim said, "This deal is historic and meaningful for Walton as well as Bangladesh as it conveys a significant message to the world on how strong the company is becoming as a top global electronics brand. Walton is finally entering markets like the US and Canada with its manufactured products."
The company is now exporting products to more than 40 countries including, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Dhaka, Male sign 2 MoUs, 1 agreement to deepen ties
Bangladesh and the Maldives have signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and an agreement to enhance bilateral cooperation in different areas between the two countries. The MoUs are on recruitment of qualified professionals between the two countries and another on cooperation in the area of Youths and Sports Development. Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque and Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Md Akhter Hossain signed the agreement on behalf of the Bangladesh side.
Read: Hasina for tapping Bangladesh-Maldives’ full trade potentials Besides, an agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income was also signed during the programme. Chairman of the National Board of Revenue Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem signed the deal on behalf of Bangladesh. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih witnessed the signing ceremony.
EBL, Novoair sign agreement
Eastern Bank Limited (EBL) signed an agreement with private airline Novoair in Dhaka recently.
The private carrier will offer special discounts on its air tickets base fares for EBL cardholders.
M Khorshed Anowar, deputy managing director and head of retail and SME banking of EBL, and Mes-Bah-Ul-Islam, head of marketing and sales of Novoair, signed an agreement in the capital.
READ: Bank Job Circular: EBL is hiring manpower
EBL Head of Liability and Wealth Management Syed Zulkar Nayen, Head of Student Banking and Retail Propositions Md Tanbeer Dawood; Novoair Senior Executive of Marketing and Sales Niladri Maharatna were also present, said a media statement.
READ: EBL signs MoU with TradeWindfor