Welcome to Weekly Economic Times

SA Games kick off Mehedi Masud The 11th South Asian Games, the largest sports event of the region, got underway on Friday. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally inaugurated the 12-day sport gala by releasing white pigeons at the Bangabandhu National Stadium (BNS) at 4:45 pm. Nearly ..more..

BB profit slides Monowar Hossain Total income of Bangladesh Bank, country's central bank, for 2008-09 financial year decreased by taka 9.1 billion to 32.4 billion taka compared to 41.5 billion taka in 2007-08, said the annual report of the central bank published recently. The decrease ..more..

FPI on withdrawal spree ET Report Foreign investors at the stock market are systematically withdrawing from Bangladesh after profit taking. The market has an upward trend and the foreign investors are selling their portfolios to make quick profit, market analysts said. According to Bang..more..

Staggered holiday for industries introduced ET Report Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company has introduced a new holiday chart for the industrial units in and around the capital to tackle the ongoing gas crisis. Petrobangla and different business associations recently decided to divide areas in th..more..

Call to extend loans for jute sector ET Report A research based-development organisation has suggested the government to extend loan to farming of jute, which has started to regain its past glory and fame as golden fibre of Bangladesh, for boosting the sector. Incidin Bangladesh said at a press confe..more..

BB chief thinks double-digit growth possible ET Report Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman has said attaining double-digit growth is not impossible for Bangladesh. He said the efforts that the central bank had initiated, especially loans for sharecroppers, bank accounts for farmers with a minimum deposit o..more..

Toyota global sales slide ET Desk Japan's Toyota Motor Corp said Monday its global vehicle sales fell 13 percent in 2009 to about 7.81 million vehicles, reducing its lead over Germany's Volkswagen, which enjoyed a record year. It was a dramatic turnaround from 2008, when Toyota ended the..more..

Asia-Pacific airline passengers drop ET Desk Asia-Pacific airlines suffered a 5.7 percent drop in passenger numbers and an 11 percent slump in cargo traffic in 2009 as they weathered their worst ever downturn, an industry body said last week. The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines said that the c..more..

SEC not to appeal against verdict on MF ET Report The capital market regulator will not appeal to the Supreme Court against a High Court verdict allowing closed-end mutual funds to issue bonus or rights shares. "We have decided not to appeal against the High Court verdict for the interest of the market..more..

Money flow without investment infrastructure to raise inflation ET Report How far increased money flow would help increase investment without improving the electricity and gas supply situation might be a point to debate. But, experts and economists hold the view that there is no point to debate on this issue. If the infrastruct..more..

China spring festival held ET Report A two-day China Spring Festival was held on the Shilpakala Academy ground in Dhaka on Friday-Saturday. The festival, organised by Chinese embassy to Bangladesh, aimed at exhibiting Chinese and Bangladeshi culture and heritage. BAFA, University of Dhaka..more..

Muhith hopes to come out LDC list by 2021 ET Report Finance minister AMA Muhith has expressed the hope that the country would be able to come out of LDC (least developed countries) status by 2021. "We have set 2021 target to come out of the LDCs. For this, we hope to achieve the growth rate of 8 percent ..more..

Khaleda alleges sell-out of country ET Report BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina signed a secret security deal with New Delhi during her recent trip to India She said the prime minister brought nothing back from India and that the deals signed had amounted to 'a sell-out' ..more..

'Inclusive' monetary policy unveiled to spur growth ET Report Bangladesh Bank on Tuesday unveiled its half-yearly 'inclusive' monetary policy for January-June period of the current fiscal year aiming to contain average inflation under 6.5 percent and bring more people under financial services. Announcing the policy..more..

Textiles makers want uninterrupted gas supply ET Report Country's export-oriented textiles manufacturers on Tuesday urged the government to arrange uninterrupted supply of gas to their industries on a priority basis. After a joint meeting on Tuesday, a statement issued by the three associations' leaders said ..more..

Brazil to tap trade potentials in Bangladesh Et Report Bangladesh businessmen should tap emerging market of Brazil, a rising economy in the present world, said the newly-appointed Brazilian Ambassador to Bangladesh, Ricardo Luiz Viana Carvalho, while talking to the Economic Times at Westin Dhaka on Friday. "..more..

Govt, Opposition lock horns over India visit success ET Report The government and main opposition party in Parliament, Bangladesh Nationalist Party, locked horns over the successes of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's January 10-13 visit to India. The Prime Minister on her return from India on Wednesday said the trip w..more..

Govt uncomfortable with food stock Monowar Hossain The government is not feeling comfortable with around 11,000 tonnes of food grains at hand. The food procurement drive is on. But what would be the volume of procurement at the end of the drive cannot be forecast at the moment. For smooth supply of food ..more..

Spl payment rules for industries hit during CG ET Report The central bank has relaxed payment rules to facilitate payment of reschedule classified loans of the clients, who were forced to go into hiding or were detained in jail during the last caretaker government. The loan reschedule facility will be applica..more..

ROK likely to recruit 4000 Bangladeshis this year Iftekhar Ahmed South Korea is expected to recruit 4,000 Bangladeshi workers, as economy of the giant Asian country is coming out of recession, said Ambassador Sum Buk Park while talking to some journalists in the city on Thursday. According to the Korea Development Ins..more..