The government on Sunday signed an additional $47.50 million financing agreement with the World Bank to continue construction of a new water infrastructure in the port city of Chittagong, said a press release.
The financing for the Chittagong Water Supply Improvement and Sanitation Project totaling $218.50 million will help the Chittagong Water Supply and Sewerage Authority to complete constructing the Modunaghat Water Treatment Plant and Patenga Booster Pumping Station, as well as to install 60 km of new water transmission pipeline and rehabilitate another 73 km pipeline from Kalurghat to the Patenga Booster Pumping Station providing access to safe water to around 650,000 inhabitants in the city, the release claimed.
World Bank acting country director for Bangladesh Rajashree Paralkar and additional secretary of economic relations division Mahmuda Begum signed the agreement.
The credits are interest-free and repayable in 38 years from the WB’s concessional lending arm International Development Association.
(Source: New Age)
Bogra court orders Tufan, Rumki to be interrogated at jail gate
A Bogra court on Sunday ordered investigators to interrogate Bogra town unit Awami Shramik League suspended convener Tufan Sarkar and Bogra municipality ward councillor Marzia Hasan Rumki at jail gate over the rape of a college girl and torturing the girl and her mother.
The court also rejected their bail prayer.
The court of senior judicial magistrate Shyam Sundar Roy passed the order after the investigation officer, Bogra police inspector Abul Kalam Azad, placed the two before the court seeking a fresh five-day remand for each.
Earlier, Tufan was remanded thrice while Rumki was remanded twice over the rape and torture, said Azad.
On July 17, Tufan took the girl to his house at Chaksutrapur in the town promising her admission at a local college and violated her.
When Tufan’s wife Asha and her elder sister Rumki came to know the incident, they along with some associates of Tufan picked up the girl and her mother to Rumki’s house at Badurtala in the town on July 28.
They allegedly tortured the girl and her mother and got their heads shaved by the barber.
(Source: New Age)
The court also rejected their bail prayer.
The court of senior judicial magistrate Shyam Sundar Roy passed the order after the investigation officer, Bogra police inspector Abul Kalam Azad, placed the two before the court seeking a fresh five-day remand for each.
Earlier, Tufan was remanded thrice while Rumki was remanded twice over the rape and torture, said Azad.
On July 17, Tufan took the girl to his house at Chaksutrapur in the town promising her admission at a local college and violated her.
When Tufan’s wife Asha and her elder sister Rumki came to know the incident, they along with some associates of Tufan picked up the girl and her mother to Rumki’s house at Badurtala in the town on July 28.
They allegedly tortured the girl and her mother and got their heads shaved by the barber.
(Source: New Age)
Gas supply off for 10 hours in Dhaka's Mirpur
Gas supply will remain suspended Monday for 10 hours in the city's Mirpur and adjoining areas due to relocation of gas pipelines to facilitate construction of Mass Rapid Transit Development under the Dhaka Metro Rail Project.
According to a press release of the Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Ltd, the gas supply will be cut off to the east and west sides of Mirpur-12 to Chiriakhana (Zoo) Road from 10:00am to 8:00pm.
The affected localities will include Mirpur - 1, 2, 6, 7, 10, 11 and 12, Eastern Housing, Rupnagar, Arambagh, Alubdi, Mirpur Cantonment and also adjacent areas.
The supply will disrupt all kinds of consumers including household, commercial, industrial and CNG refuelling stations in these areas.
Residents of Mirpur have grown accustomed to such day-long shutdowns over the last one and half years. The pipeline replacement work has been necessitated by the start of construction as part of the Metro Rail Project.
(Source: New Age)
Bangladesh revenue board finds it difficult to determine which dept to probe
The National Board of Revenue is facing legal complexity in determining the investigating authority for the money laundering cases after transferring the power to its Central Intelligence Cell.
In June, the revenue board in an order instructed its field offices of customs, value-added tax and income tax to transfer the money laundering cases to the CIC saying that the cell would investigate the cases as the investigating authority.
Earlier in October 2016, the revenue board had empowered the CIC for conducting inquiry and investigation into money laundering issues related to taxes as investigating agency.
The complexity arose as the Money Laundering Prevention Act-2015 did not empower any organisation to transfer the investigation authority to someone except those fixed by the law.
According to the act, customs, value-added tax and income tax wings of the NBR would investigate the money laundering cases having involvement of customs duties, VAT and income tax respectively.
Till now, the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) of the revenue board has been playing the major role in investigation of money laundering cases, mostly trade-based money laundering.
The customs intelligence has already detected some incidences of money laundering and filed cases against those involved with the offence.
According to the NBR estimate, more than 80 per cent incidences of money laundering occur in disguise of international trade or export and import.
Officials said that the CIID had been opposing the decision of withdrawing the power from it and appointing the CIC as investigating agency saying that the decision was not consistent with the money laundering act.
They said that the revenue board also understood the complexity and decided to review the decision.
In its last board meeting held on July 24, the revenue board formed a high-powered committee to end the complexity of determination of investigating agency in line with the money laundering act, they said.
The committee headed by NBR member (board administration) SM Ashfaque Hussain will review the previous decision and relevant issues in line with the law and prepare a proposal for the next board meeting.
A high official of the NBR said that the committee had already held several meetings and discussed about the problem.
Hopefully, the complexity will be removed soon as the investigation process of ongoing money laundering cases is delayed due to the problem, he said.
(Source: New Age)
In June, the revenue board in an order instructed its field offices of customs, value-added tax and income tax to transfer the money laundering cases to the CIC saying that the cell would investigate the cases as the investigating authority.
Earlier in October 2016, the revenue board had empowered the CIC for conducting inquiry and investigation into money laundering issues related to taxes as investigating agency.
The complexity arose as the Money Laundering Prevention Act-2015 did not empower any organisation to transfer the investigation authority to someone except those fixed by the law.
According to the act, customs, value-added tax and income tax wings of the NBR would investigate the money laundering cases having involvement of customs duties, VAT and income tax respectively.
Till now, the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) of the revenue board has been playing the major role in investigation of money laundering cases, mostly trade-based money laundering.
The customs intelligence has already detected some incidences of money laundering and filed cases against those involved with the offence.
According to the NBR estimate, more than 80 per cent incidences of money laundering occur in disguise of international trade or export and import.
Officials said that the CIID had been opposing the decision of withdrawing the power from it and appointing the CIC as investigating agency saying that the decision was not consistent with the money laundering act.
They said that the revenue board also understood the complexity and decided to review the decision.
In its last board meeting held on July 24, the revenue board formed a high-powered committee to end the complexity of determination of investigating agency in line with the money laundering act, they said.
The committee headed by NBR member (board administration) SM Ashfaque Hussain will review the previous decision and relevant issues in line with the law and prepare a proposal for the next board meeting.
A high official of the NBR said that the committee had already held several meetings and discussed about the problem.
Hopefully, the complexity will be removed soon as the investigation process of ongoing money laundering cases is delayed due to the problem, he said.
(Source: New Age)
Corruption key barrier to FDI in Bangladesh: USTR report
The Office of the United States Trade Representative has said corruption, bureaucratic inefficiencies and lack of transparency are the major impediment to attracting foreign direct investment in Bangladesh.
In a recent report titled ‘2017 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers’, the USTR identified extortion of money from businesses by individuals claiming political backing as another barrier to trade and investment in Bangladesh.
‘Bureaucratic inefficiencies often discourage investment in Bangladesh. Overlapping administrative procedures and lack of transparency in regulatory and administrative systems can frustrate investors seeking to undertake projects in the country,’ the report said.
It also said that the timely implementation of strategic reform initiatives and routine duties was being barred due to frequent transfers of top and mid-level officials in various ministries, directorates, and departments.
According to the report, the US and other international companies are concerned over the arbitrarily reopening of decades-old tax cases with particular targeting of cases involving multinational companies.
The report said that the US and other international investors raised concerns over the cumbersome process of outbound transfers from Bangladesh.
It said, ‘Applications to repatriate profits or dividends can be held for additional information gathering or otherwise delayed, if tax disputes arise.’
The USTR report said that there were widespread disputes over land and both the US companies and citizens had filed complaints about fraudulent land sales.
‘For example, sellers fraudulently claiming ownership have transferred land to good faith purchasers while the actual owners were living outside of Bangladesh. In other instances, US-Bangladeshi dual citizens have purchased land from legitimate owners only to have third parties make fraudulent claims of title to extort settlement compensation,’ the report read.
‘Likewise, corruption remains a serious impediment to investment in Bangladesh. While the government has established legislation to combat bribery, embezzlement, and other forms of corruption, enforcement is inconsistent,’ the USTR report said.
Regarding the government procurement, the report said that the government of Bangladesh publicly subscribed to principles of international competitive bidding but charges of corruption were common.
According to the USTR report, despite launching a national electronic government procurement portal the US companies raised concerns about the use of outdated technical specifications, the structuring of specifications to favour preferred bidders, and lack of overall transparency in public tenders.
‘Concerns over the safety of infrastructure and industrial relations practices also have discouraged greater investment and trade,’ the report read.
The collapse of the Rana Plaza building and the death of 1,129 workers in April 2013 highlighted health and safety concerns in the country’s factories and the lack of effective oversight and regulation, the USTR report observed.
It, however, said that the recent initiatives by the government of Bangladesh, international garment buyers, and the International Labour Organisation led to improvements in factory safety standards and transparency over the past three years.
Nabhash Chandra Mandal, executive member of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, said that they had taken various initiatives to overcome the impediments to FDI growth.
‘We are going for automation to remove administrative overlapping and bureaucratic complexities for the investors. We are working on ease of doing business and to facilitate foreign investment the government is formulating a law and the draft of the One-Stop Service Act has been sent to the cabinet for approval,’ he said.
Nabhash said that the BIDA was working to ensure transparency and accountability and the body was making progress step by step.
‘We can’t say Bangladesh is 100 per cent corruption-free but work is going on to eradicate the problem and we are making progress,’ he said.
(Source: New Age)
In a recent report titled ‘2017 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers’, the USTR identified extortion of money from businesses by individuals claiming political backing as another barrier to trade and investment in Bangladesh.
‘Bureaucratic inefficiencies often discourage investment in Bangladesh. Overlapping administrative procedures and lack of transparency in regulatory and administrative systems can frustrate investors seeking to undertake projects in the country,’ the report said.
It also said that the timely implementation of strategic reform initiatives and routine duties was being barred due to frequent transfers of top and mid-level officials in various ministries, directorates, and departments.
According to the report, the US and other international companies are concerned over the arbitrarily reopening of decades-old tax cases with particular targeting of cases involving multinational companies.
The report said that the US and other international investors raised concerns over the cumbersome process of outbound transfers from Bangladesh.
It said, ‘Applications to repatriate profits or dividends can be held for additional information gathering or otherwise delayed, if tax disputes arise.’
The USTR report said that there were widespread disputes over land and both the US companies and citizens had filed complaints about fraudulent land sales.
‘For example, sellers fraudulently claiming ownership have transferred land to good faith purchasers while the actual owners were living outside of Bangladesh. In other instances, US-Bangladeshi dual citizens have purchased land from legitimate owners only to have third parties make fraudulent claims of title to extort settlement compensation,’ the report read.
‘Likewise, corruption remains a serious impediment to investment in Bangladesh. While the government has established legislation to combat bribery, embezzlement, and other forms of corruption, enforcement is inconsistent,’ the USTR report said.
Regarding the government procurement, the report said that the government of Bangladesh publicly subscribed to principles of international competitive bidding but charges of corruption were common.
According to the USTR report, despite launching a national electronic government procurement portal the US companies raised concerns about the use of outdated technical specifications, the structuring of specifications to favour preferred bidders, and lack of overall transparency in public tenders.
‘Concerns over the safety of infrastructure and industrial relations practices also have discouraged greater investment and trade,’ the report read.
The collapse of the Rana Plaza building and the death of 1,129 workers in April 2013 highlighted health and safety concerns in the country’s factories and the lack of effective oversight and regulation, the USTR report observed.
It, however, said that the recent initiatives by the government of Bangladesh, international garment buyers, and the International Labour Organisation led to improvements in factory safety standards and transparency over the past three years.
Nabhash Chandra Mandal, executive member of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, said that they had taken various initiatives to overcome the impediments to FDI growth.
‘We are going for automation to remove administrative overlapping and bureaucratic complexities for the investors. We are working on ease of doing business and to facilitate foreign investment the government is formulating a law and the draft of the One-Stop Service Act has been sent to the cabinet for approval,’ he said.
Nabhash said that the BIDA was working to ensure transparency and accountability and the body was making progress step by step.
‘We can’t say Bangladesh is 100 per cent corruption-free but work is going on to eradicate the problem and we are making progress,’ he said.
(Source: New Age)
Bangladesh minister says bankers facing corruption charges won't be selected for promotion
Finance minister AMA Muhith has directed the Financial Institutions Division not to select any bankers facing corruption cases for promotion.
He gave the directive after the FID placed a list of 11 deputy managing directors, aspirant for the posts of managing director at three state-owned specialised banks.
Of them, Agrani Bank DMD Mizanur Rahman Khan and Janata Bank DMD Abdus Salam Azad are facing departmental cases for their alleged involvement in loan scams.
Mizanur was sacked by Bangladesh Bank on June 30, 2016 because of the Moon Group loan scam involving Tk 108 crore. Later, on August 7 he was suspended by the FID.
Azad was suspected of being involved in the Bismillah Group loan scam.
FID secretary Eunusur Rahman said the suspected officials would be selected again for promotion once they are cleared out of departmental actions.
Now, the FID has to select the managing directors from nine selected DMDs, he said.
The DMDs are Moin Uddin, Mohammad Ismail Hossain, Mohammad Helal Uddin, Rafiqul Islam, Mashiur Ali, Amin Uddin Ahmed, Tariqul Islam Chowdhury, Mahtab Zamin and Ali Hossain.
The FID officials said top post of Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank felt vacant since the expiry of tenure of immediate past MD Kazi Sanaul Hoq.
They said tenures of the present MDs of Krishi Unnayan Bank and Probashi Kallyan Bank would expire soon.
(Source: New Age)
He gave the directive after the FID placed a list of 11 deputy managing directors, aspirant for the posts of managing director at three state-owned specialised banks.
Of them, Agrani Bank DMD Mizanur Rahman Khan and Janata Bank DMD Abdus Salam Azad are facing departmental cases for their alleged involvement in loan scams.
Mizanur was sacked by Bangladesh Bank on June 30, 2016 because of the Moon Group loan scam involving Tk 108 crore. Later, on August 7 he was suspended by the FID.
Azad was suspected of being involved in the Bismillah Group loan scam.
FID secretary Eunusur Rahman said the suspected officials would be selected again for promotion once they are cleared out of departmental actions.
Now, the FID has to select the managing directors from nine selected DMDs, he said.
The DMDs are Moin Uddin, Mohammad Ismail Hossain, Mohammad Helal Uddin, Rafiqul Islam, Mashiur Ali, Amin Uddin Ahmed, Tariqul Islam Chowdhury, Mahtab Zamin and Ali Hossain.
The FID officials said top post of Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank felt vacant since the expiry of tenure of immediate past MD Kazi Sanaul Hoq.
They said tenures of the present MDs of Krishi Unnayan Bank and Probashi Kallyan Bank would expire soon.
(Source: New Age)
Bangladesh Internet service providers demand revision of BTRC draft decision
Internet Service Providers on Sunday demanded that the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission should review its decision that imposed 2 per cent of the ISPs’ revenue sharing with the BTRC and increased their licence and annual fees.
They placed the demand at a meeting with the telecom regulator in presence of BTRC chairman Shahjahan Mahmood.
At the meeting, leaders of the Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh and a number of BTRC officials were present.
Leaders of the association said that imposition of 2 per cent revenue sharing with the government including 1 per cent for the social obligation fund would increase cost of business significantly.
For example, an entity having annual Tk 150-crore turnover will have to deposit an additional Tk 3 crore to the government, while there was no such cost earlier, they said.
Besides, increase of licence acquisition fee and annual licence fee by more than 15 times would ultimately hamper government’s vision to increase broadband internet penetration across the country.
In a recently taken move, BTRC has proposed the posts and telecommunication ministry to increase ISP licence acquisition fee drastically.
The proposal, however, was made following an instruction from the telecom ministry.
Asked, Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh general secretary Emdadul Hoque told New Age, ‘at the meeting, we requested the BTRC chairman to revise its move to increase ISPs licence acquisition fee and impose 2 per cent revenue sharing with the government.’
‘Our profit margin is only 4 per cent - 5 per cent. So how could it be possible for sharing 2 per cent revenue or 50 per cent of our profit with the government,’ he said.
‘We informed the BTRC that the ISPs would not be able to survive if the latest move is implemented,’ Emdadul said.
‘Government’s move to increase licence acquisition fee and annual licence fee would impact the country’s broadband penetration and quality of service at large,’ he said.
‘The regulatory move to increase licence acquisition fee drastically to Tk 25 lakh from Tk 1 lakh would hamper government move to increase internet users,’ the ISPAB general secretary said.
He also said that the BTRC chairman assured us that the regulator would reconsider the issue and asked the ISPAB to submit written proposal in this regard.
BTRC initiated a move to increase the licence acquisition fees of internet service providers drastically following an instruction from the post and telecommunication ministry.
As per the proposal, BTRC would issue three categories of ISP licences— nationwide, urban and rural.
Nationwide service providers will have to pay Tk 25 lakh as licence acquisition fee along with Tk 5 lakh annual licence fee.
The urban service providers will have to pay Tk 15 lakh licence acquisition fee along with Tk 3 lakh annual licence fee.
The licence acquisition fee and annual licence fee for the rural ISPs were proposed at Tk 1 lakh and Tk 25,000 respectively.
Besides, the regulator proposed that all the three types of ISP licencees will have to share revenue with government at 1 per cent rate and payment to the government’s social obligation fund at the rate of 1 per cent would be a must.
The commission also decided to issue registration certificates to cyber cafes instead of issuing licence, while they will have to pay Tk 25,000 as registration fee.
(Source: New Age)
They placed the demand at a meeting with the telecom regulator in presence of BTRC chairman Shahjahan Mahmood.
At the meeting, leaders of the Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh and a number of BTRC officials were present.
Leaders of the association said that imposition of 2 per cent revenue sharing with the government including 1 per cent for the social obligation fund would increase cost of business significantly.
For example, an entity having annual Tk 150-crore turnover will have to deposit an additional Tk 3 crore to the government, while there was no such cost earlier, they said.
Besides, increase of licence acquisition fee and annual licence fee by more than 15 times would ultimately hamper government’s vision to increase broadband internet penetration across the country.
In a recently taken move, BTRC has proposed the posts and telecommunication ministry to increase ISP licence acquisition fee drastically.
The proposal, however, was made following an instruction from the telecom ministry.
Asked, Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh general secretary Emdadul Hoque told New Age, ‘at the meeting, we requested the BTRC chairman to revise its move to increase ISPs licence acquisition fee and impose 2 per cent revenue sharing with the government.’
‘Our profit margin is only 4 per cent - 5 per cent. So how could it be possible for sharing 2 per cent revenue or 50 per cent of our profit with the government,’ he said.
‘We informed the BTRC that the ISPs would not be able to survive if the latest move is implemented,’ Emdadul said.
‘Government’s move to increase licence acquisition fee and annual licence fee would impact the country’s broadband penetration and quality of service at large,’ he said.
‘The regulatory move to increase licence acquisition fee drastically to Tk 25 lakh from Tk 1 lakh would hamper government move to increase internet users,’ the ISPAB general secretary said.
He also said that the BTRC chairman assured us that the regulator would reconsider the issue and asked the ISPAB to submit written proposal in this regard.
BTRC initiated a move to increase the licence acquisition fees of internet service providers drastically following an instruction from the post and telecommunication ministry.
As per the proposal, BTRC would issue three categories of ISP licences— nationwide, urban and rural.
Nationwide service providers will have to pay Tk 25 lakh as licence acquisition fee along with Tk 5 lakh annual licence fee.
The urban service providers will have to pay Tk 15 lakh licence acquisition fee along with Tk 3 lakh annual licence fee.
The licence acquisition fee and annual licence fee for the rural ISPs were proposed at Tk 1 lakh and Tk 25,000 respectively.
Besides, the regulator proposed that all the three types of ISP licencees will have to share revenue with government at 1 per cent rate and payment to the government’s social obligation fund at the rate of 1 per cent would be a must.
The commission also decided to issue registration certificates to cyber cafes instead of issuing licence, while they will have to pay Tk 25,000 as registration fee.
(Source: New Age)
Dhaka stocks rise to fresh highs
Dhaka stocks advanced on Sunday after a profit booking session with the key index, DSEX, hitting all time high at above 5,900 points as investors continued injecting fund, especially in the bank companies amid optimism.
The DSEX advanced 0.46 per cent, or 27.18 points, to close at 5,907.62 points after falling 10 points in the previous trading session.
The core index reached the peak point after its launch with 4,055 points on January 28, 2013.
In 2013, the bourse launched DSEX under Standard and Poor’s developed free-float methodology with a view to replace the then key index of the bourse, DGEN.
The market touched the psychological barrier of 5,900 points within first 10 minutes of the trading session that rose further as the investors continued to inject fund in the capital market with fresh enthusiasm, market operators said.
They said that the continuous surge in most of the share prices bolstered investors to invest in the market.
The key index hit records for multiple times recently that drew attention of many investors who were in the side-line for months, they said.
Market capitalisation of the bourse also continued to break records, increasing to its all-time high to Tk 396763.03 crore on Sunday as share prices continued to rise.
Moreover, better earnings declaration and lower prices of bank companies kept instigating investors to invest fresh fund in their shares, stockbrokers said.
As a result, the average share prices of banks advanced by 1.18 per cent.
Out of 30 traded bank scrips, 25 advanced, 4 declined and 1 remained unchanged on the day.
Engineering, telecommunication and energy added fuel to the surge of the market, gaining by 1.94 per cent, 0.69 per cent and 0.28 per cent respectively.
Meanwhile, the increased share buying from directors of the City Bank in recent week drew some investors’ attention to the company shares, stockbrokers said.
According to the data from DSE, five directors of the bank expressed intension to buy a total of 51,71,500 shares of the bank from July 30 to Sunday.
As a result, the surge in share prices of City Bank helped most to rebound the market on Sunday.
City Bank also led the turnover chart on the day with its shares worth Tk 36.07 crore changing hands.
Meanwhile, the share prices of newly listed BBS Cables closed around the upper limit of the circuit breaker that posted the highest gain of the day.
On the other hand, the average share prices of cement and non-bank financial institutions declined by 0.97 per cent and 0.41 per cent respectively on the day.
Turnover on the bourse, however, declined to Tk 919.32 crore compared with that of Tk 1,077.99 crore in the previous trading session.
Of the 332 companies and mutual funds traded, 153 advanced, 146 declined and 33 remained unchanged.
DS30, the blue-chip index of the DSE, closed at 2,130.07 points, adding 0.32 points or 6.95 points.
The Shariah index of the bourse, DSES, gained 0.11 per cent, or 1.49 points, to close at 1,313.12 points.
BBS Cables, IFAD Autos, LankaBangla Finance, C and A Textiles, IFIC Bank, Apollo Ispat, Keya Cosmetics, Tung Hai Knittting and Mercantile Bank were the other turnover leaders.
BBS Cables gained the most on the day with a 9.84 per cent increase in its share prices, while Information Services Network was the worst loser, shedding 6.25 per cent.
Source: New Age
The DSEX advanced 0.46 per cent, or 27.18 points, to close at 5,907.62 points after falling 10 points in the previous trading session.
The core index reached the peak point after its launch with 4,055 points on January 28, 2013.
In 2013, the bourse launched DSEX under Standard and Poor’s developed free-float methodology with a view to replace the then key index of the bourse, DGEN.
The market touched the psychological barrier of 5,900 points within first 10 minutes of the trading session that rose further as the investors continued to inject fund in the capital market with fresh enthusiasm, market operators said.
They said that the continuous surge in most of the share prices bolstered investors to invest in the market.
The key index hit records for multiple times recently that drew attention of many investors who were in the side-line for months, they said.
Market capitalisation of the bourse also continued to break records, increasing to its all-time high to Tk 396763.03 crore on Sunday as share prices continued to rise.
Moreover, better earnings declaration and lower prices of bank companies kept instigating investors to invest fresh fund in their shares, stockbrokers said.
As a result, the average share prices of banks advanced by 1.18 per cent.
Out of 30 traded bank scrips, 25 advanced, 4 declined and 1 remained unchanged on the day.
Engineering, telecommunication and energy added fuel to the surge of the market, gaining by 1.94 per cent, 0.69 per cent and 0.28 per cent respectively.
Meanwhile, the increased share buying from directors of the City Bank in recent week drew some investors’ attention to the company shares, stockbrokers said.
According to the data from DSE, five directors of the bank expressed intension to buy a total of 51,71,500 shares of the bank from July 30 to Sunday.
As a result, the surge in share prices of City Bank helped most to rebound the market on Sunday.
City Bank also led the turnover chart on the day with its shares worth Tk 36.07 crore changing hands.
Meanwhile, the share prices of newly listed BBS Cables closed around the upper limit of the circuit breaker that posted the highest gain of the day.
On the other hand, the average share prices of cement and non-bank financial institutions declined by 0.97 per cent and 0.41 per cent respectively on the day.
Turnover on the bourse, however, declined to Tk 919.32 crore compared with that of Tk 1,077.99 crore in the previous trading session.
Of the 332 companies and mutual funds traded, 153 advanced, 146 declined and 33 remained unchanged.
DS30, the blue-chip index of the DSE, closed at 2,130.07 points, adding 0.32 points or 6.95 points.
The Shariah index of the bourse, DSES, gained 0.11 per cent, or 1.49 points, to close at 1,313.12 points.
BBS Cables, IFAD Autos, LankaBangla Finance, C and A Textiles, IFIC Bank, Apollo Ispat, Keya Cosmetics, Tung Hai Knittting and Mercantile Bank were the other turnover leaders.
BBS Cables gained the most on the day with a 9.84 per cent increase in its share prices, while Information Services Network was the worst loser, shedding 6.25 per cent.
Source: New Age
10 lakh Yaba pills seized in Chittagong
The arrestees were identified as Doyal Krishno, 40, son of Gopal Krishno, hailing from Sitakundo, and Md Hossain, 45, son of Md Ali, hailing from Teknaf, reports United News of Bangladesh.
Dickson Chowdhury of Coast Guard (East zone) said on secret information, a team of the force conducted a drive in Gohira coastal area of the upazila on Monday midnight and arrested the duo along with 50,000 pieces of Yaba tablet.
Based on information from them, the team conducted another drive in Parki beach area and challenged a boat early in the morning.
Sensing danger, the passengers fled leaving the boat behind.
Later, the coast guards seized 9.50 lakh Yaba pills from the boat.
The seized tablets will be worth around Tk 50 crore.
Kenya track federation HQ under police protection
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The headquarters of the Kenyan track and field federation is under police guard because of fears that an athletes' group might again take over the premises in protest.
Athletics Kenya President Jackson Tuwei says the federation called in police to help secure its HQ this week. Tuwei says he also fears the group will try and disrupt the Kenyan national championships, which start Friday.
Athletes linked to the Professional Athletes Association of Kenya occupied the federation building for two days in November in protest at alleged corruption by officials.
The PAAK says the federation has not honored an agreement they made to end that standoff last year. Among its grievances, the PAAK says there have not been proper elections to replace four senior officials currently under investigation for corruption.
GOP senators attack top Democrat for defense bill delay
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans angrily denounced the Senate's top Democrat Wednesday for delaying debate on defense policy legislation, calling Sen. Harry Reid's leadership "cancerous" and saying he was holding up the $602 billion bill to preserve his "sad, sorry legacy."
Reid also came under fire for saying the bill was crafted "behind closed doors and in secret sessions" by the Armed Services Committee chairman, Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona. Reid said senators needed more time to examine the more than 1,600-page bill before being asked to vote on it.
The criticism turned personal when Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said Reid was delaying the bill only to preserve his "sad, sorry legacy." Cotton, who served on active duty as an Army officer in Iraq and Afghanistan before being elected to Congress, said Reid's accusation that McCain wrote the bill in secret was "outrageous slander."
"The happy by-product of fewer days in session in the Senate is that this institution will be cursed less with his cancerous leadership," Cotton said of Reid in a verbal assault unusual for a chamber that reveres decorum.
McCain said all 12 Democrats on the Armed Services Committee voted two weeks ago in favor of reporting the bill to the full Senate. He also said lawmakers have had ample time to review the legislation.
But Reid, a Nevada Democrat, refused to budge, which means the Senate's consideration of the bill may now be delayed until early June when the Senate returns from a weeklong break. He also raised objections to McCain's plan to seek an increase of as much as $18 billion in defense spending, saying that domestic programs also are in dire need of more money.
"Republicans refuse to provide the needed funding to fight the Zika virus, to stop the plague of opioid abuse, to help repair the drinking water of Flint, Michigan, or to provide additional funding for local law enforcement, our intelligence agencies, and our first responders," Reid said. "That's just wrong."
Overall, the defense policy bill the Senate will take up provides $602 billion in the fiscal year starting Oct. 1 for the Defense Department and nuclear weapons programs managed by the Energy Department.
The legislative package prohibits the Obama administration from transferring detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the United States, requires women to register for a potential military draft, and proposes numerous changes to the military health system to improve the quality of care.
McCain and other senators said they also will seek to preserve a program that issues visas to Afghan civilians who assisted the American-led coalition as interpreters, firefighters and construction workers so they can resettle in the United States.
The top U.S. officer in Afghanistan, Army Gen. John Nicholson, has warned that these workers are viewed as traitors by the Taliban for siding with the coalition and are in danger of being harmed or killed if Congress cancels the visa program.
But critics of the program have said it could cost as much as $446 million over the next 10 years and could lead to an exodus of talented, educated Afghans from a country in need of their skills.
Bourgue inspired by Muhammad Ali at French Open
PARIS (AP) — A video of Muhammad Ali fired up French wild-card entry Mathias Bourgue before he took on Andy Murray at the French Open.
The 22-year-old French player ranked 164th led 2-1 in sets before bowing out 6-2, 2-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday.
He said his coach Olivier Malcor made him watch footage featuring Ali just before entering the Philippe Chatrier court.
"And he said, "When I box, I want to box in front of a big crowd'," Bourgue told a press conference. "It was very emotional. I think I entered the court with the right mindset. Even if I was a bit tense in the first set. I felt good."
___
8:00 p.m.
Milos Raonic faced little resistance as he posted a 50th Grand Slam match win on Wednesday at the French Open.
The eighth-seeded Canadian advanced to the third round for the fourth time on the Parisian red clay with a clinical 6-1, 7-6 (0), 6-1 win over 58th-ranked Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.
Raonic did not face a single break point and made only 17 unforced errors.
What to know about long lines at airport security
NEW YORK (AP) — Fliers should brace for long waits at airport security over the holiday weekend. In recent weeks, some major airports saw wait times exceeding 90 minutes at peak hours, and passengers missed flights waiting to get through security.
There have been encouraging developments in the last few days. After Chicago officials threatened to privatize security at the city's two big airports, the Transportation Security Administration moved dozens of part-time screeners to full-time and brought in more canine units to sniff passengers for explosives.
Waits at Chicago's O'Hare Airport — one of the most delay-plagued in the nation — have shrunk to around 15 minutes, according to an American Airlines spokeswoman. A Baltimore attorney tweeted Tuesday that he got through the expedited security line there in 10 minutes. The deluge of photos posted on social media sites with the #iHateTheWait hashtag slowed to a trickle.
Still, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says the average wait time nationally is about 30 minutes and about five minutes for expedited PreCheck lines. And that is before the unofficial start of summer.
Here's a look at the problem and what travelers should expect.
Q: Why have the waits been so long?
A: More people are flying, thanks to a mix of a strong economy, more flights and lower fares. At the same time, the Transportation Security Administration needs more screeners. The TSA and Congress cut the number of screeners by 10 percent on expectations that an expedited screening program called PreCheck would speed up the lines. However, not enough people enrolled. The TSA had been randomly placing passengers into the faster PreCheck lanes under a program dubbed "managed inclusion," but that stopped in the fall after government auditors found lapses in security.
Q: Will there be long lines for my flight?
A: Right now it's hard to tell. The airline industry has criticized the TSA for a lack of up-to-date information — you can readily find information on highway traffic delays but not delays in airport security lines. A TSA spokesman says the agency will post current wait times by mid-June. The worst waits have been at the largest airports during peak hours. But during slower hours, the TSA staffs fewer lanes and that might cause backups. The TSA suggests passengers arrive at least two hours before domestic flights but some in the airline industry are now saying to allow even more time.
Q: What is the government doing about it?
A: Congress agreed to shift forward $34 million in TSA funding, allowing the agency to pay overtime to its existing staff and hire an extra 768 screeners by June 15. But there is no grand plan to return staffing to former levels. Some passengers can still randomly be placed in PreCheck based on their age or if an explosive-detecting dogs first screen them, but those are small numbers. The TSA is relocating screeners and canine teams to the 20 busiest airports, such as Chicago's O'Hare.
Q: What are the airlines doing to help?
A: American Airlines and United Airlines all say they are spending $4 million each to bring in contract employees who can take over non-screening chores such as handling bins and managing lines, freeing up TSA agents to focus on screening. A spokesman says Delta Air Lines will spend between $3 million and $4 million and is also redesigning two checkpoint lanes at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to speed things up before Memorial Day.
Q: What can I do to speed up the line?
A: Don't carry a bag on the plane if you can avoid it. TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger told a congressional hearing Wednesday that the large volume of carry-on bags has put extra pressure on screeners. Whether carrying on a bag or not, each passenger should have their ID and boarding pass ready. Before reaching the X-ray machine, empty your pockets and place your keys, cellphone, change and any metallic jewelry into your carry-on bag. Wearing slip-on, slip-off shoes also helps.
Q: What if I miss my flight?
A: For now, airlines have been finding space for them on later flights. But on the busiest travel days there are very few empty seats to accommodate anybody who misses a flight.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)