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Daily News Flash

12th March 2018

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Table of Contents

Macro Economy ...... 1 WHY IS METRO RAIL CONSTRUCTION COSTLIER IN BANGLADESH? ...... 1 IMF: BANGLADESH’S MACROECONOMIC PERFORMANCE ROBUST IN THE COMING YEAR ... 2 CPD: POLITICAL STABILITY MUST TO REAP BENEFITS OF DEVELOPING COUNTRY ...... 3 STEM SPIKE IN RICE PRICES ...... 5 HIGH TRANSACTION COST HINDERS MFS GROWTH: STUDY ...... 6 THIRD SPAN OF PADMA BRIDGE INSTALLED ...... 7 REVIVING JUTE INDUSTRY ...... 7 ’র র র ১৬ র...... 8 র র র ...... 9 ৪ ৭৫ র ...... 10 ৩ ৮৫ র ...... 11 র র রর ...... 11 র ...... 11 র র র ‘ ’ ...... 12 র র ৮০ ...... 12 ১০ র ...... 13 র র র র ...... 14 র র ...... 15 Bank and NBFIs ...... 16 3,521 CLIENT-COMPLAINTS AGAINST BANKS IN FY17 ...... 16 BANKS MUST CHECK LICENCES OF PETROLEUM IMPORTERS ...... 17 GOVT DOLES OUT TK 20B TO RECAPITALISE BANKS ...... 17 ACC MAY SEEK INFO FROM UAE OVER AB BANK'S MONEY LAUNDERING ...... 19 DEVELOPING OWN POLICY FOR CURBING NPLS ...... 19 ICB ISLAMIC BANK HIT BY FRESH LIQUIDITY CRISIS ...... 20 BANKS AND NBFIS PULL DOWN STOCKS ...... 21 Capital Market Specific ...... 22 PACIFIC DENIMS ‘MISUSES’ TK 21CR OF IPO FUND ...... 22 STOCKS, TURNOVER SLUMP AS BSEC LINGERS DSE SHARE SALES DECISION ...... 23 'JUNKED' IMAGE OF STOCK MARKET ...... 24

DSE TURNOVER HITS 20-MONTH LOW ...... 25 DHAKA STOCKS FALL ACROSS SECTORS AMID POOR INVESTORS' CONFIDENCE ...... 26 MONNO CERAMIC TOPS TURNOVER CHART ...... 27 FOREIGN INVESTORS' BEARISH STANCE CONTINUES IN MARCH ...... 27 GENERAL PHARMA LOOKS TO MORE COUNTRIES FOR EXPORT ...... 28 ‘IT SECTOR TO ENSURE EMPLOYMENT OF YOUNG GENERATION’ ...... 28 PRESIDENT FOR GLOBAL EFFORTS TO PROMOTE SOLAR ENERGY ...... 29 DATA PERKING UP TELCO REVENUE ...... 30 ৪০ র র ...... 31 র ঋ , র র র র ...... 32 র ১৮ ...... 33 র র ২১ ...... 34 র রর র ২৮ ...... 36

Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018

Macro Economy

WHY IS METRO RAIL CONSTRUCTION COSTLIER IN BANGLADESH?

As an easy and comfortable transport system metro rail service is quite popular in many cities around the world. Bangladesh is building first ever 20.1 kilometre metro rail project between Uttara and Motijheel in Dhaka with the capacity of carrying 60,000 passengers each hour. However, the construction cost of the metro rail (MRT line-6) in Dhaka is more than double comparing to neighboring Indian cities like Delhi or Mumbai. The Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Company Limited (DMTCL), a state-run entity implementing the metro rail project, has recently conducted a study on ‘cost of constructing metro rail in India versus Dhaka’. The study reveals that the construction cost in Bangladesh is higher than India. On an average, per kilometre metro rail construction cost in India is $50-60 million, however Bangladesh is building the first metro rail project at a cost of $135 million per kilometre. Bangladesh is constructing 20.1km long metro rail at a cost of $2.7 billion or Tk22,000 crore, said the DMTCL report. According to the report, construction of the second phase of the 72km long metro rail in the Indian city of Banglalore started in 2014. The project is costing $4.7 billion that means $65.3 million per km. It has 13.79km underground road for which there will have 12 underground stations among 61 stations. Underground metro rail construction cost is generally three times higher than the elevated metro rail. The project is to be completed this year.

1 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018

In another Indian city of Jaipur, a 12km long metro rail was completed in 2014 at a cost of $500 million that means per kilometre cost was only $41.7 million. This metro rail has also 2.78 km underground part along with three underground stations out of 11 stations. The second phase of the project started in 2016. The 24km long project will have 6km underground along with five stations. There will have a total 20 stations. The cost of the project is only $1.02 billion while per km cost is $42.5 million. The project will be inaugurated in 2021. Similarly, the per km construction cost of Chennai metro rail is $55.5 million. Launched last year, most part of the metro rail is underground. “It is true that construction cost of metro rail is lower in India than Bangladesh. We need to conduct more study on finding ways to reduce the cost,” said Prof Shamsul Hoque of Civil Engineering department of Bangladesh University of Engineering Technology. “But the project aspect of the two countries is different. India is already quite experienced in this sector as they have completed several metro rail projects in different states,” he added. Can the cost of being stuck in traffic due to metro rail construction be calculated? The metro rail project is being constructed under the financial assistance of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Of the total cost JICA will provide 75 percent and the rest will be met by the government of Bangladesh. JICA provided loan at 0.01 percent interest payable within 40 years, including a 10-year grace period. The Italian-Thai Development Public Company Ltd, a Thai-based company and Chinese Company- Synohydro Corporation Ltd are constructing the metro rail under an agreement with the DMTCL. Source: http://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2018/03/12/metro-rail-construction-costlier- bangladesh/

IMF: BANGLADESH’S MACROECONOMIC PERFORMANCE ROBUST IN THE COMING YEAR The macroeconomic performance of Bangladesh is set to remain robust in the coming year and inflation broadly stable, a top official of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said. “Macroeconomic performance is set to remain robust in the coming year and inflation broadly stable,” the Tao Zhang, IMF Deputy Managing Director said on the eve of his travel to the region. Zhang would be in India and Bhutan this week. Bangladesh is not on his itinerary. An IMF staff team just completed a visit to Dhaka, he said. “The team and the authorities held fruitful discussions on policy measures to preserve macroeconomic stability and secure strong and inclusive growth over the medium term,” Zhang said. Responding to a question on Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, he said the IMF deeply shares the concern of others in the international community over the hardship being experienced by those affected. “We note that, in reacting to the crisis, the Bangladesh government kept its borders open and

2 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 provided assistance to incoming refugees in coordination with humanitarian agencies. This generosity drew praise from the international community,” he said. “I understand that support from donors so far has covered the bulk of the immediate needs, such as food, health, shelter, and water and sanitation,” Zhang said. Following the conclusion of the IMF officials visit to Bangladesh, the IMF said steady monetary policy management and fiscal discipline have contributed to continued macroeconomic stability. “Driven by domestic demand, real GDP growth exceeded 7 percent for a second consecutive year in FY2017, while inflation increased slightly, mainly due to higher food prices. With lower remittances and higher imports of capital goods and food, the current account moved into deficit. Foreign reserves remain adequate,” Daisaku Kihara, who led IMF delegation to Bangladesh said in a statement. Noting that various challenges remain to sustain the impressive economic performance of recent years, Kihara said efforts to harness the country’s growth potential while ensuring economic and financial stability will require creating fiscal space for infrastructure investments and social safety nets, making the financial sector more efficient, enhancing the business environment, and strengthening governance. According to Kihara, Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in achieving inclusive growth, which has led to a substantial decline in poverty, but challenges remain. “The extent of financial inclusion in society is commendable, and the authorities should continue to strengthen the legal and regulatory framework of the banking sector and implement the upcoming financial inclusion strategy,” he added. “Finally, higher expenditure on education and improvements in rural infrastructure should continue to boost the current low female labor force participation rates by enhancing job prospects, reducing the time spent on domestic tasks, and increasing safety,” he said. Source: http://www.dhakatribune.com/business/economy/2018/03/11/imf-bangladeshs- macroeconomic-performance-robust-coming-year/

CPD: POLITICAL STABILITY MUST TO REAP BENEFITS OF DEVELOPING COUNTRY To enjoy the benefits of graduating to a developing country from a least developed country, Bangladesh needs political and democratic stability, a think tank has said. Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), an economic think tank held a dialogue on ‘Bangladesh’s Graduation from the LDC: Pitfalls and Promises’ in the capital on Saturday. Speakers at the dialogue said that for a smooth transition political stability and good governance are key elements, along with the other issues. “Bangladesh’s graduation to a developing country from an LDC is a landmark success in the contemporary development experience. Bangladesh is graduating with a large population, sizeable economy, exports and progress in poverty alleviation – the first LDC to meet all three criteria at the time of graduation,” said Debapriya Bhattacharya, distinguished fellow of CPD. “If there is no stability and sense of unity in the country, we may lag behind in utilizing the graduation as an advantage and opportunity,” Debapriya said. To enjoy the benefits of graduation, Bangladesh needs to ensure good governance. Without good governance, there are chances of creating institutional and policy weaknesses, he said. Talking about the challenges after graduation, CPD Chairman Rehman Sobhan said: “Behind all these challenges lies our capability for quality of governance and the sustainability of our democratic process, where you create a sustainable environment where people can transit from one era to another without the threat of violence and the fear of political instability.” “Bangladesh will graduate to a middle income country by 2021, but there will be technical challenges in 2024. Political stability and continuity is a challenge,” said prime minister’s International Affairs Adviser Gowher Rizvi.

3 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 “There is growing inequality in the country. Growth rate is high but inequality remains. Despite all efforts, we have not been able to eradicate poverty,” he added. He also focused on increasing women’s participation in the workforce, saying: “Currently there are 36% women in workforce and if we can increase it to 48% to 50% it will help enhance 0.8% GDP.” “Bangladesh’s graduation is integrated not only with the economy but also politics, which is going a through critical time,” Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque said. Bangladesh has to keep itself politically, economically, socially and culturally stable, said Shahidul. What will happen after graduation As an LDC country, Bangladesh enjoys duty free market access to European countries and other developed countries. After graduation, Bangladeshi exports will face an additional 6.7% tariff. Bangladesh will lose the concessional loans from development partners, which will cause interest rates to rise. To remain competitive in the global export market, Bangladesh will have to focus on negotiation to enjoy duty free market access and find other sources of low cost loans. “From previous experiences, we have seen that after graduation most countries witness a decline in GDP, foreign aid and remittances. As a result, the financial systems of those countries come under pressure, especially when revenues from tax do not increase,” said Debapriya. But a good number of countries receive FDI to offset this crisis. “The question is whether Bangladesh will be able to attract FDI,” said the economist. Though Bangladesh is moving forward with export processing zones and export has increased, production is concentrated in a handful of products. The productivity of workers is lowest among LDC countries, he added. “As an LDC, we have greatly benefited from various protective advantages in the form of duty-free access to a variety of countries, and reserved markets which provided the take-off point, and initially catalyzed the arrival of the South Koreans to enable us in initiating the garments industry,” said Rehman. “Entrepreneurs must be incentivized by creating appropriate environment of governance, regulatory environment, and a sustainable financial sector operated on competitive principles,” he said regarding the improvement of entrepreneurship. He also urged the government to create a genuine partnership, as opposed to an adversarial relationship between the state and NGOs to take forward human development even further. He also highlighted the importance of upgrading migrants’ skills and protecting them since they are the main source of Balance of Payment Sustainability. In ensuring a smoother graduation and to over come the challenges to enjoy its benefits, experts suggested addressing issues like inequality, Rohingya crisis and climate change shocks. “Structural risks like extreme poverty and inequality, low human capital and weak economic governance must be tackled effectively. Addressing inequalities by ensuring equality of opportunities, particularly in health and education are per-requisite for equitable growth,” said Mia Seppo, the resident coordinator and UNDP resident representative. Emerging risks like climate change, violent extremism and managing the shocks and vulnerability of Rohingya crisis to be managed effectively, said Mia. To keep the continuing the pace of development, investment outlook for the private sector needs to be improved significantly. In doing so, the government has to provide sufficient infrastructure including power. FDI flow needs to rise and diversify, she said. How to sustain the graduation and make it inclusive After graduating to a developing country, Bangladesh will enjoy a four year tenure to retain progress and ultimately it will be declared in 2024. In retaining the progress, Bangladesh should focus on some issues like product diversification, negotiation skills to enjoy trade facilities and concessional loans. To remain competitive in the global export markets, experts suggested products diversification as

4 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 Bangladesh is dependent on RMG sector for its over 80% export earning. Bangladesh has to focus on negotiation skills for trade facilities and free trade agreement, Debapriya said. To make graduation sustainable and inclusive, Bangladesh has to boost new industries by improving productivity, Debapriya said. Focus should be given on the upgradation of agricultural sector. On the other hand, the industry people have to ensure productive jobs for the people coming from the rural areas especially from agriculture, he added. “After graduation, Bangladesh has to increase investment both from local and foreign investment, which has been stagnant for around a decade,” economist AB Mirza Azizul Islam said. Product diversification as well as productivity enhancement is a must, he added. Labour incentive manufacturing will go, and Bangladesh will have to think about how to embrace technology and automation, said World Bank Bangladesh lead economist Zahid Hussain. Source: http://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2018/03/11/cpd-political-stability-must-reap- benefits-developing-country/

STEM SPIKE IN RICE PRICES Prominent parliamentarians, with their sights set on the upcoming general election, asked the finance minister Sunday to check the spike in rice prices. At a pre-budget consultation, predominated by their concerns about other public-welfare activities, the lawmakers also asked for doing away with Food for Work programme as they questioned relevance of such food rationing in the current socioeconomic context of the country. The budget-preparatory meeting of the finance minister, AMA Muhith, with the Parliamentary Standing Committees on Finance, Planning and Public Accounts was held at the NEC Auditorium in the city. "The price of coarse rice should not be more than Tk 30 to Tk 35 per kg, given that the actual production cost of rice per kg is around Tk 22to 23," said Dr. Muhammad Abdur Razzaque, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Finance. The view of the veteran parliamentarian and former food minister comes at a time when the price of rice is on an upturn on the domestic market. Coarse rice was being sold at Tk 46-Tk 52, medium quality at Tk 55-Tk 60 and finer rice at Tk 65-Tk 72 a kilogram in the capital for the last one and a half weeks, trading sources said. According to state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) data, rice prices have surged 32-40 per cent year on year. Responding to this view, the finance minister, however, noted that the government estimate regarding the production cost of rice is much higher than what is cited by Razzaque. The parliamentarians, during the meeting, also asked the finance minister to put an end to the 'Food for Work' programme as they termed it highly outdated in the current socioeconomic context of Bangladesh. Regarding this observation, the finance minister, however, said the government has no plans to abolish the Food for Work programme before the next budget. "However, the programme may witness some reforms during the next fiscal year," Mr Muhith told the lawmakers. The parliament members also pointed at a sorry state of the grassroots-level hospitals across the country, noting that these establishments are severely lacking enough doctors and medical equipment despite rise in the number of patients. They also called for upgrading all upazila-level 30-bed hospitals across the country to 50-bed ones. Responding, the finance minister admitted that the local-level health establishments are lagging behind in terms of medical appliances. "Nevertheless, community clinics have played an excellent role, especially in reducing maternal mortality," he said, adding: "Education and health would receive the

5 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 highest priority in the next budget." The lawmakers also said the net allocation that is provided to the parliament members each year should be allocated keeping in mind the area and population of their respective constituencies. They also asked for increasing the allowance for old-age people while also improving the maintenance of road infrastructure and enhancing the rail communications between the capital, Dhaka, and the southern region. Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/first-page/stem-spike-in-rice-prices-1520790172

HIGH TRANSACTION COST HINDERS MFS GROWTH: STUDY High transaction cost is keeping more than half of Bangladesh's micro and small enterprises (MSEs) away from using mobile financial services for business purposes, according to a new study. Lack of awareness, high risk of security and insufficient transaction limit are also hindering the growth of such services, according to the study titled “Mobile financial services for MSEs in Bangladesh: prospects and challenges”. The findings of the study, conducted by the Business Finance for Poor in Bangladesh (BFP-B) project, were revealed at a seminar at the Amari Hotel in Dhaka yesterday. The BFP-B project, funded by the UKaid, organised the seminar. There are nearly 8 million MSEs in Bangladesh and of which 46 percent use MFS for business purposes, the study found. It showed 32 percent of the MSEs made at least one business-to-business transaction. The study was carried out among 500 MSEs, of which 64 percent do not use mobile financial service because of high transaction fee, which is 2 percent for each cash-out and zero for cash-in service. Among the surveyed MSEs, 27 percent blamed insufficient transaction limit for not using the digital transaction channel. Some 20 percent of the respondents demanded incentive for using MFS, according to the study. About 94 percent of the MSEs use the service only for cash-out. The study surveyed three sectors: agriculture, manufacturing and service. The service sector accounts for the highest concentration of MFS users. Some 51 percent of the MSEs in the service sector use mobile money for businesses. The agriculture sector accounts for a third of the users. MFS accountholders totalled 5.9 crore in December last year but only 35 percent of the accounts were active, according to the study. The sector, however, grew 40 percent last year, far ahead of Pakistan's 2 percent growth and India's 1 percent. At the seminar, Kamal Quadir, CEO of bKash, the leading mobile financial service provider in Bangladesh, said MFS accounts are verified through national identification card. So, it is illogical to limit the transaction amount, he said. A special guideline for the sector is necessary, Quadir added. The central bank's strict rule is hindering the growth of the sector, said Arfan Ali, managing director of Bank Asia. He said the Microcredit Regulatory Authority can join hands with the MFS providers to accelerate the use of the alternative channel. In January last year, the central bank lowered the deposit ceiling to Tk 15,000 from Tk 25,000 to prevent abuse of the digital money channel. The BB also directed the MFS providers not to open more than one account per national identity. SK Sur Chowdhury, banking reforms adviser of the BB, and Mustafa K Mujeri, executive director of the Institute for Inclusive Finance and Development, also spoke. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/high-transaction-cost-hinders-mfs-growth-study- 1546888

6 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 THIRD SPAN OF PADMA BRIDGE INSTALLED With the setting up of the third span (superstructure) at Jajira point of Shariatpur, 450 metres of the under-construction Padma Bridge is now visible. The third span was installed between pillars 39 and 40 Sunday morning. The installation process of the 150 metres span started at 7:30 am. The floating crane carrying the 150-metre span weighing 3,140 tonnes reached near the pillars Saturday afternoon, said the engineers. The work of Padma Multipurpose Bridge became visible with the installation of 150 metres first span on the pillars 37 and 38 on September 30 last year while the second one was installed on the pillars 38 and 39 on January 28 this year. The construction work on the country’s largest bridge started in December 2015 and it is expected that the mega construction will be completed by December this year. A total of 41 spans, each 150 metres long, will be installed on 42 concrete pillars of the 6.15-km bridge, according to the engineers concerned. The bridge, which will connect the country’s southern region to the capital, will hugely boost communications and trade and economic activities. However, the rail network linking the bridge with the capital through Mawa will not be completed if the bridge opens to traffic next year. The countrymen’s long-cherished dream of having a bridge over the Padma River is gradually coming true with mega infrastructure being visible on the project site. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina took the bold step for constructing the bridge with local resources after the project stalled for few years over fabricated graft allegations by the World Bank. The World Bank raised the allegations of irregularities in consultation work on the project, creating a tussle with the government. The international money lender had finally led the country to refuse to take $2.1 billion funds from donor agencies including the World Bank, the JICA, the ADD and the IDB. The WB was the lead financier. Later, a Canadian court rejected the graft case, saying that it found no evidence of the allegations against some local officials and politicians. Source: http://www.daily-sun.com/printversion/details/294704/Third-span-ofPadma-Bridgeinstalled

REVIVING JUTE INDUSTRY Political leaders and economists are unanimous about the high potential of jute after a long moribund state it was in. The process of reviving the jute industry has already begun. It received a shot in the arm when genome sequencing of both varieties of jute was successfully carried out under late scientist Maqsudul Alam. Since then the prospect of diversification of jute products has become brighter than ever before. Scientists are on the right track, no doubt, in carrying forward their research. But the impression is that results of the research could not be adequately translated into practical uses. In countries in the West when groundbreaking research works, invention and discovery are accomplished, industrial investors beeline for taking advantage of translating theories into practical or industrial outputs. Unfortunately, private companies or industrialists here are not enthusiastic enough to involve themselves with such projects. Instead, they want to tread known pasture in order to avoid risks. Clearly, this is no way of advancing the cause of industrialisation. The government alone cannot take ahead initiatives that can open up limitless possibilities for the jute industry and for that matter any such industry. On the other hand, the traditional mode of operation of the jute mills in the public sector has long proved a drag on the government exchequer. It is not surprising that the finance minister voiced his annoyance at the management of the jute mills in the public sector. Unless the mills prove their efficiency and productivity in line with the challenges facing the industry, there is indeed no point allowing them to run in losses. Sure enough, advanced

7 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 technology and skilled manpower are an answer to this problem. The state minister of jute and textile claimed that entrepreneurs are producing 240 types of jute products as against 135 last year. Now the question is if such a large number of jute products are there, what is their worth in terms of economy and export? Number alone does not make sense unless the economic value proves decisive. Even just one or two products with worldwide demand can reenergise the jute industry to the extent where it will never have to look back. Have the entrepreneurs collaborated sufficiently with scientists who have advanced the cause of the industry's growth to an extraordinary level? In the context of growing concern for environmental fragility due to use of chemical and artificial substances for packaging, jute really stands to take off. Now the need is to take the opportunity that comes Bangladesh's way. The country produces the best quality of jute fibres in the world. Already hessian has been turned into cotton-like thread. But still there is some way to go before it can compete with cotton. Hopefully, the last barrier too will be overcome within a short time and jute will have a new dimension in commercial use. If the quality of products can be improved to a much higher level, there is every chance the products will be able to overcome anti-dumping measures by Bangladesh's lone competitor. So the collaboration between the private sector and the scientists has to be intensified in order to reach the goal. Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/editorial/reviving-jute-industry-1520774291

’র র র ১৬ র ও ( ) ও ৬ । । আ ও ও । ও । ( ) , ও আ । ২২ , - । ৪ ২ ও ৬ ৪ ৬ । আ আ । আ আ । । , । ২০ ৭ ৩০ ও ২২ । , ও আ । , । ও ও , । ’ ও আ , , , , , আ ও , , , ও আ । । । । ০ ঋ ও - ও ও ৫ — ও ও । ও । আ । আ ও । ও ও । ও । , আ । । আ । আ । , আ । । ও । ও ও ।

8 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 , আ - ও । ও । - আ । । , আ আ । ২৫ ও । ৪০ - । ও । ৩ ৭ — , , । । Source: http://www.sharenews24.com/article/8820/index.html

র র র আ ও । ২৩ । ৫০ ৬০ । । ঋ । আ আ ও আ । আ ( ) আ আ , ও । আ । , । , । । । ঋ । আ আ । ও আ আ ও । । ঋ । আ আ ও আ । আ ও । , । । । ও আ , ঋ । আ । ও । । , আ ও । , আ , আ , আ আ ও । ৬০ ৬৪ ৬৫ । ৪০ ৫৬ ৫৭ । আ ও ৬০ ৫২ ৫৩ ও ৪০ ৪৪ ৪৫ । ২ ২৩ । , ৬০ ৫৪ ৫৫ ৪০ ৪৮ ৪৯ । ৮ ০ । , । ৫ । আ ০ আ ও । , ও । আ , আ । । ও । আ । ও । । । ও আ । ও । ৫০ ৬০ । , , , , , ৩৬০ ৩৯০ । ৪২০ ৪৬০ । আ ও । ও । ০ । আ ।

9 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 ও . , ৩০ ৪০ । । ও । ৬০ । Source: ------

৪ ৭৫ র আ ২০ ৮- ৯ আ ৬০ ৭৫ আ আ । আ - আ , ‘ । ও , । । আ ও ।’ ও আ - ও ও । । ও আ । , , ও । - আ আ । ও । , - , , । । ও ও । ও , , ও । ( ) ও ( ) ও । ও আ , ‘আ ( ) ৪০ । আ । ৩০ ৩৫ ও । আ , ২০ ২২ । আ । ৩০ ৩৫ ও । , ‘আ , , — । আ । , , । আ । । ও । আ । আ ও ও , । আ । ও । ।’ ও আ । আ আ , , আ । , ‘ । ২০ ৮ । ও । আ ও । ও । , ‘আ । ও আ ।’ র- র র : , । । । আ । আ , - ও । , , ও । ৪০ ও ০০ ও ও । । , । । আ । ২০ । আ । র র র র : আ , আ । ০ আ আ । , আ ও আ । , , । র : । , । ও । । আ , । Source: http://www.kalerkantho.com/print-edition/industry-business/2018/03/12/612242

10 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018

৩ ৮৫ র ২০ ৭- ৮ আ ৮৫ । আ আ , আ । ( ) ( ) আ । আ ২৬৬ । , ‘ । আ , । । । ৩৮ । আ ৬৪ ৮৫ । ।’ , । । । আ । আ , ‘আ ২ । আ ও । আ ০ । আ ৮৭ ৯৯০ । , আ আ । আ আ । ৫ , ৫ । , ৫০ আ । , ও ২ ও । , , ও আ । ও । Source: http://www.kalerkantho.com/print-edition/industry-business/2018/03/12/612249

র র রর আ । ও ও ও । . আ ও । , । ও (আ ) আ । , আ আ । আ । আ , । আ , । আ ও আ ও । ও আ । আ আও আ । আ ০ আ আ । আ । , আ । ও আ । ও আ । আ । । ও । । . , আ । আ আ । আ । - । । ও , আ আ ও আ । আ আ । । । আ - । ও , ও আ , . । Source: http://bonikbarta.net/bangla/news/2018-03-12/150868/

র আ আ ৩০ । ৯

11 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 আ আ । আ । আ আ , , . ও আ । , ৩ ৯ ৬ । ২৩৬ । ৫ । ৩০ ৬০ ৬৫ । ৭ ৫০০ আ । , আ । ৩০ আ ৬ । ০ । । , । আ . । , ০ আ ও । ০ ও । আ ০ । আ , ৩০ । আ । । আ । আ , ৩০ । আ । ও ও । । Source: http://bonikbarta.net/bangla/news/2018-03-12/150867/

র র র ‘ ’ ‘ ’ আ । ‘ - ও -২০ ৮’- ‘ ’ , . ও আ ও ও । আ ঋ ‘ ’ । ‘ ’ আ আ ও , , ও , আ . , ( ) , . ও আ । — Source: http://bonikbarta.net/bangla/news/2018-03-12/150865/

র র ৮০ ( ) ও । । ৮০ আও । ২৪ । ও । আ আ আ । । ( ) , আ ও ৫৬ আও । ৮০ । আ আও আ । । আও । ও । , ২০ ৬- ৭ । ২০ ৭- ৮ আ । আ ও ২০ ৮- ৯ ও আও আ ও আ । , ২০ ৭- ৮ ( - ) ২৯

12 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 । ২৬ ৩৬ । ও আও ২৬ ৩২ । , , , ৯৪ ও আও । , ৮৯ । ও ৭৩ । আ , , , , - ৫৭ । ও । ৪৪ ও আও । ও ৫ ৫ , ৫৬ ও ৫৭ । , ও । । ও । ও । ২০ ৭- ৮ ২ ৪০ । ২০ ৮- ৯ আ ৩০ । আ আ । আ । , ২০ ৭- ৮ আ ২০ । ২০ ৮- ৯ আ আ ২০ । আ আ আ । Source: http://bonikbarta.net/bangla/news/2018-03-12/150847/

১০ র ০ আ ৩৮ । আ ( ও ) ( )। , আ ০ , ঋ , , , ও — । আ ও , আ । , আ , আ , আ ও । ( ) । আ ও , , ও আ । আ ও । আ , । — । , আ । আ আ । ( আ ) । ৫ , — আ আ । , ২০ ০ ৪৫৮। ২০ ৬ ৪৮৩- । ৪৩ ৪৫- । ২০ ০ ৪৫। ২০ ৬ ৫- । আ । . আ । . ও আ । . আ ও আ আ । . । আ ( ) . আ । । . আ , ও আ , । ও । আ । আ আ । আ - , ২০ ০ ও আ ৫ ৭৮ । ২০ ৬ আ ২৩ । ৫ আ

13 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 ২৪ ৬ ২৭ ৯ । আ ০ , ০ আ ৩৫ ৮ ৩৮ ৬ । ( আ ) . , , আ । । ও ঋ , । ও আ , । ও - ও । আ ও। ০ , ২০ ৬ ০ ৩ ৭ ; ২০ ০ ৩ ৯ । ২০ ৬ ০ ২৬ ৮ । , ও । ২০ ০ ৩ ৯। আ ৩৩ ৩৪- । , - ও । , । , , ও । আ । , ও । ও , । ও আ ও আ ও আ । আ আ । ও আ । ও আ , ও । আ ও আ । , আ ও । ও ও । , ও , , ও ও আ । Source: http://bonikbarta.net/bangla/news/2018-03-12/150920/

র র র র ও । । ( ) ও ( আ ) ও - । ও। আ আ - আ । ও । আ ও আ আ ও . আ , ৩০ ৩৫ । ও । ২২ ২৩ । আ ৫ ০ ৩৫ । । আ , আ ৩২ । ৪০ ও । ও ৩০-৩৫ । । আ , ও । । , । , আ , , , । ও ।

14 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 , । আ ও ( .) ( ) , । । - । ও । ও। , - , আ ২ । । । । আ ও ও । , ও আ - । ৪০ ও ০০ । । । আ , , আ , , , আ । আ । , আ । । । আ ও । । , । আ । , আ । । , । - ও আ । ও আ , ও । । । ও আ । , ও । আ । , ৫ । , । ও ঋ ও । আ । , ও আ । আ । । । আ , ও । আ ও । আ আ , । , আ । ২০ ৮ । । আ । ও । , ও । আ ও । আ ও আ । আ ৪ ৬০ । ও , ও ( আ ) ও । Source: http://bonikbarta.net/bangla/news/2018-03-12/150918/

র র । ও ও । আ । ও , ও আ , । । । । ( ) ও ( ) ।

15 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 আ ও । ও আ ৩ ৭৮০ । ৬৩ । ৩৯ ও । ২৪ ও । , ৬৩ । । আ । ও , । ও । । ও । ও - ও ( আ ) , আ । আ ও আ । আ । , , । । ৫ ৩ । । Source: http://bonikbarta.net/bangla/news/2018-03-12/150915/

Bank and NBFIs

3,521 CLIENT-COMPLAINTS AGAINST BANKS IN FY17 Clients lodged a total of 3,521 complaints with the Bangladesh Bank against the commercial banks, mainly related to general banking issues, in the last fiscal year of 2016-2017, a report of the central bank revealed on Sunday. The number of complaints, however, dropped by 1,009 from that of 4,530 filed in the previous FY 2015-2016. According to the annual report of the Financial Integrity and Customer Services Department of the BB, the highest 40.53 per cent allegations was related to general banking followed by 15.82 per cent on loan and advance issues. Clients also filed 15.02 per cent complaints with FICSD of the BB on trade bill, 9.23 per cent on issues related to debit and credit cards, 2.47 per cent on mobile banking, 2.39 per cent on bank guarantee, 1.85 per cent on remittance issues. Some 12.70 per cent complaints were on miscellaneous issues. The FICSD, however, settled most of the complaints, according to the report. BB governor Fazle Kabir on Sunday unveiled the report. Kabir also released the new mobile apps for filing complaints with the FICSD on banking service issues. Customers made the highest 2,164 accusations in writing followed by 1,362 by telephone. BB in April 2011established the Customer Interest Protection Center to safeguard the interest of clients and address their grievance. CIPC later transformed into the FICSD to handle the increasing numbers of complaints. Since 2011, depositors and customers of banks lodged a total of 25,656 complaints against the commercial banks operating in the country. Of which, the central bank settled 25,648 complaints with success rate of 99.96 per cent.

16 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 Bangladesh Bank deputy governor Ahmed Jamal, executive directors Masum Kamal Bhuiyan and AKM Fazlul Haque Miah, FICSD general manager Md Jamal Mollah, among others, were present at the programme. Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/36559/3521-client-complaints-against-banks-in-fy17

BANKS MUST CHECK LICENCES OF PETROLEUM IMPORTERS Bangladesh Bank has instructed all banks to check petroleum importers’ licence criterion and validity before opening letter of credit with a view to containing import of fuel by unauthorised entities. The central bank issued a circular in this regarding last week following a letter from Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission, in which the issue of unauthorised petroleum import was raised to the BB. Under section 27 and 28 of Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission Act 2003, getting the licence from the BERC is mandatory for reserving, marketing, sale and distribution of petroleum, the BERC letter said. BERC had earlier requested the central bank to issue directives to the scheduled banks to check validity of licences of petroleum importers before opening LCs. Despite BERC’s letter and BB’s instruction to the banks in this regard, some banks were opening LCs without checking validity of licences and criterion of the importers, thus resulting in non-approval from port authority to release from the ports. As a result of such LC opening by the scheduled banks, some of the importers come to BERC for getting hurried approval or import licences, creating complexities, the BERC letter said. To avoid the complexities, BTRC again in January this year requested the central bank to issue directives to the banks so that the banks refrain from opening such LCs. Following the BERC request, the central bank instructed banks to examine validity of licence of the importers and whether the importer was licensed to import the kind of petroleum the entity was opening LC for. Besides, the central bank also instructed banks to check the quantity of petroleum the importer is allowed to import under the BERC licence. The central bank has already sent the directive to principle branches of all the banks that operate foreign transactions. Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/36564/banks-must-check-licences-of-petroleum- importers

GOVT DOLES OUT TK 20B TO RECAPITALISE BANKS The government will give Tk 20 billion in a latest dollop to state-run banks to meet their capital shortfall, officials said, at a time when reports are rife on irregular big lending. The funds are set to be handed out to seven financial institutions --- three state-owned banks (SoBs), three specialised banks and the restructured Grameen Bank (GB) --- the sources said. The money will be made available from a Tk 20-billion fund earmarked in the 2017-18 budget for recapitalisation of banks. The financial institutions division (FID) under the ministry of finance sent a proposal in this regard to the finance minister for approval, despite criticisms about giving taxpayers' money for so-called recapitalisation of banks time and again. The minister gave the seal of approval on the proposal on March 7, a source concerned said. Some Tk 4.0 bilion billion, Tk 4.0 billion, Tk 3.0 billion, Tk 3.0 billion, Tk 4.0 billion, over Tk 1.997 billion and Tk 2.1 million will go into the coffers of Sonali Bank, Janata, Rupali Bank, Basic, Bangladesh Krishi Bank, Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (RAKUB) and Grameen Bank (GB) respectively from the budget cake kept for banks, according to finance ministry data. The amount provided to banks is equivalent to10 per cent of the total capital shortfall of the banks

17 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 for this year. In this regard, it will make a plan as early as possible, according to a senior official of the division. "We have given allocation from the recapitalisation fund to the SoBs and other agencies," said a high official of the finance ministry. Earlier, Bank and Financial Institutions Division (BFID) had sent the proposal for recapitalising the state-run banks and Grameen Bank. However, the authorities of the banks are not satisfied with the amount of government allocation as they are running their banking operations with substantial capital shortfall in recent days, sources concerned in the state banks said. Recently, the state-owned banks sought an aggregate amount of Tk 203.98 billion to replenish their emaciated capital. According to the proposal, some Tk 60 billion, Tk 25 billion, Tk 12.50 billion, Tk 25 billion, Tk 73.48 billion, Tk 8.0 billion and Tk 2.1 million have been sought by Sonali Bank, Janata, Rupali, Basic, Bangladesh Krishi Bank, Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (RAKUB) and Grameen Bank (GB) respectively from the budgetary fund. On February 14, 2018, the government moved to give funds for replenishing capital of the banks that suffered such cash crunch, officials said. The financial institutions division, under the ministry of finance (MoF), had held a meeting, attended by managing directors of SoBs and a representative of Bangladesh Bank, on the matter. Secretary of the financial institutions division Eunusur Rahman chaired the meeting. The government had earmarked Tk 20 billion as budgetary allocation for recapitalising the banks in need in the current fiscal year. The Basel-III regulatory framework has raised capital-adequacy requirement for banks, which most SoBs fall short of. The funds will be fed to banks to meet the Basel-III requirements mostly, said a source. "We have sought guarantee from the government. This is not traditional guarantee, Managing Director of the SBL Obayed Ullah Al Masud told the FE last Friday. "We had sought an allocation of Tk 25 billion from government for BASIC to reduce its capital shortfall. A huge amount of funds is an urgent need for the bank," a senior official of the problem- ridden bank told the FE. "We have heard that Tk 20 billion was allocated for the state banks last week which is a nominal amount for the banks," he added. "Recently, we have got the proposal sent by state-owned banks seeking funds to meet their capital shortfall from the government fund," a senior official of the banking division said. The government had injected Tk 106.22 billion into the coffers of the state banks, the House Building Finance Corporation, private IFIC bank and Grameen Bank between the fiscal years (FYs) 2012-13 and 2016-17. In the period, the scam-ridden BASIC Bank got the highest amount of Tk 33.90 billion as it stood hollowed for fraudulent lending that led to its management shakeup. Sonali Bank got the second-highest amount of Tk 30.05 billion while Tk 10.81 billion went to Agrani bank, Tk 8.14 billion to Janata, over Tk 7.29 billion to Bangladesh Krishi Bank, Tk 3.10 to Rupali Bank, Tk 3.10 billion to Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank, Tk 4.0 billion to HBFC, Tk 1.78 billion to Sonali Bank (UK), Tk 1.25 billion to Palli Sanchaya Bank, Tk 250 million to Karmasangsthan Bank, Tk 1.85 billion to IFIC Bank, Tk 500 million to Ansar-VDP Bank and Tk 196 million to Grameen Bank, according to the financing proposal. Finance Minister AMA Muhith told Parliament on February 26 last that four SoBs-Sonali Bank, Rupali Bank, Janata Bank and Basic Bank- were facing a capital deficit of Tk 76.26 billion. As of September 2017, Sonali had a capital shortfall of Tk 31.40 billion (3,140.41 crore), BASIC Bank Tk 25.22 billion, Janata Bank Tk 12.72 billion and Rupali Bank Tk 6.89 billion.

18 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/first-page/govt-doles-out-tk-20b-to-recapitalise- banks-1520790016

ACC MAY SEEK INFO FROM UAE OVER AB BANK'S MONEY LAUNDERING Investigators of the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday requested their top officials to seek information about an entity from UAE-based Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank centring a case involving laundering of Tk 165 crore. The ACC interrogated former AB Bank chairman M Wahidul, ex-managing directors M Fazlur Rahman and Shamim Ahmed Chaudhury and former head of corporate treasury Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal at its Segunbagicha headquarters in the capital. They, along with one businessman named Saiful Haque and three others, are accused in the case ACC filed with Motijheel Police Station on January 25. In December 2013, the AB Bank's board of directors approved investing Tk 165 crore or $20 million in a Singapore-based fundraising and investment company, Pinnacle Global Fund Pte Ltd, through the bank's offshore banking unit. In February 2014, the unit laundered the money to an account of the entity, Cheng Bao General Trading LLC, which was mediating the investment deal on behalf of Pinnacle. Cheng immediately withdrew the money and closed the account, which was with the UAE-based bank. “If the commission approves, we will ask for information about the directors of Cheng Bao and the amount of money in the bank before the transfer of Tk 165 crore,” said an ACC official. One way the information can be sought is through the Bangladesh embassy in Abu Dhabi, said sources. In another option, the investigators suggested getting Bangladesh's attorney general to convince the UAE's law ministry into accepting a request for legal assistance, they added. “Our primary goal is to retrieve the money. The commission could employ any option,” said the ACC official. On Thursday, the ACC asked the central bank's Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit to request its counterpart in the UAE to give detailed information about Cheng Bao. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/acc-may-seek-info-uae-over-ab-banks-money- laundering-1546885

DEVELOPING OWN POLICY FOR CURBING NPLS The regional seminar the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) organised recently in Dhaka on contemporary banking practice in the neighbouring countries is a significant development. Bankers from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal participated in the March 04-05 seminar. Every bank has its own training academy and Bangladesh Bank (BB) has also established its own training academy but there is no industry-wide professional training academy for the bankers except BIBM. This institution has been immensely contributing towards the development of professional bankers for the last four decades. The regional seminar mainly focused on contemporary issues and challenges the bankers are now facing not only in the region but also across the world. However, non-performing loans (NPLs) became the main issue of discussion, followed by directors' qualification. These are two core issues in the banking sector of Bangladesh which need to be immediately addressed. Issues related to directors' qualification have long ago been addressed in many countries, both in developed and developing. This is now the problem of some selected countries - and Bangladesh is one of them. On the other hand, NPL has become a global issue and most of the countries, irrespective of developed and developing ones, are suffering from this serious problem. The degree and magnitude of the problem may vary from country to country but every country is struggling with this problem. We should keep in mind that NPL is an integral part of banking business as, historically, part of the

19 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 money lent out is never recovered. Bad debt, provision and writing-off are very common accounting terminologies in the banking industry. Proper process in place, fair practice, following check & balance in approving loans, stringent monitoring system, use of technology and improving loan operation procedure enable banks to keep the percentage of NPL minimum. Banks in developed countries are following these but NPL can never be completely avoided. While elaborating on NPL in the BIBM seminar, the discussants referred to Nepal and even recommended other countries to follow Nepal in handling NPL which has the lowest 1.71 per cent NPL. This is apparently a good suggestion but no country should blindly follow the strategy of other countries. The economic structure, fundamentals, monetary goals and objectives of every country are unique. So replication of one country's policy in another country may backfire, instead of benefitting. We do not know whether Nepal has followed expansionary credit policy or contractionary credit policy. The countries, which have pursued expansionary credit policy, will have higher percentage of NPL. There is a linear relationship between expansionary credit policy and NPL. When credit is loosened, part of it may go to the wrong hands who are typically called willful defaulters. With more and easy credit, incremental investments are made and part of which fail to generate revenue and finally collapse, resulting in default. All of these are cyclical and contagious impact of the credit policy. During the decade of 90s and beginning of the current century, developed countries, including USA, pursued expansionary credit policy in order to boost their economy and the result was massive NPL which eventually caused financial meltdown across the world in 2008. Europe is still maintaining expansionary credit policy and therefore, rate of NPL in many European countries is relatively very high. Historically, Chinese banks have very low rate of NPL but during the last few years, they are pursuing expansionary credit policy and their NPL is now rising. We frequently refer to the banking practice followed in India, but the recent story that revealed their bank loan scandal is very frustrating. So, Bangladesh will not be an exception to the general practice. Besides, banking sector in our country has just developed, albeit without putting proper system and standard in place. Loan operation has not been streamlined and modernised at all. This has aggravated our overall NPL situation which should be urgently addressed. Remedial measures followed by other countries in managing NPL may be reviewed instead of being replicated. We should develop our own policy and strategy for curbing NPLs. Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/views-opinion/developing-own-policy-for-curbing- npls-1520772697

ICB ISLAMIC BANK HIT BY FRESH LIQUIDITY CRISIS ICB Islamic Bank has sought restructuring of the repayment package for depositors of its predecessor Oriental Bank on grounds of a liquidity crunch, Bangladesh Bank officials said. The bank still has to return Tk 444.34 crore of now-defunct Oriental Bank's clients, which it was supposed to do by November 2021 -- its fourth deadline from the central bank -- in phases. As per a BB instruction in November 2016, ICB Islamic was supposed to refund all clients that had deposits of up to Tk 20 lakh with the Oriental Bank within the next three years. Once returning those clients' funds, ICB Islamic would have to move to refunding those who had deposits of up to Tk 50 lakh. Their claims will have to be settled over the next one and a half years. Thus far, ICB Islamic managed to pay back only a select few clients who had deposits of up to Tk 20 lakh in May last year. The next payment second instalment was due six months later in November but the bank failed to keep its word, said a BB official. Subsequently, last month, ICB Islamic proposed to the central bank to convert the amount, which

20 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 has been frozen by the BB, into a Mudarabah deposit (term deposit) for the next three years; ICB Islamic will pay interest to the clients every six months. Of the Tk 444.34 crore, Tk 51 crore has to be refunded to individual depositors, Tk 5.53 crore to institutional depositors, Tk 178.13 crore to government and semi-government institutions, Tk 190.34 crore to banks and non-bank financial institutions and Tk 19.34 crore to the BB. ICB Islamic, which took shape from the ruins of Oriental Bank in 2008, has so far repaid Tk 1,521 crore of its predecessor's deposits of Tk 1,946 crore. “The frozen amount will become more profitable if the central bank accepts our plea,” said Muhammad Shafiq Bin Abdullah, managing director of ICB Islamic Bank. Abdullah went on to blame the baggage inherited from its antecedent for ICB Islamic's current financial woes. “If we had no inherited frozen fund, we would have been in the profit zone,” he said. On September 30 last year, ICB Islamic had a capital shortfall of Tk 1,485 crore and non-performing loans amounting to Tk 709.25 crore. The bank's origins can be traced back to 1987, when it was operating under the moniker Al-Baraka Bank. In 1994, it became a 'problematic bank'. Then in 2004, it started functioning as a scheduled commercial bank under a new name, Oriental Bank. The BB in June 2006 dissolved the board of directors of Oriental Bank after detecting massive corruption. To safeguard the interest of depositors, the central bank took over its full control and appointed a BB executive director as the bank's administrator. In August 2007, the BB floated a tender to sell the majority of the bank's shares. Two bidders participated in the tender, with Swiss ICB Group walking away with the stake. The bank was renamed as ICB Islamic Bank in 2008. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/icb-islamic-bank-hit-fresh-liquidity-crisis-1546897

BANKS AND NBFIS PULL DOWN STOCKS Dhaka stocks lost 54.62 points yesterday on the back of a slump in bank and non-bank financial institution stocks. DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, closed the day at 5,773 points, while DS30, the blue-chip index, lost 17.64 points to close at 2,126 points. Since banks and NBFIs account for substantial market capitalisation, their fall is bound to affect the broad index. NBFIs shed 1.50 percent and banks 1.40 percent. The interest rate is on the rise now, so investors will shift from stocks to bank products, said Mohammed Rahmat Pasha, chief executive of UCB Capital Management. Turnover, an important indicator of the market, declined 13.6 percent from the previous day to hit Tk 236.74 crore -- the lowest since July 2016. Monno Ceramic was the most traded stock of the day, with its transaction of Tk 11.20 crore, followed by CVO Petrochemical Refinery and Beximco Pharma-ceuticals. Engineering stocks were the most traded sector with a turnover of Tk 37 crore, which is 16.57 percent of the total turnover of DSE. Asia Pacific General Insurance was the day's best performer, posting a 9.09 percent gain, followed by Fareast Islami Life Insurance at 4.23 percent and HR Textile at 3.46 percent. LankaBangla Finance was the day's biggest loser, with its share value declining 9.77 percent, followed by Zaheen Spinning 5.2 percent and EBL First Mutual Fund 4.76 percent. Losers beat gainers as 53 advanced, 246 declined and 31 remained unchanged. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/banks-and-nbfis-pull-down-stocks-1546891

র ৩৫২১ ২০ ৬- ৭ ও ৩ ৫২

21 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 । ২ ৬৪ ৩৬২ ( আ )। আ ২০ ৬- ৭- । , আ । , আ আ ৪০.৫৩ । ঋ ও ( ৫.৮২ )। ৫.০২ , ৯.২৩ , ২.৪৭ , ২.৩৯ , .৮৫ ২.৭০ । আ ও , ২০ ৬- ৭ আ আ , , ( ) , আ . , আ ও । আ আ ও ও আ । ও । BB Complaints আ , https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=bb.org.bb. cms&hl=en । Source: http://www.kalerkantho.com/print-edition/industry-business/2018/03/12/612243

Capital Market Specific

PACIFIC DENIMS ‘MISUSES’ TK 21CR OF IPO FUND The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission has called the authorities of Pacific Denims Ltd to a hearing today to explain their position on ‘misuse’ of around Tk 21 crore of initial public offering proceeds and a number of other non-compliance relating to the IPO fund utilisation. The BSEC summoned PDL managing director Shafiul Azam, company secretary Sorhab Ali, independent director Ashfak Ahmed Khan, chief financial officer Abdul Halim and auditor Mahfel Haq & Co to appear before the disciplinary hearing. A BSEC special audit report found that the directors of PDL misused IPO fund worth Tk 20.98 crore, which had been shown under the head of construction of building in the company’s IPO fund utilisation report. For the interest of the public/general investors, the amount (Tk 20.98 crore) must be recovered from the directors of PDL, the commission body suggested. The commission’s decision came after three banks — Agrani Bank, Sonali Bank and NCC Bank — sought the commission’s help to recover the loans they gave the company. Pacific Denims collected Tk 75 crore through an IPO from the capital market for business expansion, repayments of loans and bearing the cost of public offering. The board of directors, audit committee, independent director, company secretary and chief financial officer of PDL have provided false and misleading information to the commission and investors, the BSEC report observed. The report also said that the issuer’s activities were tantamount to non-compliance of the securities law, which appeared to be deliberate and clear contravention of provision of the securities law. PDL is yet to pay Tk 15 crore to the banks concerned (Agrani Tk 5 crore and NCC Tk 10 crore) in order to comply with the conditions as mentioned in the IPO prospectus despite the fact that the company had utilised IPO fund amounting to Tk 41.95 crore as on September 30, 2017.

22 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 As per its prospectus, partial loan pay-off must be completed within three months of the date of receiving IPO fund, which expired on May 17, 2017. PDL company secretary Sorhab Ali told New Age that the company would explain reasons for the delay in repayment to the banks and other allegations at today’s hearing. The company has transacted Tk 59.11 lakh in cash violating securities rules, the BSEC report said. In case of two suppliers — Habib Enterprise and Meghna Goumti Enterprise, BSEC-appointed auditors found that the same money receipt number was repeatedly used for several payments made on different dates. The auditors found that the supporting documents for payments made to labours in respect of construction of buildings and other infrastructure comprised of only a single handwritten note and the company also failed to provide further supporting documents to establish the labour costs. The auditors also found poor internal control of record keeping that enhanced the risk of manipulation. The auditors informed the commission that PDL had not been cooperative with them and said that the company made a delay in providing supporting documents, ledgers, vouchers relating to the IPO fund utilisation. Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/36561/pacific-denims-misuses-tk-21cr-of-ipo-fund

STOCKS, TURNOVER SLUMP AS BSEC LINGERS DSE SHARE SALES DECISION Dhaka stocks plunged on Sunday with the turnover at the Dhaka Stock Exchange hitting a fresh lowest in one and a half years as investors remained worried amid lingering uncertainties over the DSE’s share sales to a strategic partner and a liquidity shortage at the financial market. The DSE’s key index, DSEX, lost 0.93 per cent, or 54.62 points, to finish at 5,773.36 points after losing 5.80 points in the previous session. The market maintained the fall until the end of the session that started from the very beginning of the day as investors’ concern about the DSE’s share sales issue intensified after the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission extended time for submitting report for a committee it formed to evaluate a DSE proposal in this regard, market operators said. The market has been in a downward trend in terms of both stock prices and turnover for more than one month due to the DSE’s share sales issue, they said. BSEC and DSE officials said the BSEC had pushed the DSE to choose an India’s National Stock Exchange-led group as its strategic partner. The DSE, however, picked a Chinese consortium. The BSEC on March 7 extended timeframe for its committee for submitting its report on the DSE’s proposal to the commission by five working days to Thursday this week and also extended the deadline for the bourse by three months more for reaching an agreement with a strategic investor. Due to the investors’ cautious approach, the turnover hit Tk 236.73 crore, its lowest after July 12, 2016 when it was Tk 209.54 crore. The turnover at the DSE was Tk 273.91 crore in the previous session. Former BSEC chairman Faruque Ahmed Siddique told New Age that the go-slow approach to the issue (DSE’s share sales) by the regulator had undoubtedly exacerbated the market’s recent trepidation that was eroding the risk-taking appetite of investors. He also said that the regulator, considering overall market scenario, should take the decision as soon as possible. Market operators said that investors apprehended that the commission was searching a way to delay the process in the name of assessment of the Chinese proposal despite the fact that the group agreed to amend most of the major clauses the commission said in a letter to the DSE violated rules. Moreover, the liquidity shortage coupled with frequent media reports on banks’ scams kept investor cautious, they said. As a result, the average share prices of all the sectors declined on Sunday, the first trading session of the week.

23 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 The share prices of non-bank financial institutions, bank, telecommunication and pharmaceuticals declined by 1.76 per cent, 1.40 per cent, 0.85 per cent and 0.23 per cent respectively. Out of the 30 traded bank scrips, 25 declined, three advanced and two remained unchanged while out of the 23 NBFIs, 17 declined, three advanced and three remained unchanged. Among the prominent scrips, LankaBangla Finance, BRAC Bank, City Bank and Grameenphone plunged that weighed most on the index. Out of the 337 companies and mutual funds traded, 246 declined, 53 advanced, and 31 remained unchanged. DS30, the blue-chip index of the DSE, also dropped by 0.82 per cent, or 17.64 points, to close at 2,126.17 points. Shariah index DSES shed 0.67 per cent, or 9.21 points, to finish at 1,363.78 points. Monno Ceramics led the turnover chart on the day with its shares worth Tk 11.20 crore changing hands. CVO Petrochemical, Beximco Pharmaceuticals, LankaBangla Finance, Gemini Sea Food, Dragon Sweater, Mercantile Bank, Square Pharmaceuticals, Western Marine Shipyard and Nahee Aluminum were the other turnover leaders. Asia Pacific General Insurance was the top gainer with a 9.09-per cent rise in its share prices, while LankaBangla Finance was the worst loser, shedding 9.77 per cent. Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/36565/stocks-turnover-slump-as-bsec-lingers-dse-share- sales-decision

'JUNKED' IMAGE OF STOCK MARKET The Bangladesh stock market has lots of abnormalities, the unusual rise in the prices of junk shares being one. The non-performing stocks or junk shares are placed in the 'Z' category for trading on the bourses. The companies that fail to pay dividends to their shareholders or hold annual general meetings for a certain period are placed in that category. Obviously, there should be no reason for investors to show interest in a junk stock or prices of the same to go up unless the company concerned makes some positive disclosures. But in Bangladesh market, prices of junk stocks go up for no reasons. This is more or less a permanent phenomenon here. The trend, usually, gets pace when the market is dull and drab. The securities regulator, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), penalised a number of stock brokers, financially, for extending financial help to a section of investors to put in money in junk stocks. But the problem is still there. Even during the recent market rally, the prices of a few junk stocks had also gone up. A small section of investors and some stock brokers are involved in the manipulative hike in prices of 'Z' category stocks. The relationship between the two groups is clearly symbiotic. The investors in question are involved in daily stock trading. On a particular day they do target one or two junk issues and transact over the same among themselves through a number of brokerage houses. They select the junk stocks because those are cheap and trading over those does not involve sizeable funds. Moreover, a number of unscrupulous brokerage firms provide loans and netting facility to so-called investors trading in junk shares. Share netting is a financial adjustment facility that allows investors to buy and sell shares of the same company on the same day. The loans are being given in violation of a BSEC directive issued in 2009. The BSEC had asked the brokerage houses not to extend loans for buying Z-category shares with a view to stopping any abnormal rise in prices of these stocks. The truth is that a small group of investors are involved in gambling over junk shares. Informed investors, consciously, avoid it. At times, some uninformed investors step into the trap and suffer losses. At the end of every session, some of the junk-share traders earn a little profit and some others suffer

24 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 loss. This has been more of a routine practice. The stock brokers involved in the malpractice earn commission on transactions and interest on the loans they offer to traders. What is more worrying is that the stock transaction-related figures do not portray the actual situation prevailing in the bourses since those include both volume and turnover involving junk shares. One can have a clear picture only by deducting both from the total daily transactions. One cannot also rule out manipulation by the companies placed in the Z category to make money out of nothing by spreading rumours. A section of investors are very much prone to believing rumours despite the fact they had suffered a lot, financially, in the past paying heed to rumours. The Bangladesh stock market had all the potential to develop and become a dependable source for fund mobilisation by entrepreneurs. But it could not emerge so because of problems created, deliberately or otherwise, by most stakeholders barring investors. In 1996, the market got the first and the most severe jolt at its fledging stage. It took nearly one and a half decades for the market to recover. But yet another shock came in 2010. Almost all know about the perpetrators. Yet they have gone unscathed. The opportunity to get away with the crime has turned the Bangladesh stock market a hotbed of irregularities. The regulator, obviously, wants to put the market on track again and restore investors' confidence in it, but success is likely to elude it (regulator) for some more time. Since the collapse of market in December 2010, the market has shown the sign of making a comeback on a number of occasions. There were market rallies, but those did not hold for a long period. There was strong suspicion that surges were artificial and some manipulators were behind those. Compared to other irregularities, the ongoing practice over junk share trading might appear less harmful. But, it is not, for the offence is being committed on every trading day. It only highlights the weaknesses of both bourses and regulator. The management of the two bourses and the BSEC must take decisive actions against the brokerage houses involved in such manipulative trading that hurts the image of the stock market of the country. Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/editorial/junked-image-of-stock-market-1520774323

DSE TURNOVER HITS 20-MONTH LOW The turnover value on Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) hit 20-month low on Sunday as investors' participation in share trading declined significantly amid liquidity shortage. On the day, the benchmark index of the premier bourse also witnessed free fall throughout the whole session and subsequently losers outnumbering the gainers. Market operators and experts blamed liquidity crisis and investors' shaky confidence for the poor turnover. At the end of the session, the DSE broad index DSEX closed at 5,773.36 points with a loss of 0.93 per cent or 54.62 points. The shariah based index DSES declined 0.67 per cent or 9.21 points to close at 1363.78 points, while blue chip index DS30 closed at 2126.17 points with a loss of 0.82 per cent or 17.64 points. On the other hand, the turnover value stood at above Tk 2.36 billion, which was the lowest figure since July 11, 2016. Following the investors' less participation, all sectors of the listed securities declined on Sunday. Moreover, some major sectors including the bank observed selling pressure. Mostaque Ahmed Sadeque, president of DSE Brokers Association (DBA) of Bangladesh, said different news regarding liquidity crisis has squeezed investors' confidence level for the time being. "The unsettled issue of selecting the exchange's strategic partner is also another reason of investors' concern. But, I hope, the market will turnaround soon," he said. Of the total number of issues traded, 53 advanced, 246 declined and 31 were unchanged on the premier bourse DSE. Previously, the DSE featured a turnover of above Tk 2.09 billion on July 10, 2016. The Sunday's

25 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 turnover value was the lowest one during a period from July 11, 2016 to March 11, 2018. Shahidul Islam, chief executive officer of VIPB Asset Management, said that due to higher interest rate on bank deposits, fresh fund is not coming into the capital market. "The interest rate rose by around 3.5 per cent in last three months. Due to higher opportunity cost, the stock market is being failed to get fresh funds," Islam said. Mohammad Saifur Rahman, an executive director of the securities regulator, said that Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) was observing the market situation. "The stakeholders will sit on Monday to discuss the overall market situation," he said. The market review by a brokerage firm said that the recent liquidity crisis in the banking sector and turbulent capital market behavior basically downgraded the investors' buoyancy. Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/dse-turnover-hits-20-month-low- 1520784902

DHAKA STOCKS FALL ACROSS SECTORS AMID POOR INVESTORS' CONFIDENCE Dhaka stocks Sunday witnessed sharp fall following poor participation in share trading activities by the investors amid their lack of 'confidence'. All the sectors of the listed securities went through corrections as the broad index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) settled below 5,800-point mark. The turnover value also hit 20-month low on the premier bourse mainly because of selling-pressure observed on major sectors such as bank, engineering, financial institutions and pharmaceuticals & chemicals. The market started the session negatively and the declining trend continued till the closure. The DSE broad index DSEX witnessed no recovery throughout the whole session. At the end of the session, the DSEX closed at 5,773.36 points with a loss of 0.93 per cent or 54.62 points. The shariah based index DSES declined 0.67 per cent or 9.21 points to close at 1,363.78 points, while blue chip index DS30 closed at 2,126.17 points with a loss of 0.82 per cent or 17.64 points. According to International Leasing Securities, the market started the day's session with sell-pressure to book profit and continued till the end without any major sign of reversal. "The investors opted for liquidating their position from almost all the sectors which indicates the investors' low confidence on the market," said the International Leasing Securities. It also said recent liquidity crisis in the banking sector and turbulent capital market behavior basically downgraded the investor's buoyancy. Of total number of issues traded, 53 advanced, 246 declined and 31 were unchanged on the DSE. The turnover value stood at above Tk 2.36 billion which was 13.58 per cent less than that of the previous session. Previously, the DSE featured a turnover of above Tk 2.09 billion on July 10, 2016. The turnover featured on Sunday the lowest value during a period from July 11, 2016 to March 11, 2018. According to EBL Securities, the market turnover scored record low in last 20 months as investors lack confidence in a macroeconomic scenario, where upward pressure on interest rate is still persistent. "Investors' selling pressure was spurred on stocks from bank, telecommunication and engineering sectors," according to its market review. Of the declining sectors, bank lost 1.4 per cent, engineering 1.4 per cent, financial institutions 0.9 per cent, pharmaceuticals & chemicals 0.2 per cent, telecommunication 0.8 per cent and textile 1.0 per cent. The lists of top gainers and losers were dominated by small cap stocks whereas turnover list was dominated by large cap stocks. Monno Ceramic topped the scrip-wise turnover chart with a value of Tk 112 million, followed by CVO Petrochemical Refinery, Beximco Pharmaceuticals and LankaBangla Finance.

26 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 Asia Pacific General Insurance Company was the number one gainer with a rise of 9.09 per cent to close at Tk 25.20 each, while LankaBangla Finance was the worst loser after declining 9.77 per cent to close at Tk 31.40 each. On Sunday, all indices also declined on the Chittagong Exchange (CSE). The benchmark index CASPI lost 124 points. Of 221 issues traded, 37 advanced, 163 declined and 21 were unchanged and the turnover stood at above Tk 120.41 million on the port city bourse. Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/dhaka-stocks-fall-across-sectors- amid-poor-investors-confidence-1520784985

MONNO CERAMIC TOPS TURNOVER CHART Monno Ceramic Industries Sunday topped the scrip-wise turnover chart with a value of over Tk 112 million. The company captured 4.7 per cent of the turnover of Tk 2.36 billion registered by the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE). Of total turnover, 28 per cent came from transactions of shares of top 10 turnover leaders. Monno Ceramic was placed in 'A' category from previous 'B' category with effect from February 05, following the disbursement of 5.0 per cent cash dividend and 5 per cent stock dividend for the year ended on June 30, 2017. The company's market price, however, declined on the premier bourse on the day. Its share trading closed at Tk 148.50 each with a loss of 2.11 per cent or Tk 3.20. On February 25, the company's share trading closed at Tk 136.1 per share. Later, its share price rose 9.11 per cent in 10 sessions as on Sunday. The other top turnover leaders were Grameenphone, CVO Petrochemical Refinery, Beximco Pharmaceuticals, LankaBangla Finance, Gemini Sea Food, Dragon Sweater and Spinning, Square Pharmaceuticals, Mercantile Bank and Western Marine Shipyard. Grameenphone registered a turnover of Tk 104.3 million and grabbed 4.4 per cent of the market turnover. CVO Petrochemical Refinery captured a turnover worth Tk 85.7 million, which was 3.6 per cent of the market turnover. The turnover of the Beximco Pharmaceuticals was Tk 71.7 million which was 3.0 per cent of the total market turnover. LankaBangla Finance featured a turnover of Tk 63.8 million and captured 2.7 per cent of the market turnover. Gemini Sea Food grabbed 2.2 per cent of the market turnover after featuring a turnover of Tk 51.2 million. Among other companies, Dragon Sweater and Spinning, Square Pharmaceuticals, Mercantile Bank and Western Marine Shipyard featured a turnover of Tk 49.90 million, Tk 45.6 million, Tk 44.8 million and Tk 36.3 million respectively. Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/monno-ceramic-tops-turnover- chart-1520785147

FOREIGN INVESTORS' BEARISH STANCE CONTINUES IN MARCH Foreign investors have pulled out nearly Rs 60 billion from the Indian capital markets in just six trading days of the month primarily due to better opportunities in other emerging nations. Net withdrawal by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) from equities stood at Rs 24 billion during March 1-9, while the same from the debt market was Rs 34.73 billion, translating into a total outflow of Rs 58.83 billion, depositories data showed. This follows an outflow of over Rs 110 billion from the capital markets - equity and debt - last month. "FPI outflows from Indian markets are a result of growing demand for the US dollar, coming from the

27 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 expectation of an increase in the Federal rate. FPI may also be pulling funds from India to invest in other growing economies," Harsh Jain, co-founder and COO at Groww said. Himanshu Srivastava, senior research analyst, at Morningstar Investment Adviser India said that February was not conducive on both global and domestic fronts for FPIs. The introduction of long-term capital gain (LTCG) tax in equity investments announced in the Union Budget on February 1 was the first blow to sentiments. While it did not attract a knee-jerk reaction from FPIs, it did raised concerns and slowed down the pace of FPI flows. Later, a global sell-off was triggered after fears of creeping inflation and higher borrowing costs compounded volatility in financial markets across the globe. That is when FPIs started pulling out money from the Indian equity markets. "However, this was not a surprising scenario. Usually, amid global sell-offs, there tends to be a risk aversion among FIIs. In such a situation, they tend to pull out money from emerging markets like India, which are considered to be riskier than developed markets and more susceptible to global risks," Srivastava said. The situation further worsened after the Punjab National Bank scam came to light. This not only pushed domestic stock market down but also led overseas investors to adopt a cautious stance and pull money out of the country's equity market. Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/foreign-investors-bearish-stance- continues-in-march-1520785253

GENERAL PHARMA LOOKS TO MORE COUNTRIES FOR EXPORT General Pharmaceuticals Ltd (GPL) will broaden its export-oriented product line, company officials said. "We are now exporting our products to 26 countries and 14 more countries will be added to our portfolio," Mahmudul Hoque, deputy manager (global marketing) of GPL told the FE recently. He said the company consolidated its position in Sri Lanka market recently through registering and launching its 'Linaptin', a research brand for the first time in Sri Lankan pharma market. GPL started exporting pharmaceutical finished products to Sri Lanka market from 2007 onwards, Mahmudul Hoque said. "So far, GPL has 27 registered products in Lankan market and more products are under registration stage," the company executive said. GPL is exporting its pharmaceutical finished formulations to Philippines, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Myanmar, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Cameroon, Chad, Afghansitan, Macau, Somalia, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Libya, Yemen, Niger, Nigeria, Mauritius, Maldives, Belize and Guatemala. Another 14 countries are under consideration. The GPL factory has been inspected & approved by the FMHACA (Food, Medicines and Health care Administration and Control Authority) of Ethiopia, TFDA (Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority) of Tanzania, Supreme Board of Drug & Medical Appliances, Yemen; Libyan Ministry of Health and PPB (Pharmacy & Poison Board), Ministry of Health, Republic of Kenya. GPL is also working for obtaining TGA Australia and other international accreditations to explore the highly regulated pharma markets within next 5 years. Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/general-pharma-looks-to-more- countries-for-export-1520785819

‘IT SECTOR TO ENSURE EMPLOYMENT OF YOUNG GENERATION’ Bangladesh Ambassador to the Netherlands Sheikh Mohammed Belal has said Bangladesh is enjoying unique demographic dividend and believed that the country's IT sector will ensure employment for young generation. He was speaking at the Bangladesh Development Fair, organised by Embassy of Bangladesh in The

28 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 Hague on Saturday, said a press release on Sunday, reports UNB. He urged the expatriate community to do their part through sharing their experiences of 'innovation' and 'creativity'. Ambassador Belal advised Bangladesh origin IT experts to extend their support so that Bangladesh can also achieve desirable success and the country will be considered as IT hub of South Asia. The Ambassador, drawing reference from US political history on how President Kennedy worked towards implementing his mission to send human being to mission, assured the non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) that Bangladesh is also lucky to have visionary leader like Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who is working to implement Digital Bangladesh. He also urged the NRBs to contribute also towards vision 2041. Over 100 members of expatriate Bangladesh community participated in the programme. Apart from portraying the country's key developments in different sectors, the programme highlighted how Bangladesh origin IT experts can contribute in implementation of Digital Bangladesh. A separate discussion session on "Road map for Digital Bangladesh: Role of NRBs" was held as part of the development fair. The programme started with paying tribute to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the martyrs of the 1971 Liberation War. At the outset, Kazi Russel Pervez, Counsellor of the Embassy made a power point presentation on development activities of Bangladesh, followed by a presentation of Shakir Khan, Network Engineer of Genexis, on IT sector of Bangladesh. In this presentation he mentioned how the Netherlands and Bangladesh can enhance collaboration in IT sector, what measures should be taken to identify potential Dutch IT companies and encourage them to make collaboration/investment in this sector of Bangladesh, how the Dutch IT companies can extend cooperation to Bangladesh and Bangladeshi IT expat community living in the north European country in terms of entrepreneurship development, human resource development, and technology transfer, how to initiate 'start-up' consultation/programmes between Dutch ventures and Bangladeshi start-up community such as startupdhaka.org (together with ICT Division, Bangladesh) and how expatriate community can be involved in implementation of Digital Bangladesh. After presentation, in an open discussion session, a good number expatriate Bangladeshis shared their ideas, views and thoughts on making a bridge between Bangladeshi IT expats community in the Netherlands and IT sectors (both public and private) in Bangladesh. They expressed their interest to contribute in development of IT sector of Bangladesh. Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/it-sector-to-ensure-employment-of- young-generation-1520785992

PRESIDENT FOR GLOBAL EFFORTS TO PROMOTE SOLAR ENERGY President M Abdul Hamid sought intensified global efforts to unlock a new dynamic in solar and other renewable energy to negate the climate change affects, as countries like Bangladesh were already exposed to its impact. "Our priorities are often underpinned by developmental goals . . . Nevertheless, we should not forget to protect environment for the benefit of our future generations," he told the plenary session of the 'International Solar Alliance (ISA) Founding Conference' in the Indian capital on Sunday. President Hamid added: "Clean energy is essential for overall development recognised in SDG-7 (sustainable development goals) for ensuring everyone's access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy." He said the global warming and its subsequent effects on many countries were now a reality, with Bangladesh being one of their worst victims. "Although our share in emitting greenhouse gas is 0.1 per cent, the threats of natural disasters,

29 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 including sea level rise, droughts, floods and cyclones to Bangladesh are abundant," President Hamid said. But, he said, Bangladesh was trying to put in its best efforts to make a fair contribution to fighting this challenge, as "we are also taking steps to reduce emission of greenhouse gas in future as the development of renewable energy is desired for the developing countries". India and France co-host the first edition of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Summit attended by heads and ministers from dozens of countries in the daylong event at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The ISA eyes US$1 trillion investment by 2030 urging private sector to step in the sector to achieve 1TW solar power capacity by that time. President Hamid said Bangladesh by now joined all global initiatives on renewable energy while he sought all-out support and solidarity from the ISA member states to unlock a new dimension in all areas of renewable energy including solar power. He said Bangladesh installed around five million Solar Home Systems serving around 20 million people of the country while the government also initiated a programme to generate 500 MW of solar-based electricity for adding those to the national grid. But he put emphasis on investing in renewable energy for improving energy access to rural and underprivileged people as well as the safety of this planet. The President laid stress on taking well-coordinated and bold policy commitments and much investment to get the desired benefits in days to come. "Enhanced use of solar power-based Improved Cook stove in rural areas has significantly reduced the emission of greenhouse gas, increasing energy efficiency. We see similar potential in solar- powered irrigation pumps. Our Renewable Energy Policy's principle is that 10 per cent of our total electricity will be generated from renewable sources by 2021," the President pointed out. Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/president-for-global-efforts-to- promote-solar-energy-1520785943

DATA PERKING UP TELCO REVENUE The mobile operators' revenue from data services is spiralling by the day, as people are using mobile devices to complete more tasks now compared to anytime before. Bangladesh's top three telecom operators' revenue from data services grew 58.66 percent year-on- year to Tk 4,149 crore last year, which is over 17 percent of their total earnings in the period. In 2016, data services fetched 12.50 percent of their gross revenue, up from 8.32 percent in 2015 and 5 percent in 2014. The figures came from annual financial reports of Grameenphone, Robi and Banglalink, which hold a market share of around 97 percent. The operators estimate that data revenue would overtake voice revenue within a few years. TIM Nurul Kabir, secretary general of the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB), said data consumption has just started growing and the operators will be able to achieve three-digit growth in the years to come with the help of 4G. The top operators launched 4G data service last month. Kabir said data has been playing a key role in generating revenue all around the globe and Bangladesh would be no stranger. Last year, the number of mobile internet connections increased 19.68 percent year-on-year to 7.50 crore whereas the number of active internet connections, including that of internet service providers and wimax, was 8.08 crore. Telecom services are experiencing a new trend riding on data and the internet will replace traditional services, said Shahjahan Mahmood, chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission. “In new trends, customers are using more data than voice and they will get better services now in 4G,” said Mahmood.

30 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 So the data usage volume will definitely increase in the coming days, which will give a boost to the country's digitalisation, he added. “Once 4G services' coverage spreads, things will change with pace,” said Mahmood. The industry insiders said data service emerged as a solid revenue generator following the launch of the high-speed 3G network in the second half of 2013. In the digital world, customers will use smartphones for everyday chores, be it shopping or reading books and newspapers, listening to music or watching movies, said Kabir. “Definitely internet data will replace lots of regular businesses, television will be replaced by internet devices and we are very close to that mark,” Kabir added. Voice business will certainly not die out but will decrease as people will go on to adopt alternative communications applications, he added. He laid emphasis on the availability of mobile devices and requested the government to take steps to encourage the use of 4G-enabled handsets. Very high tax is now imposed on smartphones, which is a bottleneck, he said. So the AMTOB has requested the government to reduce some of the taxes, which will ultimately help get more revenue from the usage of data and other services, Kabir said. Last year, market leader Grameenphone's revenue from data rose 51.39 percent year-on-year to Tk 2,180 crore, even though only 2.31 crore of its customers were using 3G services as of December 2017. According to the BTRC, it had 6.53 crore active SIMs at that time, 98.50 lakh of which were availing 2G. Meanwhile Robi's data revenue nearly doubled to Tk 1,339 crore, thanks to the inclusion of Airtel's revenue following a merger at the end of 2016. Robi had 4.29 crore connections at the end of December with 1.58 crore using 3G and 84 lakh 2G. Banglalink earned Tk 630 crore or 13 percent of its total revenue from data services last year. In 2016, it was 10 percent. Erik Aas, CEO of the third largest operator Banglalink, has recently told The Daily Star that they had serious quality issues last year which impacted revenue growth. However, the operator has made a remarkable advancement in ensuring better customer experience, as it started upgrading its network capacity in February. As of December, Banglalink had 3.24 crore active connections with 94.63 lakh using 3G and 74.6 lakh 2G. Both Grameenphone and Banglalink purchased spectrum a few weeks ago which, their officials said, would help them to improve network quality and become more data-centric operators. The merger of Robi and Airtel left it with a lot of spectrum, which will help them meet the future data demands of the customers. Grameenphone's customers are now using 807 megabyte of data on an average per month, up from 632 MB at the end of 2016 while for Banglalink the figures are 580 MB and 391 MB. Robi did not mention its customers' data usage volume in the annual report. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/data-perking-telco-revenue-1546894

৪০ র র , ২০ ৮: ৪০ । ৪০ ‚A‛ । , ২০ ৫০০০ । আ । । - ☛ Square Textile ৫০০০ ৭০ । আ ৫৮০০ ৫৪ । ৬ । ☛ Olympic Accessories (OAL) ৫০০০ ২৫ । আ ৫৮০০ ৭ । ও । ☛ BENGALWTL ৫০০০ ৫০ । আ ৫৮০০ ৩৫ ।

31 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 ☛ FEKDIL ৫০০০ ২২ । আ ৫৮০০ ৭ । । ‚A‛ ৫০০০ ও ৫৮২৭ ‚ ‛ । - ☛ GP = ৫০০০ ২৮৩ । আ ৪৯০ । ☛ BATBC = ৫০০০ ২৫০০ । ৩৫০০ । আ ও ‚Z‛ ও । , । - ☛ MONNOCERA ৮ । ☛APEXFOODS ৫ । ☛ KAY&QUE ৫ । ☛ ZEALBANGLA ৫ । ☛ DULAMIACOT ৫ । ☛ SAVAREFR ৫ । ☛ SHYAMPSUG ৫ । ও ‚Z‛ । ‚ ‛। ‚ আ ‛। ঐ । —- ৫ ও আ আ ও ৫ আ । আ আ । । ৬ ৮ । ২ আ আ । আ আ । আ ও । আ আ আ । ২০% ৩০% । Source: http://www.sharenews24.com/article/8816/index.html

র ঋ র র র র ২০০ ঋ , ও ২ । আ । আ । ৫ ও । ঋ । , ৩০৭ ৩৮ ও - ২৫ ৫৩ , ৭৭ ০ ও - ৬০ ৫ ৩৪ আ । ২৬৫ ৪০ ও - ৬ ৮ , ২৩ ২২ ও - ৩৯ ৩ , ০৮ ৪৪ ও - ৪৬ ৯৩ ৫ ও ০ ৮৯ আ । ২০ ৩ ৩ আ আ , ও , . আ ৫৪ । , ৩ আ । আ ৪ । ২ , ৯ , ৭ , ৫ ৮ ।

32 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 ও ও , আ ও । আ । আ . আ , ( ) . ও , ( ) ও , ( ) ও , আ , . আ - আ । আ - ( ) , ( ) , ( ) , ও , ( ) আ ও আ . আ । , , , । আ ও . আ , , , ও , ও , . , . . আ । ২ আ ও আ আ , আ , আ , ( ) ও , আ , ( ও) আ , আ , ও ও আ , আ ও - - । । আ ও ও । æ আ , আ ঋ আ । ০ আ । , আ , আ আও আ । , - ঋ ঋ , । । . আ , , ও - ঋ । ও । আ । ঋ আ আ । ঋ , ও । Source: - -ঋ -

র ১৮ আ ও আ আ ৮ ২৭ । ০ ৩ আ ও ৩০ । ২২ । (আ আ ) ও । ৩২ । ৭ । । ‘ ’ । ২২ । ‘J R E ’ ০০ , । । আ ও’ , আ ও । ৫ ( ) ৪৩ । ২০ ৭ ৩০ ( ) ৩ ৮৭ । , আ ও ।

33 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 Source: -আ ও-আ -

র র ২১ ও । ৫৪ । । । ২ । , ৯ আ । আ ২ । ৫৭৭৩ , ২৩ । , । ও । , ২৪৬ ও । ৫৩ ও ৩ । ৬৩ ৩৭ ও ২ । ৫৪ । ২৮৩ ২২ ৫৯ ৬ । ৬ ৫ । ৩০ ২৬ । । ২ । আ ও , , । আ ২৩ ৬ । । ও ০ । ৬ । ও ও ৩ , ৩ , ও ২ । Source: http://samakal.com/todays-print-edition/tp-stock-market/ - - - -২ -

র আ ও । আ । । । ও । আ ও । - । , - । । , আ ও । , আ ও আ । ও । ( ) , ও , ও । ২০ ০ । । আ আ ও । ও । , ২০ ৭ ও । । ঋ -আ । । । ও । আ ঋ আ আ । ঋ আ ও ঋ ( ) । আ ও আ ৮৫ ঋ আ ৫ । ৮৫ ৮৩.৫০ আ ৯০ ৮৯ । আ ঋ । ২২ ৩ । , ও আ । । । ও । । আ আ আ , ‘ । । আ আ । আ আ । ।’

34 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 আ আ , । আ আ , ও ঋ । । । । র র : ও । ও আ ও ও । আ ২০ । ২৩৬ ৭৩ । আ ৫৪ । ২০ ২০ ৬ ০ । , । । ৭৭৩ । -৩০ ৭ ২৬ ও ৯ ৩৬৩ । ও ৩৩০ ৫৩ , ২৪৬ ও ৩ । ২ । আ ৭৬ । ২০ ৬ ০ । ও ৪৯ । ও ২২ ৩৭ , ৬৩ ও ২ । Source: http://www.kalerkantho.com/print-edition/industry-business/2018/03/12/612252

রর র ৩০ র (আ ও) । ( )। , আ । ৬ ৩০ । ও । , , , , আ ও । ( ) ও । আ ও আ । , আ । । আ ও ( ) । । ও । ও । আ ও ৯ ৩০ । ও , আ ও ৫৩.৬২ । আ আ ও । Source: http://www.kalerkantho.com/print-edition/industry-business/2018/03/12/612255

র র ২৯ আ ২৯ । ২৬ আ । ( ) , ৫ । । ৭ ৬৩৩ ( )। ও আ ঋ । , ৯৮ ৫৫ ২৭ । ৯ ৮৫ ৫২ ৭০০ ০ ( ) । ও । ৩০ ২০ ৭ আ ৫ । আ ( ) ৩৯ । ৩০ ( ) ৪ ৭ । ( - ) ৮২ । আ ৭৮ । ৩ ৩ ৪ ।

35 Back to Table of Contents Daily News Flash Monday, March 12, 2018 ৬ ২০ । ৬ ০ ২৯ ২০ ও । ২০ ৫ ৪০০ ও ৯৮ ৫৫ ২৭ । ২২ ৩ । ৩ - , ২২ ৯ ৪৫ ৯৯ । Source: http://bonikbarta.net/bangla/news/2018-03-12/150874/

র । ‘ ’। ২৮ । আ । , ৩ (আ ও) । আ ৫ ৭- ৫ আ ও । আ ও ৩৭ আ । , ( ) ৬ ৫ আ ও । ও . , ০ ৫ । ও , , আ ও ঋ । আ ও । আ । । ২০ ৬ ৩ ( ) ৬ ২০ । আ ( ) ৪২ । আ ও , ও । আ , ২০ ৬ ৩ ৬৭ । ৬ ৫০ - ৬ ২৪ ৫০ ৯৮২ । , ২০০৩ । , ও । । ৮৫৪। ২০০ । আ ও ০০ ৫ । Source: http://bonikbarta.net/bangla/news/2018-03-12/150873/

র রর র ২৮ বুক বববডিং পদ্ধবিতি প্রাথবমক গণ প্রস্তাতবর (আইবপও) মাধ্যতম পুুঁবিবািাতর িাব঱কাভু ক্ত হতি চাতে জ্বা঱াবি ও ববদ্যযৎ খাতির বারাকা পতিঙ্গা পাওয়ার ব঱বমতেড। এিিয আগামী ২৮ মাচচ সন্ধা ৭ োয় ইন্টারিযালিা঱ করতভিলি সসন্টার, বসুন্ধারায় সরাড সলা অিুবিি হতব। এবিি পুুঁবিবািাতরর ইব঱বিব঱ ইিতভষ্টরতির উপবিি সথতক সরাড সলাতি অিংলগ্রহি করার িিয আহবাি িািাতিা হতয়তে। সকাম্পাবি সূতে এ িথয িািা সগতে। সকাম্পাবি綿র ইসুয মযাতিিার বহতসতব কাি করতে ঱িংকাবািং঱া ইিতভস্টতমন্টস ব঱: এবিং সরবিস্টার েু বি ইসুয বহতসতব কাি করতে ইউবিকযাপ ইিতভস্টতমন্টস ব঱:। সরাড-সলা সি সযাগয বববিতয়াগকারী (ইব঱বিব঱ ইিতভস্টর) বহতসতব মাতচচন্ট বযািংকার, সপােচত াব঱ও মযাতিিার, অযাতসে মযাতিিার ও িাতির পবরচাব঱ি বমউচু যয়া঱ ান্ড, স্টক বড঱ার, বযািংক ও আবথচক প্রবিিাি, বীমা সকাম্পাবি, অ঱োরতি綿ভ ইিতভস্টতমন্ট ান্ড ও াতন্ডর মযাতিিার, অিুতমাবিি সপিলি ও প্রবভতডন্ট ান্ড, ইবিমতধ্য বববিতয়াগ করা ববতিবলক বববিতয়াগকারী এবিং কবমলি অিুতমাবিি বববিতয়াগকারীরা বুক বববডিংতয়র িিয আতবিি করতি পারতব। Source: http://www.sharebazarnews.com/archives/97865

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EBLSL Research

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