The death of Begum Khaleda Zia yesterday, December 30, is an irreparable loss to the nation at a moment when it is at a critical juncture. In fact, this is no eulogy to her memory to say that Khaleda Zia was the first elected female prime minister of the country or that she was elected prime minist
Despite some positive forecasts made by the multilateral lender, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in April last that inflation rate in Bangladesh might decline to 8.0 per cent in the fiscal year, 2025-26, things did not turn out that way. The ADB's positive outlook might have emerged from the fact
The report that the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) and the Petrobangla, two government-owned statutory corporations, have defaulted on payment of import duty and taxes to the tune of Tk 330 billion is highly disconcerting. Responsible for the bulk of the energy import, the Petrobangla has a
The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between Bangladesh and Japan is significant not only because it marks Dhaka's first such deal with any country, but also because it offers a blueprint for trade diplomacy in the run-up to the LDC graduation. It appears that Bangladesh has managed to negotiat
The temporary break in the Chattogram port strike that came after six full days of disruption did little to ease tensions. Port workers have flat-out warned that operations may be shut down again as early as tomorrow unless the government scraps the deal with DP World for the New Mooring Container
A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed between the European Union (EU) and India a week back and the reduction of US reciprocal tariff on India from 50 per cent to only 18 per cent have evidently heightened concerns in Bangladesh about safeguarding its trade preferences in the two major export markets
The statement by Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed that the interim government is leaving the country's economy in a stable position does not entirely sound like rhetoric, especially when viewed against the backdrop of the looming collapse from which the economy has managed to recover over the pa
There are few places in the world where food safety is compromised as widely as it is done in this part of the world for enhancing profit. From production, storing and processing of agricultural produce to preparation and serving as food, the consumables have a chance of undergoing some kind of con
As part of river and canal restoration in and around the capital city, a programme is on the move with the World Bank (WB) committing a loan to the tune of $370 million. A report carried in this newspaper on Sunday claims that the fund may be approved by the WB Board within this month. The interim
As the government seeks to reform the microfinance sector, which has long been plagued by irregularities and high interest rates, a crucial question has emerged: should lending rates of microfinance banks be capped? The newly promulgated Microfinance Bank Ordinance proposes transforming eligible mi
