Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves have soared over $26 billion for the first time on the back of what the central bank says a stable growth in export earning and strong remittance inflow. The reserves registered $26.03 billion yesterday, which is second highest among the country in SAARC…

Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on August 25 on a two-day visit in Bangladesh to discuss a wide range of bilateral issues between the two countries, reports UNB.  “Yes, he’s coming and will meet senior ministers to discuss the issues of mutual interest…

International Telecommuni-cation Union (ITU) will award Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her contribution towards harnessing the potential of ICT for sustainable development. The ITU secretary general has sent a letter to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina notifying her of this. ITU selected the Prime Minister…

Aiming to develop the tea sector of the country and boost tea production, the government has undertaken a Tk 967.36 crore draft roadmap for the sector under the Vision 2021 framework, reports UNB. A number of work plans have been included in the roadmap. These include development of the tea gardens…

AFP, PARIS: Indian airline IndiGo has confirmed an order for 250 A320neo planes, Airbus announced yesterday, the aviation giant's largest ever contract by number. The order is worth some $26.5 billion (24 billion euros) at catalogue prices, and brings to 530 the number of A320 and A320neo medium-haul…

AFP, BANGKOK: Thailand's economy slowed in the second quarter hit by weak domestic demand and exports, official data showed yesterday, with growth expected to be hampered by China's devaluation of the yuan. Gross domestic product grew 2.8 per cent compared to a year earlier between April and…

BSS/Xinhua, SINGAPORE: Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (NODX), a key gauge of the export performance of the small and highly open economy, declined by 0.8 per cent in July year-on- year, said trade promotion agency International Enterprise(IE) Singapore in a news release yesterday. The decline…

In an effort to boost Infor-mation and Communication Technology (ICT) further across the country, Griffith University, Australia and Access to Information (a2i) Programme on Sunday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop working partnership on different areas of ICT, reports BSS. Project…

Bangladesh, with its increasing tech-savvy customer base is now considered as an important part in Beijing-based global tech giant Lenovo’s business plans for the next few years, Anjan Baruah, head of overseas (South Asia) Lenovo, who recently visited the country, told The Independent. According…

AFP, TOKYO: Japan’s economy contracted last quarter, official data showed yesterday, boosting speculation the central bank will be forced to unleash more stimulus as Tokyo’s “Abenomics” growth blitz stumbles. The world’s third-largest economy shrank 0.4 per cent in the…

AFP, DOHA: Qatar will officially launch one of its most “significant” labour reforms today to guarantee migrant workers’ wages, but rights groups are concerned over implementation of the new regulations. The Wage Protection System (WPS) aims to ensure that migrant labourers, many working…

AFP, ZONGO: Imagine living in a place bigger than Germany and Belgium combined but with few or flooded roads, broken bridges and unnavigable rivers as your only link to supply lines. Welcome to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s lush Equateur province, which once made multinationals rich and exported…