Bangladesh needs to double investment in infrastructure development to achieve higher growth rate for making itself a middle-income country by 2021 and developed country by 2041, bankers said. “To achieve the higher growth rate, credit demand in the economy has to be high,” said Director…

Civil Aviation Minister Rashed Khan Menon yesterday urged Britain to lift an existing ban on direct freight from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) citing security reasons. “Security system at HSIA has now been upgraded to international standard,” an official statement quoted…

Country's first mobile phone operator Citycell yesterday deposited another Tk 100 crore to the Bangladesh Telecommu-nication Regulatory Com-mission (BTRC) in line with the directives of the Appellate Division (AD) of the Supreme Court, reports BSS. Talking to the news agency, BTRC Chairman (Acting)…

XINHUA, BEIJING: The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, weakened 100 basis points to 6.8692 against the U S dollar yesterday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System. In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2…

AFP, HONG KONG: Asian markets were hit by fresh volatility yesterday as uncertainty permeates trading floors after Donald Trump’s shock election win, while the dollar pushed back up on expectations of a US interest rate hike. Investors have been struggling to ascertain the outlook for the global…

AFP, NEW DELHI: India announced new measures yesterday to allow farmers and marrying couples to withdraw more money from banks, as frustration mounted over a cash crisis triggered by the withdrawal of all high-value notes. The shock move last week, which saw 85 per cent of the cash in circulation suddenly…

AFP, TOKYO: Japan’s online retail giant Rakuten has sealed a shirt sponsorship deal with Spanish football giants Barcelona worth at least 220 million…

The country’s prime bourse Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) closed higher for the third session in a row yesterday as investors were active on banks, engineering and power stocks. DSEX, the prime index of DSE, finished at 4,698.54, advancing 21.78 points or 0.46 per cent over the previous day.  The…

Xinhua, BEIJING: China's foreign service trade continued to post double-digit growth in the first nine months of the year amid government supportive measures, official data showed yesterday. Service trade rose 21.4 per cent year on year to 3.8 trillion yuan (560.3 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-September…

AFP, SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook on Wednesday said that it has bought facial recognition startup FacioMetrics, potentially using the technology for photo or video effects to better challenge rival Snapchat. “How people share and communicate is changing and things like masks and other effects allow…

Awal Khan joined Bangladesh Krishi Bank (BKB) as managing director on Wednesday, the bank said in a statement.  Prior to the appointment, he…

AFP, LONDON: HSBC bank on Wednesday said it had agreed to sell its business in Lebanon to Lebanese peer Blom for an undisclosed amount, ending a 70-year presence in the country.  London-headquartered HSBC is shedding tens of thousands of jobs from its global workforce and slashing costs by exiting…

AFP, SINGAPORE: Singapore will launch a new electronic payment system using blockchain, the technology behind the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, the city-state’s  central bank chief said Wednesday. The Singapore stock exchange and eight banks will take part in the pilot project, which includes payment…