The Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) has issued licences for 14 private economic zones till date so that they can carry out economic activities, generate employment, and create investment facilities. “Of the 14 economic zones, final licences have been issued for only four private operators,…

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed yesterday suggested the Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI) should enhance their assistance to businesses for them to expand the foreign trade capacity of the country, reports UNB. Founded in 2003, the BFTI is a non-profit research and training institute built on…

Bangladesh requires a substantial increase in annual investments to 34.4 per cent of GDP by FY20 from 29 per cent in FY15 to achieve a middle-income country status by 2021, said International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh (ICCB), reports BSS. “To achieve its goal of middle-income country status…

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon yesterday said the government had taken initiatives to make the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) as a business hub for South and Southeast Asia using utmost potential of huge resources of the hilly region, reports BSS. “The CHT, 10 per cent of…

AFP, LONDON: World oil prices briefly sank by two dollars yesterday after OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia appeared to rule out deep production cuts at a meeting…

AFP, HONG KONG: Hong Kong yesterday hit back at a decision by Moody's to cut its credit rating on the city, which the agency said was becoming increasingly…

AFP, WASHINGTON: Foreign steel producers on Wednesday called for prudence from the Trump administration as it considers possible actions to shield domestic…

AFP, FRANKFURT: The European Central Bank said Wednesday that stress in the eurozone financial system had remained low over the past six months, but it warned of "significant" risks to that stability. "Risks to financial stability stemming from financial markets remain significant, mainly…

Stock markets witnessed flat yesterday when daily transactions declined on lower demand, reports BSS. The day's trade value at DSE declined to Tk…

AFP, WELLINGTON: New Zealand yesterday unveiled a tax-cutting election-year budget that the ruling National Party said will help families as it looks to win a record fourth consecutive term in power. Finance Minister Steven Joyce said about 1.3 million families would benefit by an average of NZ$26 (US$18.32)…

The United States’ trade deficit with China is not directly related to the decline in US manufacturing jobs, according to a research report released by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) yesterday, reports Xinhua. “A number of studies have shown that the reduction in U.S. manufacturing jobs…

Foreign Direct Investment in Myanmar’s oil and gas sector topped with 22.41 billion US dollars as of the end of April since late 1988, the official Global New Light of Myanmar reported yesterday, reports Xinhua. The country’s oil and gas sector accounted for over 31 per cent of overall FDI,…

Singapore’s total trade expanded on a year-on-year basis in the first quarter of 2017, as both non-oil domestic exports (NODX) and non-oil re-exports (NORX) grew, said the country’s trade promotion agency International Enterprise (IE) Singapore yesterday, reports Xinhua. On a year-on-year…

AFP, HONG KONG: Chinese technology giant Lenovo yesterday said its net profit for the fiscal year was back in the black, helped by stabilisation in its core personal computer market. The Beijing-based company, which has traditionally manufactured computers but has been trying to broaden its smartphone…

BMW Group has selected Executive Motors Ltd, the sole importer for BMW vehicles in Bangladesh, as a ‘Sub-Regional Finalist’ in the Importer Region Asia Pacific in the category “Best BMW 7 Series Dealer” in the international “Excellence in Sales 2016” competition,…