Economy
The Lucky files: From college teacher to ‘overnight’ millionaire
In Narsingdi’s Raipura upazila, a veil of silence prevails, driven by fear and perhaps paranoia. No one has seen anything, heard anything, or knows anything about Laila Kanis Lucky.
Lucky, the wife of Matiur Rahman—a former National Board of Revenue official who recently gained attention when his son from his second marriage attempted to buy a goat for Tk15 lakh—has become a controversial figure. Her sudden prominence and the scrutiny of her assets followed the goat purchase incident.
Just two years ago, Laila Kanis was a retired government college teacher, unknown in Raipura’s political arena and uninvolved in any political activities. Today, she is the upazila chairman.
Locals, when they do speak about her, first mention Lucky Park—an eerie, ghost-like amusement park. A visit to Wonder Park, commonly known as Lucky Park, reveals layers of mystery. The entry fee is Tk200, with additional charges for the rides, according to the receptionist, Baten.
The park, however, is eerily deserted, with dust-covered rides and no operators in sight. Couples occasionally enter, only to find silence.
Posing as YouTubers, news reporters tried to gather information from visitors. One child recalled the park’s vibrant past, saying, “Even 3-4 years ago, we used to play here. There was a field, but now it’s gone. The park was renovated, and we lost our field. Now we come daily to hang out.”
Another visitor, Shamim, had just ordered a plate of fuchka. “This is a park for only young couples, you know what I mean,” he said with a sly smile, gesturing to the emptiness around.
Roaming the park, the story of a lake emerges, adding another layer to the enigmatic narrative surrounding Laila Kanis Lucky.
On Sunday, June 30, the parliament approved the Tk 797,000 crore national budget for FY 2024-25, aiming for a 6.75 percent economic growth and keeping annual inflation around 6 percent.
Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali introduced the Appropriations Bill 2024, requesting a budget allocation of Tk 12,41,752 crore, which passed by voice vote.
Earlier, on Saturday, the parliament passed the Finance Bill 2024 with minor amendments.
The Finance Ministry proposed parliamentary approval for the appropriation of funds for necessary development and non-development expenditures. The concerned ministers justified their ministry’s expenses through 59 grant demands.
Parliament rejected 251 cut-motions from opposition members on these grant demands via voice votes. Seven MPs, including Jatiya Party’s Mujibul Huq and Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, and Independent MP Pankaj Nath, were allowed to discuss the Law Ministry, Secondary and Higher Studies Division, and Social Welfare Ministry.
Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury expedited the passing of grant demands for different ministries without a lunch break. Opposition and independent MPs present in the House did not object to the Appropriation Bill’s passage.
Vietnam’s economy grew by more than six percent in the first half of 2024, government figures showed Saturday, as analysts said more reforms are needed to further boost the economy.
The global manufacturing hub saw an expansion of 6.4 percent in January-June, compared to 3.7 percent over the same period of 2023, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said in a statement.
The upswing was the result of “several measures” taken to improve supply chains, the foreign exchange market and public investment, the GSO said.
Industrial production was up 7.5 percent, while foreign investment increased by 8.2 percent compared to the same period last year, the new figures showed.
To maintain and promote growth, the government needs to focus on the key sectors of manufacturing and processing, logistics and hospitality, VPBank Securities analyst Duong Thien Chi said.
Policymakers should also take into account “unmeasurable variables” such as the US Federal Reserve’s moves on interest rate reduction, Duong told AFP.
The United States was Vietnam’s largest export market in the first six months of 2024.
The Southeast Asian nation earned $190 billion from exports over that period, up by 14.5 percent year on year.
Despite such improvement, an International Monetary Fund analyst said Vietnam “needs a new wave of reforms” following a visit to the country late June.
“Increasing productivity, further investing in human and physical capital, and incentivising private investment in renewable energy is key,” said the IMF’s Paulo Medas.
Vietnam is targeting growth of between six and 6.5 percent this year, up on the 5.05 percent seen in 2023.
Crisis-hit Sri Lanka’s annual inflation almost doubled to 1.7 percent in June, up from 0.9 percent the previous month, as food prices began rising again, official data showed Saturday.
The Census and Statistics department data came days after Sri Lanka secured a deal with its bilateral creditors to restructure $10 billion in debt, a key condition to maintain an IMF bailout programme.
Food inflation returned, with prices rising 1.04 percent in the year to June, having been flat a month earlier, the department said.
At the height of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis when it defaulted on its foreign debt in 2022, inflation had risen to nearly 70 percent.
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka expressed hope on Saturday that it would be able to maintain overall inflation below 5.0 percent for 2024.
The country is due to hold a presidential election this year, and opposition parties have vowed to renegotiate the terms of the IMF bailout, which has led to painful austerity measures.
The IMF has said it is willing to listen to alternative proposals from rival political parties, but stressed that the benchmarks set in the bailout had to be adhered to.
