Economy
Dollar crisis to conclude by Jan 2023: Salman F Rahman
Adviser to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on private industry & investment, Salman F Rahman said, the ongoing crisis in the country for US dollars will resolve by coming January.
“The sanctions on the import of non-essential goods have had a positive effect. Due to the lack of dollars, there have been issues opening LC for the last 60 days but we are surplus in the present account. But there are some issues with legacy payments, which will be over in December. Hence, the dollar issues will be conclude next January,” He said speaking as the guest of honor at the signing ceremony of a strategic partnership between ABG Limited and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) at Radisson Blu Chittagong Bay View Hotel on Sunday, November 20.
ABG Limited – a concern of the Bashundhara Group, has purchased a 25 percent stake in CSE.
“Bashundhara is coming to the stock market, I was amazed to hear it at the beginning. Bashundhara Group chairman and I have met several times but he has not shown his willingness in the stock market. I am very astonished by this,” Salman F Rahman said.
“In 14 years Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has brought the economy of Bangladesh to an unimaginable place. After coming out of jail at the end of 2008, if someone had said that the country would reach this height in the next 12-14 years, I would not have believed it myself. But Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has shown that,” he added.
Salman F Rahman also said that there are two contradictions in the nation’s economy.
“The first contradiction is that the tax-to-GDP ratio is very low. According to the growth in the economy, the ratio of tax to GDP should increase, but it could not. Yet economic growth is taking place,” he added.
Another major contradiction is the capital market capitalization to GDP ratio, said, adding, “The major weakness of the capital market of Bangladesh is that there are few institutional investors. The whole market depends on retail investors. Brokerage houses, merchant banks and all the infrastructure are there but institutional investors are not coming. Because of that, I am encouraging companies like Bashundhara Group. Although Bashundhara Group’s emphasis on commodity exchanges, it will play a role in equity markets too.”
Salman F Rahman urged other institutional investors to invest in the market too.
He further said that the prime minister has been able to bring the nation to this place because of private-sector entrepreneurs.
This year, the Islamic Foundation has set the Fitra minimum at Tk 115 with a maximum of Tk 2, 640.
The National Committee on Fitra set the donation rate at a meeting on Sunday (2n April) led by committee President Hafez Mufti Mohammad Ruhul Amin, also the khatib of the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque.
The amount of Fitra for all Muslim people has been determined based on the market prices of flour, dates, raisin, cheese, and some other essential items.
Fitra, also known as Zakat al-fitr, is the compulsory charity that Muslims have to give to the poor before the Eid day prayer congregation or Jamaat. Without giving these alms, their Eid is considered incomplete.
Dhaka’s air quality is ‘unhealthy’ on Sunday morning (2nd April).
With an air quality index (AQI) score of 125 at 9 am, Dhaka ranked 10th in the list of cities worldwide with the worst air quality.
Thailand’s Chiang Mai, China’s Beijing and India’s Delhi occupied the first three spots in the list, with AQI scores of 254, 166 and 160, respectively.
An AQI between 101 and 150 is considered ‘unhealthy’, AQI between 201 and 300 is said to be ‘very unhealthy’, while a reading of 301+ is considered ‘hazardous’, posing serious health risks to residents.
Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide.
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.
The price of gold in the bangladesh national market has been set at yet another all-time high, just below Tk 1 lakh per bhori.
Bangladesh Jeweller’s Association (BAJUS) announced a hike of Tk 1,516 for 22-carat gold, setting the new price at Tk99,144 per bhori, effective from Sunday (2nd April).
BAJUS in a press release on Saturday said the price of 22-carat gold with hallmark would be sold at Tk 99,144. Apart from this, the price of hallmarked 21-carat gold bars will be Tk 94,653, 18 carats will be Tk 81,123 and traditional gold bars will be Tk 67,593.
However, the price of another precious metal, silver, was left unchanged.
On Saturday, a bhori of 22-carat gold ornaments was sold at Tk 97,628, 21-carat at Tk 93,195, 18-carat at Tk 79,898 and traditional style gold ornaments are being sold at Tk 66,543.
In other words, from tomorrow, 22-carat gold bars will be increased by Tk 1,516, 21-carat by Tk 1,458, 18-carat by Tk 1,225, and traditional gold bars by Tk 1,500.
