Economy
Export prospects comparatively better: Dr Salehuddin
Adviser to the interim government on the Ministries of Finance and Commerce Dr Salehuddin Ahmed today said that the export prospects is comparatively better in the current fiscal year (FY25) as it will increase with the changing context.
“Regarding export prospects, we’ve realized that it will be comparatively better as the context has already been changed as well as the situation…exports will not decline further, rather it will increase,” he said.
The Commerce Adviser was replying to a good round of questions from reporters after chairing the 146th board meeting of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) and 59th Board meeting of the Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute held at the Ministry of Commerce conference room at Bangladesh Secretariat today.
Replying to another question, Dr Salehuddin informed that the export target for the current fiscal year is being projected considering a healthy growth of 12.4 percent.
He said the government would set a reasonable target for exports in the current fiscal year after reviewing the growth for various components and addressing the existing barriers.
The Commerce Adviser said that the government would also continue strides for diversifying its export basket to extend further the export volume.
“We’ll have to reduce our export dependence on one or two products,” he added.
Dr Salehuddin said potential products and commodities would be promoted to expand the export basket.
About the meeting outcomes, he said the government would publish the export data and project a true picture of the country’s export earnings after coordinating and reconciling all the available data from the EPB, NBR and the Bangladesh Bank.
He also acknowledged that there have been some mismatches in the calculation of export figures in the past while integrating the export data of all concerned agencies.
Responding to another question, he said whatever mismatches in export data took place is a matter of the past and it would not reoccur in the future.
When asked whether the US will provide the GSP facilities afresh, he said efforts are on and hopefully there would be a possible gesture from the US government in this regard.
He informed that the US has some conditions and quarries in this regard which are not so tough while discussions in this regard would be held during his upcoming tour to Washington. The US has some issues on decent work other than
readymade garments (RMG), he added.
Replying to a question, the Adviser said efforts are on to boost the FDI inflow in the country while the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) would be energized further in this regard.
Asked about the market management of essential items, he said the government has already reduced and withdrew duty on some essential items like potatoes.
“There are also some issues like extortion …there are also some barriers, the local administration has also been involved. It will take some time to contain the prices of essentials. Our efforts will continue so that the consumers need not to suffer,” he added.
The adviser told another questioner that the confidence in the banking sector is being restored as many of the boards of the banks are being reorganized by the central bank while the culprits of the banking sector are being identified and nabbed.
In this regard, he said a task force will be formed to identify those who have laundered money abroad and thus bring back the siphoned off money.
He said apart from local experts, foreign experts might be recruited if necessary.
Dr Salehuddin said the structure of task force has been finalized and it has already started it process although the experts and personnel of the task force would be unveiled by the Bangladesh Bank.
He, however, opined that it is not easy to recover the stolen assets and it takes certain time. “But, the operations in this regard we’ll be visible soon,” he added.
Replying to another question, the finance and commerce ministries adviser said that the Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) would take place in January 2025 but the date for final inauguration is yet to be finalized.
In the upcoming edition of DITF, there would be some innovative things while the main focus would be on promotion of local industries and exportable items, he added.
Commerce Secretary Md Selim Uddin and senior officials concerned attended the meeting.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has filed 17 cases against Beximco Group’s Vice-Chairman, Salman F Rahman, and 27 others, accusing them of laundering approximately Tk1,000 crore ($83 million) under the guise of export trade. This development was confirmed by Additional Superintendent of Police Azad Rahman through a notification on 18 September.
The investigation, conducted under the Money Laundering Prevention Act, found that Salman F Rahman and his brother, ASF Rahman, who serves as the Chairman of Beximco Group, were involved in laundering around Tk1,000 crore. This was done through the export of goods linked to 93 Letters of Credit (LCs) from Janata Bank PLC between 2021 and 2024. However, the proceeds from these exports were not repatriated to Bangladesh.
The CID revealed that the accused individuals, through an organised operation involving their affiliated companies, exported goods with the malicious intent of transferring money abroad. The probe indicated that they deliberately failed to return the export proceeds, violating multiple sections of the Money Laundering Prevention Act.
According to the CID, Salman F Rahman and his associates used their influence and collaborated with an organised criminal group to launder money. This resulted in 17 cases being filed by the CID’s financial crime unit at Motijheel Police Station.
Salman F Rahman, who has long been a prominent figure during Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule, is now facing an in-depth investigation by the CID’s financial crime unit. The investigation focuses on significant allegations of money laundering and financial misconduct, as highlighted in a preliminary report from the CID on 1 September.
Salman is also accused of laundering Tk33,470 crore abroad, allegedly obtained through loans from seven banks over the past 15 years. Of this, Tk21,681 crore was borrowed from state-owned Janata Bank, while Tk5,281 crore came from IFIC Bank, where Salman previously served as chairman.
In addition to these allegations, Salman is believed to have profited Tk6,600 crore through manipulation of the capital market and is accused of failing to repatriate Tk1,485 crore from export proceeds.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has predicted light to moderate rain or thundershowers, accompanied by temporary gusty winds, in all eight divisions of the country over the next 24 hours, starting from 9 AM today.
According to the BMD forecast, Chattogram and Sylhet divisions are likely to experience light to moderate rain or thundershowers, while Dhaka and Barishal divisions may see similar weather at a few locations. In Rajshahi, Rangpur, Mymensingh, and Khulna divisions, rainfall is expected in one or two places, with some areas potentially experiencing moderately heavy showers.
The BMD also stated that both day and night temperatures might rise slightly across the country.
On Tuesday, the highest temperature was recorded at 36.5 degrees Celsius in Rajarhat, Rangpur division, while today’s lowest temperature was 24.6 degrees Celsius in Tetulia, also in Rangpur.
In the last 24 hours up to 6 AM today, Cumilla in the Chattogram division recorded 3 mm of rainfall.
The sun is expected to set at 5:58 PM today and rise at 5:46 AM tomorrow in Dhaka.
On Wednesday, an EU court will decide on Google’s appeal against a €1.49 billion ($1.65 billion) fine imposed by the European Union. This comes just a week after the tech giant faced a major legal defeat over a larger penalty.
Regulators worldwide are ramping up scrutiny on Google’s parent company, Alphabet, as legal trials and investigations continue to target the multinational giant. Last week, the European Union secured a legal victory when its top court upheld a 2017 fine of €2.42 billion against Google for abusing its dominant position by promoting its own comparison shopping service.
The European Commission has led the charge in cracking down on big tech abuses, imposing a total of €8.2 billion in fines on Google between 2017 and 2019 for antitrust violations.
The latest case, set for a ruling on Wednesday, concerns the third of those fines—worth €1.49 billion—stemming from Google’s misuse of its dominance through the AdSense advertising service. The Luxembourg-based General Court is scheduled to release its decision on Google’s appeal shortly after 0730 GMT.
Google has requested the court to either fully or partially annul the European Commission’s decision, or at least reduce the fine.
Ongoing Legal Battles
The EU’s actions against Google are far from over. The tech giant is also contesting a €4.3 billion fine levied in 2018 for placing illegal restrictions on Android smartphones to boost its internet search business. This remains the largest antitrust penalty ever imposed by the EU. While the General Court reduced the fine slightly to €4.1 billion in 2022, it largely upheld the EU’s arguments that Google had violated competition laws. Google has since appealed this ruling to the European Court of Justice.
Meanwhile, the EU has strengthened its regulatory arsenal with the introduction of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), designed to prevent antitrust violations before they occur. This law provides clear guidelines on what tech companies can and cannot do online, aiming to correct behaviors proactively rather than reactively issuing fines.
Google, Meta (Facebook’s parent company), and Apple are currently under investigation under the DMA.
Global Pressure Mounts
Google is also facing mounting legal challenges in the US. Last week, it entered its second major antitrust trial within a year, with the US government accusing it of monopolizing ad technology. This follows a US judge’s August ruling that declared Google’s search business an illegal monopoly, sparking fears that the company may face a potential breakup.
Globally, Google’s advertising technology is under intense scrutiny, with British regulators accusing the company of market dominance earlier this month. The EU reached similar conclusions last year, recommending that Google divest its ad tech business. Google has the opportunity to respond to these charges before the final decisions are made.
Despite the growing regulatory pressure, Alphabet reported revenue from online ad searches totaling $48.5 billion for the second quarter of this year.
