Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday emphasised further raising the flow of both local and foreign investments in the country to create more jobs and spur economic activity. ‘We’ll have to further raise both the local and foreign investments in the country,’ she told the first meeting of the board of governors of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority. PM’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Office with Sheikh Hasina in the chair. The prime minister called for building more youth entrepreneurship in the country saying that up to Tk 2 lakh collateral-free loan is being provided from Karmasangsthan Bank to young entrepreneurs so that they could contribute to the country’s economy. About the background of establishing BIDA, Hasina said this has been created through merging the Privatisation Commission and Board of Investment to attract more investment in the country. About the trend of industrialisation, she asked the authorities concerned as well as industrialists to look into the matter so that the industries are not set up here and there on farm land. ‘The industries should be set up properly in suitable places.’ BIDA executive chairman Kazi M Aminul Islam made a presentation on its future plan and overall activities. The meeting also discussed the formulation of rules and regulations to run the organisational structure of the new authority. Finance minister AMA Muhith, industries minister Amir Hossain Amu, agriculture minister Begum Matia Chowdhury, housing and public works minister Mosharraf Hossain, planning minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources Nasrul Hamid, Bangladesh Bank governor Fazle Kabir, BSEC chairman M Khairul Hossain, and FBCCI president Abdul Matlub Ahmed attended the meeting. Secretaries concerned were also present. Established under Bangladesh Investment Development Authority Act 2016, the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority is the principal private investment promotion and facilitation agency of Bangladesh. The act mandated BIDA for providing diversified promotional and facilitating services with a view to accelerating industrial development of the country. Besides, the government entrusted BIDA with some more functions in its service list.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) says that seaborne shipments passed 10 billion tonnes for the first time ever in 2015, up 2.1 per cent from 9.8bn tonnes the year before, noting that this is the slowest pace of growth in the industry since 2009 and that future growth looks uncertain.The ‘Review of Maritime Transport 2016’ released on Monday by UNCTAD says that shipping carried more than 80pc of the world’s goods by volume in 2015, and its slow growth reflects sluggish global trade, albeit with variations in the different sectors.According to the review, shipments expanded by 2.1pc, a pace notably slower than the historical average. The tanker trade segment recorded its best performance since 2008.Shipping of oil recorded its best performance since 2008, thanks to low oil prices, ample supply and stable demand.But shipping’s overall growth was dragged down by the limited growth of dry bulk commodity trade, in particular coal and iron ore, and by the poor performance of container shipping, which carries about 95pc of the world’s manufactured goods.Despite this slow growth, the industry’s carrying capacity continued to grow, jumping 3.5 per cent to 1.8 billion deadweight tons in 2015 and pushing freight rates down to record lows.Falling demand from China, low commodity prices, over supply of ships and geopolitical uncertainties in some oil and gas producing countries all add to the current downside risks affecting shipping.According to the report, the ‘One belt, One Road’ initiative by China, the Japanese initiative of ‘Partnership for Quality Infrastructure’ in Asia and the expanded Panama Canal and Suez Canal, all have the potential to affect seaborne trade, reshape world shipping networks and generate business opportunities.”The push for ever larger ships is at the root of the industry’s problems, there’s just not enough cargo right now to fill the newly acquired, bigger vessels,” said UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi on the launch of the report.Shipping companies have sought to reduce their operating costs by building and buying ever larger ships. But this may prove costly for developing countries, where transport costs are already higher than in other regions.Developing countries account for ever larger shares of international shipping. By volume, they accounted for 60pc of goods loaded and 62pc of goods unloaded in 2015.With the exception of a few Asian countries such as China, most developing country ports lack the infrastructure for bigger ships. So unless they spend heavily on upgrading their ports, developing countries face fewer port calls, less competitive markets and higher shipping costs.

The apex court has ordered the BGMEA to demolish its 16-storey office building at its own cost immediately, reports bdnews24.com. In June this year, the Supreme Court turned down a petition by apparel businesses challenging a High Court verdict, which ordered the demolition of the building in the city. In its full verdict, published on Tuesday, the Supreme Court said that if the trade body failed to carry out its directive, then the city development authority RAJUK would do it in 90 days and realise the entire cost involved in the demolition from the BGMEA.  The multi-storied office building of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) was built in violation of the Wetlands Protection Act nearly two decades ago, thereby endangering wetlands at the capital’s Hatirjheel project. In 1998, then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the foundation stone of the building. Construction work of the building began in November the same year. The building was inaugurated by Khaleda Zia, the then prime minister, in 2006. In October 2010, the High Court issued a rule asking why the building should not be razed. The rule came after a lawyer presented a report carried by an English language daily on the building. The court had then sought explanations from the secretary of the public works ministry, RAJUK, BGMEA president, district administration and Dhaka metro police commissioner.

Trade deficit more than doubled in the first quarter of the current fiscal mainly as the value of country’s imports far outstripped its export earnings, officials said. The trade gap widened by nearly 111 per cent or US$1.24 billion to $2.37 billion during the July-September period of the financial year 2016-17 from $1.12 billion in the same period of last fiscal, according to the central bank’s latest statistics, released Tuesday. During the period, the current-account balance entered a negative territory after two years following wider trade deficit alongside a downturn in inward remittance. “The trade deficit may widen further in the coming months if the rising trend in import payments continues,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE. The overall import payments, including by export-processing zones, grew by 17.27 per cent to $10.27 billion in the Q1 of the FY 17 from the corresponding figure of $8.76 billion, the BB data showed. The country’s imports increased significantly during the period under review mainly due to higher import of capital machinery along with back-to-back import made by the readymade garment (RMG) sector, the central banker explained. He also said the import-payment obligations may rise in the coming months as implementation of different infrastructure- development projects, including Padma Bridge, is expediting gradually. Currently, the government is implementing nine projects under a Fast Track Project Monitoring Committee, headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, for quick implementation. On the other hand, the overall export earnings, including that of export-processing zones, grew by 3.52 per cent to $7.91 billion in the first three months of the FY 17 from $7.64 billion in the same period of the FY 16. Talking to the FE, another BB official said higher deficit along with declining trend in inward remittance pushed down the current-account surplus into the negative territory during the period under review. The country’s current-account deficit reached $504 million in the Q1 of the FY 17 from $1.66 billion surplus in the same period a year ago. The current-account-balance deficit was $293 million in the Q1 of the FY 15, the BB data showed. The flow of inward remittances dropped by 17.70 per cent to $3.19 billion in the first three months of the FY 17 from $3.88 billion in the same period of the last fiscal. This negative balance may increase in the coming months if the existing higher trade deficit alongside depressed inward remittance continued, according to the central banker. On the other hand, financial-account surplus rose to $2.04 billion in the Q1 of FY 17 from $ 377 million the same period of last fiscal year. The inflow of net foreign direct investment (FDI) increased by 8.45 per cent to $ 642 million during the period under review from $ 592 million in the Q1 of the FY 16. However, overall balance of payments (BoP) came down to $1.79 billion during the period under review from $1.97 billion in the same of FY 16. Former Director-General of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Mustafa K Mujeri suggests the authorities concerned should take effective measures to augment the flow of inward remittance and export earnings for improving the current-account-balance position. “There is no major cause of concern over negative of the current-account position right now. But other macroeconomic indicators may be affected if the negative trend persists,” Mr. Mujeri, also former chief economist of the BB, explained. He also said the imports should be monitored closely by the authorities concerned to discourage the import of unnecessary items. “The import of capital machinery may increase in the coming months following implementation of different mega-projects across the country,” the senior economist noted.