Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday said RMG owners should now contribute more to the government as the sector is no longer an infant industry. “RMG sector has got huge financial support from the government over the last three decades although it is the country’s most job creation sector,” he said. Muhith said this at a per-budget meeting titled “Job creation: major economic challenge for 2015-16 fiscal year” at the National Press Club. Finance Secretary Mahbub Ahmed and NBR Chairman Nojibur Rahman were also present at the programme. Muhith said the government mechanism will be strengthened to tackle any sort of uncertainly and instability in future in the best interest of the country’s economy. “Our economy has showed resilience during the political turmoil and we have been able to fight the political unrest successfully.” The finance minister also claimed that at present a positive mood has been created in local and foreign investors after the government successfully faced political turmoil from January through March. He hoped that new investment would come to the country and more job will be created. In reply to a question, the finance minister said he had loudly spoken about bringing the Foreign Direct Investment to the country, but it is sad that none of the law makers in the parliament talk about bringing the FDI to the country. Regarding the stability in the kitchen market, he said the kitchen markets have not been volatile in last six years after budget announcement. Aftab ul Islam, president of American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), said political instability is a major problem for having foreign investment. Political uncertainly should be removed from the country for bringing local and foreign investment, he added. Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute, said the new generation businessmen will not stay in the country if good governance is not established in the country. He said the government should increase investment, 3% of its GDP, to attract foreign direct investment.

Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2015/may/24/muhith-its-now-rmg-owners-turn-give-country-back#sthash.emJFf5QS.dpuf

The National Board of Revenue is set to offer an incentive package including tax holiday for 10 years for investors in the country’s economic zones and 12 years for developers of the zones in the upcoming national budget, officials said. They said that the revenue board would soon issue two separate statutory regulatory orders offering tax benefits for developers and investors in the economic zones under the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority. The tax incentive will be declared through the Finance Bill-2015-2016 in the national budget for the next fiscal year. According to the draft of the SROs, developers and co-developers of the economic zones will get full exemption from paying tax on income and service charges to be derived from commercial activities in the zones for the first 10 years of their commercial operation, 70 per cent exemption for the 11th year and 30 per cent exemption for the 12th year. Investors in the economic zones will get exemption from paying tax on their income in the zones at gradually reduced rate for 10 years including full-exemption for the first three years of their commercial activities. They will enjoy 80 per cent exemption from paying income tax for the fourth year, 70 per cent for the fifth year, 60 per cent for the sixth year, 50 per cent for the seventh year, 40 per cent for the eighth year, 30 per cent for the ninth year and 20 per cent income tax exemption for the tenth year of their commercial activities. According to the NBR decision, investors and developers will have to receive taxpayers’ identification number, maintain book of accounts and submit income tax returns for availing the tax benefits. Unexplained investment, where the nature and sources of income are not explained, however, will not get the benefits, it said. Both the investors and developers will enjoy tax exemption on declared dividend income for 10 years from the date of the start of their commercial operations, officials said. The incentive will also include tax exemption for investors for 10 years on capital gain from share transfer, and on royalties, technical know-how and technical assistance fees. Foreign technicians to be employed in the companies will get 50 per cent tax waiver for three years from the date of their entrance in Bangladesh. The companies will not be entitled to enjoy the benefit for their foreign technicians after the five years of the start of their commercial operation. Officials of the revenue board said that investors and developers might also be offered some benefits related to customs duty and value-added tax in line with the package finalised by the BEZA governing body headed by the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on February 18.

Source: https://newagebd.net/122548/budget-to-offer-spl-tax-rates-for-investors/#sthash.HmAW02kP.dpbs

Finance Minister AMA Muhith said Saturday it was time for the apparel industry, which has become matured enough by now, to offer some benefits to the government. He said: “The government has been providing different incentives and fiscal benefits to the garment sector since the beginning. The RMG sector is now matured enough.” The RMG sector has been receiving various types of incentives from the government as it has been the largest job creating sector, he said at a pre-budget discussion meeting on ‘Job creation: The biggest challenge’ in the city. The Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) organised the discussion at the National Press Club in the city. Policy Research Institute (PRI) executive director Dr Ahsan H Mansur, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) executive director Prof Mustafizur Rahman, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies research director Dr Binayek Sen, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) vice president Fazlul Huq, American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh President Aftab Ul Islam, Bangladesh Reconditioned Vehicles Importers and Dealers Association (BARVIDA) president Abdul Hamid Sharif and Dhaka Stock Exchange Managing Director Swapan Kumar Bala took part at the discussion. Muhith said the Bangladesh economy this year has demonstrated greater resilience in the face of political turmoil. “We will take measures to further strengthen the capacity of resilience of the economy so that it can withstand fallout from political troubles even better” he said. Muhith hinted that the next budget would enhance the allocations for the social safety-net programmes especially on the small livelihood programmes, already tested for getting a big boost with small investment. The finance minister expressed his dissatisfaction at the inadequate foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow saying: “I have been emphasising on the greater FDI inflow for the last few years. But nobody has lent support to me. Please you (private sector) people extend your help towards me in my effort for attracting FDI.” Ahsan H Mansur said ensuring good governance is imperative for attracting the second generation local investors. “Now the second generation businessmen are in the driving seat. Most of them had their education abroad. If the government fails to ensure good governance, this new generation entrepreneurs will not stay in the country,” he expressed the fear. Mustafizur Rahman said if the government wanted to create more quality jobs in the country it would have to ensure quality education, especially technical education for its young population. Dr Binayek Sen said the government has invested enough in female education. But participation of women in the productive sector jobs is well below the expectation. The government should invest in creating skilled manpower especially at the tertiary level of education so that more people could take up jobs in the productive sectors directly. Aftab Ul Islam said the government has so far failed to attract FDI as the country is suffering from an image crisis due to recurrent political turmoil. He emphasised the need for ensuring a stable political situation and business environment in the country. ERF president Sultan Mahmud presided over the discussion meeting. ERF general secretary Sajjadur Rahman gave vote of thanks.

Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/05/24/93881

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has urged the government to implement the proposed rules of the Labour Act to comply with international labour standards. Karen Curtis, Chief of the Freedom of Association Branch of ILO’s International Labour Standards Department, said the rules should be issued without further delay as it is critically important that they comply with international labour standards. A high-level ILO delegation, led by Karen Curtis, visited Bangladesh during May 19-21 this year to discuss the rules with the government and other stakeholders, said an ILO media release on Thursday. She said the speed with which the government revised the Bangladesh Labour Act following Rana Plaza sent a strong signal about its commitment to enhance labour rights and working conditions. “It’s vital that the implementation rules fully reflect this and promote core labour standards. This is an ideal opportunity for Bangladesh to get the rules right and to make a statement to the world that it remains serious about improving labour rights,” the ILO official said

Source: https://www.observerbd.com/2015/05/23/90296.php#sthash.RnVnPu8a.dpuf

More than 1,500 garment factories have been inspected and recommendations made for fire, electrical and structural safety improvement in all the units over the last two years, European-led Bangladesh Accord said in a statement on Friday. The Accord signed an unprecedented agreement to make garment factories safe in Bangladesh by global garment brands and retailers and two global unions and their national readymade garments (RMG) affiliates after the Collapse of Rana Plaza that killed more than 1,100 people and maimed thousands others on April 24, 2013. Many safety issues were identified at each inspected factory, and steps taken tom upgrade safety standards, the statement said. “Fixing all these hazards is a massive amount of work for the RMG industry, but safety remediation work at the inspected factories is underway. There has been especially good progress on electrical remediation which is positive as most factory fires are caused by electrical hazards. As a result, we have helped prevent fires in factories covered by the Accord,” the statement quoted Brad Loewen, chief safety inspector of the Accord as saying. “We are pleased to also report that we have verified the first fully remediated factories where all fire, electrical, and structural safety corrective actions from the initial inspections are complete.” With more than 200 company signatories and 1500 factories covered by the agreement, the Accord had embarked on a large scale effort to identify and resolve all major safety risks in these factories. The initial inspections by the Accord have brought the urgency to improve workplace safety in the Bangladeshi RMG to the fore. “Identifying the issues and developing plans to correct them is the first step. In the remaining three years of the Accord we will work with our signatories and suppliers to complete the remediation at all factories and ensure that a functioning safety and health committee capable of maintaining and monitoring safety issues on a day-to day basis is in place at every Accord listed factory. This requires a concerted effort from the factories with support from the Accord signatory companies and Accord union colleagues. The Accord team stands ready to support all parties if we hit obstacles in this road ahead,” said Rob Wayss, executive director of the Accord. The Accord continues to work intensively with its company and union signatories, workers, factory owners and their associations and the Government of Bangladesh – National Effort to realize the common goal of a safe and sustainable RMG industry in the country, the statement said. (SH)

Source: https://www.observerbd.com/2015/05/23/90295.php#sthash.vUhi04MN.dpuf

The Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) has taken initiatives to adopt green practices at different export processing zones (EPZs) across the country by setting up solar-powered street lights and effluent treatment plants. BEPZA, with assistance from the World Bank, EU and South Korean government recently implemented a low carbon zone project at Chittagong EPZ at a cost of Tk 75 crore. Under the project, a total of 750 electric poles have been set up with solar panel on the streets, making the entire Chittagong EPZ under solar energy system. In addition, a solar panel of 75 KW has also been installed at BEPZA office in Chittagong EPZ and investors’ club to source solar energy. As a result, the Chittagong EPZ authority expects to save electricity of around Tk 32 lakh per year. Md Khorshid Alam, General Manager (in charge) of Chittagong EPZ, said implanting the low carbon project has facilitated the Chittagong EPZ to enjoy energy use in an environment-friendly way. Sources said the BEPZA is also working to establish an environmental laboratory at Chittagong EPZ to assess the volume of carbon the industrial units are emitting which will help to reduce the carbon emission volume. With the lessons learnt from this project, the BEPZA will turn to establish such green energy systems in its other EPZs in the country. Meanwhile, the BEZA has set up a central effluent treatment plant (CETP) at Comilla Export Processing Zone (Comilla EPZ) to ensure environment-friendly industrial practices. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the CETP on May 25. With the CETP in Comilla EPZ, a total of three EPZs under BEPZA came under effluent treatment plant facilities which hopefully will expedite the green practices by the BEPZA. The BEPZA earlier installed two CETPs at Dhaka and Chittagong Export Processing Zones. Nazma Binte Alamgir, General Manager (Public Relation) of BEPZA, said they are putting their best efforts to make the EPZs efficient with utmost environmental practices.

Source: https://www.daily-sun.com/print/front-page/2015/05/23/504691#sthash.dPDANW09.dpuf

Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEZA) has set up a Central Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) at its Comilla Export Processing Zone (Comilla EPZ) with a view to ensure environment-friendly industrial operation there. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was expected to inaugurate the CETP on May 25 next. With establishing CETP in Comilla EPZ, a total of three EPZs of BEPZA came under effluent treatment plant facilities which hopefully will expedite the activities of BEPZA with green concept exercise. Earlier, BEPZA had established CETP in Dhaka and Chittagong Export Processing Zones respectively. Sources from BEPZA said that positive experience from CETPs in Dhaka and Chittagong EPZs have prompted BEPZA to establish effluent treatment plant at Comilla EPZ. BEZA has established CETPs at three EPZs as part of its move to operate industrial activities in an environment-friendly manner, It will also go forward in establishing effluent treatment plants in other EPZs soon, he said. According to information, BEZA, the monitoring body of the country’s Export Processing Zones (EPZs) have asked the investors to establish domestic effluent treatment plants in the industrial units so that high standard in production can be maintained through treating the wastes in friendlier ways. The effluent treatment plant has been set up in Comilla EPZ spending Tk 38.50 crore, sources said. It was learnt that the owners of the industrial unit will have to pay charge for their wastes which will be processed by the CETP. It was learnt that each industrial unit will have a digital meter to estimate how much wastes were gone to plant for processing and they will pay charge as per the volume of the wastes. Md. Abdus Sobhan, General Manager (in charge) of Comilla EPZ while talking to daily sun said that the CETP will help the EPZ grow in environment-friendly manner both for the workers and for the surroundings as well. Comilla EPZ sources said that there are 37 industrial units in operation at the Comilla EPZ while 15 industrial units are under implementation. The industrial units include garments, garment accessories, leather goods, yarn and fabrics. This is the third CETP that BEZA has established in EPZ considering the environmental concern, Nazma Binte Alamgir, General Manager of BEZA said adding that based on the necessity they will also establish CETPs in the other EPZs of the country.

Source: https://www.daily-sun.com/print/business/2015/05/21/504293#sthash.hTrVmGaP.dpuf

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed on Wednesday said sites for 17 economic zones for foreign investors have been already selected and China will get its preferred sites for establishing economic zones. The commerce minister was addressing the inaugural ceremony of the office of Bangladesh-China Chamber of Commerce and Industries (BCCCI) at Dilkusha in city’s Motijheel. He said China is the top readymade garments exporting country and Bangladesh is in second position. But the production cost is higher in China than Bangladesh. “So, China wants to transfer more investments to Bangladesh.” “We are ready to provide all sorts of cooperation to China, we have identified 17 sites for special economic zones and they can take whichever sites they want,” he said. He said there are many on-going projects in Bangladesh that have been funded by China. “They have provided fund for the Padma Bridge project. Besides, we have been developing an industrial park on a 60 bighas of land where a Chinese company has provided financial assistance,” Tofail said. BCCCI President Golam Dastagir Gazi presided over the inauguration ceremony where Prime Minister’s Adviser Salman F. Rahman, Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ma MingKiang and former Industries Minister Dilip Barua were also present.

Source: https://www.daily-sun.com/print/front-page/2015/05/21/504332#sthash.j6JQtPU0.dpuf

The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday registered a case against Sohel Rana, the owner of Rana Plaza, for allegedly accumulating wealth illegally, reports UNB. ACC deputy director Mahbubur Rahman filed the case with the Ramna police, ACC public relations officer Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya told the news agency. On Apr 2, the Commission sent a notice to a senior jail superintendent of Kashimpur Jail in Gazipur where Rana remained detained to convey the message to him (Rana) that the ACC asked him to submit his wealth statement to it within ACC-stipulated time. Although Rana is in prison now, his wife submitted an application to the ACC seeking time extension to submit the wealth report, but the Commission rejected the plea and it gave approval on May 18 for lodging a non-submission case against Rana. After the deadly Rana Plaza collapse on 24 April 2013, the ACC decided to conduct a probe against Rana to know how he accumulated a huge wealth, and formed a two-member inquiry team in this regard. According to the ACC inquiry report, Rana built two commercial buildings—Rana Plaza and Rana Tower—in Savar with ill-gotten money. He also has a five-storey residential building in Savar. Apart from the buildings, Rana, who was arrested after the building collapse on April 29, 2013, has huge movable and immovable wealth, ACC sources said. On April 12, 2015, the ACC also filed separate cases against his parents—Morzina Begum and Abdul Khaleque—on charge of amassing wealth worth around Tk 17 crore illegally. The Rana Plaza collapse is considered the deadliest garment-factory accident in history, as well as the deadliest accidental structural failure in modern human history claiming the lives of 1,129 people and leaving approximately 2,515 injured.

Source: https://www.theindependentbd.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=258806:acc-sues-owner-of-rana-plaza&catid=132:backpage&Itemid=122

The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) Wednesday filed a case against owner of Rana Plaza for allegedly amassing wealth in illicit way. ACC deputy director Mahbubur Rahman filed the case with Ramna Police Station in the city, the commission’s spokesperson Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya told the FE. Rana hogged spotlight after the deadly factory building collapse on April 24, 2013 that killed 1,129 people and leaving around 2,515 injured. The complex housed a number of garment units. The commission sent a notice to a senior jail superintendent of Kashimpur Jail in Gazipur on April 2, 2015, to convey the message to Sohel Rana that the ACC asked him to submit his wealth statement to it within ACC-stipulated time. Although Rana is in prison now, his wife submitted an application to the ACC seeking time extension to submit the wealth report, but the commission rejected the plea and gave approval on May 18 for registering a non-submission case against Rana. The ACC decided to conduct a probe against Rana to know how he accumulated such an amount of wealth and formed a two-member inquiry team in this connection. According to the ACC inquiry report, Rana built two commercial buildings — Rana Plaza and Rana Tower — in Savar with money earned illegally. He also has a five-storey residential building in Savar. Apart from the buildings, Rana, who was arrested on April 29, 2013 after the building collapse, has huge movable and immovable wealth, ACC officials said. On April 12, 2015, the commission also filed separate cases against his parents — Morzina Begum and Abdul Khaleque — on charge of accumulating wealth worth around Tk 170 million illegally. The graft-fighting body has also decided to file a case against five Bangladesh Railway (BR) men including former General Manager Ferdous Alam for leasing 1,300 square feet of BR land illegally in Akhaura station of Brahmanbaria. The commission in its regular meeting approved a proposal for filing a case against the BR officials, according to an ACC official. The case will be filed soon against former BR GM Ferdous Alam, its deputy director (traffic and operation) Kabirul Alam, area operating manager M Shafiqur Rahman, assistant commercial officer of Kamalapur Railway Station Pranabesh Sarkar and upper division assistant Mosharraf Hossain. According to the ACC probe, all the accused in collusion with each other leased out 1,300 square feet of a godown located near Akhaura Rail Station in Brahmanbaria. They leased out the godown to one Jasmin Akter on May 25, 2010, preparing fake documents.

Source: https://thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/05/21/93495