Difficult to find qualified bank MDs, says BB governor

Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H. Mansur has said that finding qualified managing directors (MDs) in the country's banking sector has become a major challenge. Addressing as a special guest a programme marking the 15th anniversary of Financial...

JICA writes to govt for kick-starting MRT-1, MRT-5 project works

Six years already lost in the labyrinth of procrastination, the Japanese funding agency has now reminded government authorities of Bangladesh about the urgency of expediting implementation of the mainline MRT-1 and MRT-5 metro-rail projects in...

Deterrence and international legal compliance as key to Bangladesh’s maritime security

The Bay of Bengal, central to the nation's "Blue Economy" ambitions, is a zone of immense opportunity. However, it is also an arena where transnational criminal syndicates consistently challenge maritime security and national sovereignty. For...

Saudi-Bangladesh trade body gets licence

The government has approved a licence for a new trade body named “Saudi Arabia-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry” which is expected to further strengthen the bilateral ties between the two nations. The commerce ministry recently issued a...

Ban on one-time plastic items at Secretariat starts today

Ban on use of one-time or single-use plastic (SUP) items at the Bangladesh Secretariat in the capital is coming into effect from today (Sunday). The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has informed the development in a circular, and...

Bangladesh is exactly where it needs to be

Bangladesh languishes near the bottom in a table of global innovation. Bangladesh does rather better than it possibly should in this same table of global innovation. The idea that it's possible to come near the bottom and still be doing better...

‘Will never leave UAE’: Bangladeshi millionaire plans to start business in Dubai

A Bangladeshi driver who struck gold in the latest Big Ticket Abu Dhabi draw has said he has no plans to leave the UAE and settle in his home country. “I call the UAE my home now as it has always given me more than I have imagined,” the winner,...

Banks, NBFIs must report investments in bonds, debentures, preference shares to CIB

The Bangladesh Bank has instructed scheduled banks and non-bank financial institutions to report their investments in non-listed securities – such as non-convertible cumulative preference shares, non-convertible bonds, and debentures – to the...

Bangladesh seeks further reduction in US tariffs

National Security Adviser and High Representative for the Rohingya issue Khalilur Rahman has requested Assistant US Trade Representative Brendan Lynch to consider further reduction in tariffs as the trade gap becomes narrower between the two...

It will take political govt at least 3 years to stabilise economy

As things stand currently, it will take the next political government at least three years to stabilise the country's economy, Taskeen Ahmed, president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), has said. Speaking to The Daily Star in...

How bank mergers can work

Across the world, bank mergers or acquisitions are supposed to create added synergy. In our part of the world, however, they are often undertaken out of necessity. I was a member of the global acquisition team with Andy Prebble when Standard...

BRAC Bank gets nod for country’s first social bond

BRAC Bank has recently received approval from the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission and Bangladesh Bank to issue the country's first-ever social subordinated bond worth Tk 1,000 crore. The landmark issuance of the BRAC Bank Social...

World turns to AI, Bangladesh stuck in Excel-era training

When the world is racing to master artificial intelligence (AI), 42 percent of Bangladesh's vocational training remains tied to very basic computer lessons such as typing, MS Word, PowerPoint and Excel -- which neither meet the skills the country...

Late bloomer Smith stuns South Africa as England make flying World Cup start

England’s cricketers don’t waltz into the World Cup with the favourites tag of the decorated Red Roses. But after opening their campaign with an emphatic win over South Africa on Friday, they might just allow themselves to dream. Linsey Smith was...

Pakistan’s gender gap in finance: Digital literacy holds the key

KARACHI: Women comprise nearly half of the population in Pakistan, while only 13.5% hold a bank account, compared to 53% in Bangladesh, 53% in Vietnam, and almost 90% in Sri Lanka. This gender gap is both alarming and glaring, as it is not just a...

Central bank about to attain long-cherished autonomy as regulator

Bangladesh Bank is set to become a much-envisaged independent regulatory body for the banking sector as the central bank prepares to place the agenda to the advisory council of the interim government this week. Along with the bank mergers-related...

Banks’ farm loan disbursement rises in July

Staff Correspondent 04 October, 2025, 23:07 | New Age file photo Farm loan disbursement by banks increased by 20.3 per cent in July, the first month of the financial year 2025-26, compared with the same month in the previous year, according to...

Bangladesh’s student-led NCP pushing EC into corner over ‘Shapla’ election symbol

Dhaka: Bangladesh’s National Citizen’s Party (NCP) led by Nahid Islam has threatened to halt the February 2026 general elections if it is not allocated one of its requested symbols – a red or white Shapla (Water Lily). The Election Commission (EC)...

Bangladesh seeks further US tariff reductions

Bangladesh has urged the United States to consider further tariff reductions, as part of its commitment to narrowing the trade imbalance between the two countries, during a series of high-level meetings in Washington on Friday. Bangladesh’s...

Why Ctg, birthplace of Bangladesh’s RMG, is losing its edge

Bangladesh's first garment exports began from Chattogram. In 1977, on about nine acres of land in the Kalurghat industrial area, retired government official Nurul Qader established Desh Garments, marking the start of the country's apparel...