The government may revert to monthly value-added tax (VAT) returns and payments from the current quarterly system launched this July amid concerns over monitoring difficulties, operational complications and increased collection risks arising from the new arrangement.

Following adverse feedback from field-level offices, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has requested the finance ministry to take steps to reverse the provision, according to officials familiar with the matter.

“We have completed preparations on our side. The decision now awaits Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s approval,” said an NBR official, seeking anonymity.

The development comes as VAT collection, which accounts for nearly 38 percent of the NBR’s total revenue, fell by about 21 percent year-on-year in the first two months of FY2026-27, according to provisional data.

The revenue board collected Tk 9,302 crore in VAT in July, down from Tk 11,547 crore a year earlier. Collection fell further in August to Tk 8,362 crore, compared with Tk 11,081 crore in the same month last year.

As a result, VAT collection during July-August stood at Tk 17,663 crore, down from Tk 22,628 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

The NBR, however, does not yet have sufficient data to determine whether the new system has affected overall VAT collection, officials said. Businesses have until the end of September to submit their returns for the first quarter under the new arrangement.

WHAT THE NEW SYSTEM OFFERS

Officials explained that the previous system allowed taxpayers to retain the VAT money for up to 30 days and pay it by the 15th of the following month.

Under the new quarterly system, businesses can now retain the VAT collected from consumers for up to three months before making the payment.

“Now that the period has been extended to three months, large businesses can keep the VAT collected from consumers and earn interest on it or use it in other ways,” an official of the Dhaka Commissionerate said, seeking anonymity.

The official said the three-month payment window gives businesses an opportunity to earn interest on VAT they have already collected from consumers but have yet to remit to the government.

“Suppose you have Tk 200 crore in one month and another Tk 200 crore in the next -- Tk 400 crore in total. If you put that money into Treasury bonds, DPS or FDRs, you can earn interest from it,” he said.

“But this is actually government money. You have already collected it from consumers against each invoice,” he added.

Another official, also seeking anonymity, said the government could not afford to let public funds remain with businesses for an extended period, particularly as it has to pay interest on its own borrowings.

FIELD OFFICES SEEK RETURN TO MONTHLY SYSTEM

According to the Dhaka Commissionerate official, the NBR does not yet have all the systems and monitoring tools in place that are needed to properly manage the quarterly VAT mechanism.

“We are facing problems both in monitoring and in terms of risk,” he said. “We used to track revenue collection monthly by circle, division and unit. That monitoring tool is no longer available to us.”

“One weakness of our department is that we have not yet established a system to deposit VAT into the treasury immediately against each invoice. This is a systemic weakness on our part,” he added.

“We demand that the return should also be submitted monthly. Both the return and payment should be monthly,” the official said.

Another official of the Rangpur Commissionerate also called for a return to the monthly system.

When asked why the NBR had not addressed the monitoring and collection issues before launching the new system, NBR Acting Chairman Ahsan Habib declined to comment.

BUSINESSES OPPOSE RETURN TO MONTHLY PAYMENTS

Businesses, meanwhile, have warned that restoring monthly VAT payments would run counter to the government's efforts to reduce compliance burdens and improve the ease of doing business.

Mohammed Amirul Haque, managing director of Premier Cement Mills, also criticised the NBR’s potential move to reverse the quarterly VAT payment system without adequate consultation with businesses.

“Their (NBR) main issue is consultation with businesses. If there is a problem, (they should) sit down with us. Ask us, ‘What is the modus operandi? How can we do it?’” he said.

He questioned the rationale for reverting to monthly payments after introducing the quarterly system in the name of ease of doing business.

“They introduced the quarterly system in the name of ease of doing business. Now, if they suddenly say everything has to be done every month, what is the justification? They did not consult us in the first place,” he said.

Amirul said compliant businesses should not be penalised because some non-compliant companies might misuse the system.

“If a non-compliant company takes advantage of the quarterly system to evade taxes, you cannot punish the compliant companies for that,” he said.

He also questioned the NBR's argument that quarterly payments create monitoring difficulties.

“If receiving government revenue every three months creates a monitoring problem, then why have you been holding advance income tax for years? Does that not create monitoring difficulties?” he said.

Some NBR officials have suggested a compromise: businesses could continue filing VAT returns every three months but would have to pay the VAT they collect into the government treasury every month.

Responding to a question from reporters on Tuesday, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said the government would discuss the complications arising from the quarterly VAT return system and take a decision soon.

Currently, Bangladesh has more than 8 lakh businesses registered for VAT and holding Business Identification Numbers, according to the NBR.

US-Bangla Airlines plans to place another major order for leased aircraft worth $4-5 billion within the next 60 days, Managing Director Abdullah Al Mamin said today (12 September).

"We will order more leased aircraft worth $4-5 billion within the next 60 days," he said at a policy conclave titled "World-class aviation for Bangladesh's economic progress", organised by The Daily Bonik Barta at the United Convention Centre in Kurmitola, Dhaka.

However, Al Mamin did not disclose how many aircraft would be leased under the planned deal.

Asked about the aircraft manufacturer, Al Mamin told The Business Standard that the airline could not disclose at this stage whether the aircraft would be supplied by Boeing or Airbus.

Earlier, US-Bangla announced plans to acquire 21 Boeing aircraft through a $1.5 billion leasing deal as part of a major fleet expansion programme.

US-Bangla unveils $1.5b leasing deal to add 21 Boeing aircraft
The announcement was made on 29 July at the airline's "Beyond with Boeing" event in Dhaka.

The deal includes 15 Boeing 737-8 aircraft and six Boeing 737-800 aircraft, with all 21 aircraft scheduled for delivery by the end of 2027.

US-Bangla currently operates 25 aircraft, making it the largest fleet among Bangladesh's local airlines.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashiduzzaman Millat attended the event as the chief guest, while State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir was the special guest.

Former Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh Chairman Air Vice Marshal (retd) Mahmud Hussain also attended the event.

Bonik Barta Editor Dewan Hainf Mahmud delivered the welcome speech.

The conclave was supported by AirAsia, United Group and US-Bangla Airlines.

Foreign investors accelerated their sell-off in the capital market in August, cutting holdings in several fundamental and large-cap stocks despite recent regulatory measures aimed at easing foreign investment.

According to Dhaka Stock Exchange data, City Bank saw the sharpest decline, with foreign ownership falling 1.72 percentage points to 8.26%, involving a Tk90 crore sell-off. BRAC Bank followed with a 0.57-point drop to 32.39% and a Tk80 crore exit.

Prime Bank's foreign holding fell 0.35 points to 5.36% (Tk12.30 crore), while Uttara Bank declined 0.17 points to 0.45% (Tk4 crore).

Foreign investors also reduced exposure to major blue-chip and multinational stocks. Grameenphone saw holdings fall 0.08 points to 0.17% (Tk26 crore), while Square Pharma declined 0.04 points to 14.33% (Tk7.5 crore).

Other sell-offs were recorded in Olympic Industries (Tk5 crore), BAT Bangladesh (Tk2.5 crore), Walton (Tk1.2 crore), LafargeHolcim Bangladesh (Tk1.20 crore), Summit Alliance Port (Tk0.71 crore), Shasha Denims (Tk0.55 crore), Envoy Textile (Tk0.47 crore), IDLC Finance (Tk0.40 crore) and Reckitt Benckiser (Tk0.15 crore).

Foreign buying remained muted, with small purchases in Acme Laboratories (Tk0.16 crore), LankaBangla Finance (Tk0.08 crore), Orion Pharma (Tk0.05 crore) and Ring Shine Textile.

The continued outflow comes despite recent policy measures to attract overseas capital. Bangladesh Bank removed the requirement for an auditor's certificate for every non-resident trade, allowing authorised dealer banks to process tax withholding directly into Non-Resident Investor Taka Accounts (NITA).

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission also relaxed dividend remittance deadlines for foreign shareholders, linking compliance to the issuance of Double Taxation Avoidance certificates. Meanwhile, MSCI will resume regular index reviews for Bangladesh from November 2026, ending its three-year "special treatment" following the 2022 floor price regime.

Market experts said foreign sentiment has nevertheless been weakened by recent regulatory decisions. They cited concerns over policy consistency following the removal of former Governor Ahsan H Mansur, as well as Bangladesh Bank's requirement for banks to have at least Tk2,000 crore in paid-up capital to declare dividends and its 4% cap on interest-rate spreads.

Analysts said such administrative interventions risk pushing the financial system towards a command-style economy, weakening market-based decision-making and encouraging global investors to shift funds elsewhere.

The government built 39 high-tech and software technology parks at a huge cost, but the facilities have failed to deliver the expected investment, jobs and technology growth, according to stakeholders.

They blamed a shortage of skilled workers, weak industry-academia links, poor maintenance, high operating costs and inadequate institutional support for the failure.

Speaking at a virtual discussion titled “Hi-Tech Parks: What is the Mission? What is the Reality?” yesterday, they said the government does not necessarily need to abandon the parks now. Instead, it should focus on making them useful, improving governance and providing the support businesses need.

From 2009 to 2023, the Awami League government built the parks, expecting the infrastructure to drive investment and create a technology boom.

“But results so far clearly show that the assumption was not the right one,” said M Rokonuzzaman, professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering at North South University.

He cited Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore as examples of countries where technology ecosystems grew through stronger links between industry, skills, research and government support.

Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, former special assistant to the chief adviser, blamed the failure partly on establishing the parks in economically weak areas instead of integrating them with existing commercial hubs.

He said many of the parks were built without considering whether a viable economy already existed around them.

Faiz also questioned the credibility and effectiveness of the training ecosystem, saying the training facilities alongside the parks did not guarantee a steady supply of industry-ready workers.

Rafel Kabir, managing director of DNS Software Ltd, said the parks should have focused on producing core technologies, such as motherboards and chips fabrication.

At the programme organised by the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), entrepreneurs from different parks also spoke about the obstacles they face.

Mohammad Mohidul Islam, managing director of software firm Ongsho at Jashore High-Tech Park, said around 40 companies are trying to stay afloat independently there without effective ecosystem support.

Jashore High-Tech Park was established in December 2017.

Mohidul said the authority treats them as tenants rather than entrepreneurs.

Md Ashafuddoza Shishir, co-founder and chief operating officer of Netro Systems Ltd and Telzen, said ventures from Rajshahi Hi-Tech Park have managed to develop global footprints.

But the direct benefits of operating in the park are limited, he said. “The tangible benefit for companies in Rajshahi park is confined to tax exemptions, as direct authority support for startups is largely absent.”

Farhana A Rahman, chairperson and CEO of UY Systems Ltd, said similar problems are visible at Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park, where companies were offered plots without the wider services needed to build a functioning business ecosystem.

“We remain trapped in a loop of grandiose promises about high-tech parks, yet despite the building of so many facilities across the country, real progress on the ground is absent,” she said.

“The Kaliakor Hi-tech Park offered land plots but no supportive services. So, many later surrendered their allocations,” Farhana added.

Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairman of PPRC and moderator of the discussion, said Bangladesh does not need to abandon the high-tech park model altogether.

He said that the country should rebuild it on firmer foundations, with reliable utilities, accountable governance and support systems that treat companies as partners rather than tenants left to fend for themselves.

“Long-term success requires shifting focus from building physical real estate to cultivating soft infrastructure, skilled human capital, and industry-driven training,” he added.

Indonesian state-run company -- PT Pertamina -- is all set to bag the operation and management (O&M) contract of Bangladesh's maiden single-point mooring (SPM) for carrying fuel from vessels in outer anchorage to onshore storage tanks.

The state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) recently completed the evaluation for selecting the O&M contractor to initiate the operation of the country's much-needed oil carrying infrastructure two years after its installation, a senior official of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division (EMRD) under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources (MPEMR) told The Financial Express on Thursday.

A total of 11 companies had purchased tender documents to compete in the bidding, and three of them submitted bids in February this year to carry out the job.

After inking the deal, the Indonesian company will carry out the operation and management job for five years.

The Indonesian company has been selected as the O&M contractor following re-tendering.

Pertamina was the lone bidder in the initial tender, which was cancelled due to higher than expected price quotes.

During the BPC's previous tender, the Indonesian company had quoted $117 million, which was around 33 per cent above the BPC's budget of $88 million, resulting in the cancellation, said sources.

The SPM has already been kept idle for two years, and the BPC is counting extra money while using lighter vessels to carry fuel from mother vessels to tanks onshore as a consequence.

Chinese firm China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co Ltd (CPPEC) completed the construction of the SPM with a double-pipeline project and handed over the infrastructure to the BPC in August 2024.

The guarantee period to resolve faults in operations of the SPM, however, expired in February this year, much ahead of its commencement of commercial operation, it has been alleged.

The delay in starting operations of the SPM system is allegedly benefiting private operators, who are earning hefty profits by carrying fuel from outer anchorage to onshore storage through lighter vessels, at the expense of public money, industry insiders said.

Allegations are rife that a vested interest group, working in collusion with private sector beneficiaries, was playing a key role in delaying the SPM and its associated fuel pipelines and infrastructure.

The SPM system is used for piping petroleum from vessels far offshore and onshore storage tanks, thus slashing both time and cost of oil imports.

CPPEC built the SPM system after being selected as a contractor "unsolicitedly" under the currently repealed Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply (Special Provision) Act 2010.

The project cost escalated by 60 per cent to Tk 80 billion from the initial target of Tk 50 billion.

The installation of the SPM with the double pipeline project was implemented with Chinese concessional loans of around $554 million.

Of the total, China provided around $467.84 million as preferential buyers' credit and the remaining $82.5 million was available as soft loan.

The Exim Bank of China provided the money, to be repaid within 20 years at an interest rate of 2.0 per cent per annum with five years' grace period.

As part of the project, a 220-kilometre pipeline has been installed, with most of it laid in the waters of the Bay of Bengal.

Six storage tanks have also been constructed.

The tanks have a combined capacity of 240,000 tonnes of petroleum products, with 150,000 tonnes designated for crude oil and 90,000 tonnes for gas oil.

Once it is fully executed, the BPC will be able to unload petroleum products from a 100,000-deadweight tonnage tanker within 48 hours, which now takes 11 days.

No lighter vessels would be required to carry fuel from mother vessel, which is now moored at the outer quay, after implementation of the project.

The BPC is currently paying around $5.50 per tonne to lighterage or small vessels, owned mainly by the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) to ferry petroleum to its onshore tanks from larger mother vessels.

Once operational, the SPM will save the cost of the BPC in unloading fuel significantly.

The government will be able to save around Tk 8.0 billion alone by reducing transport costs of petro-products from outer anchorage to onshore fuel tankers, market insiders said.

More than 10,000 customers of Sammilito Islami Bank withdrew their funds on the third day of the bank's repayment programme, taking the total number of customers paid to 26,056 over three days.

Yesterday (9 September), 10,697 customers withdrew a total of Tk381 crore.

Since the repayment programme began, 26,056 customers have withdrawn a total of Tk1,040 crore over three days. At the same time, fresh funds have continued to flow into the bank alongside the repayments to customers.

Earlier, among customers who applied to withdraw funds on 1 September, 8,125 withdrew a total of Tk319 crore on 7 September.

On that day, the bank received Tk93 crore in cash and another Tk51 crore through RTGS, BFTN and clearing, bringing total inflows to Tk141 crore. A total of 16,600 transactions were completed through cash and other channels that day.

Among customers who applied on 2 September, 7,234 withdrew a total of Tk340 crore on 8 September.

The bank received Tk90 crore in cash and Tk105 crore through BFTN, RTGS and clearing that day, resulting in total inflows of Tk195 crore. A total of 16,050 transactions were completed.

Overall, 58,745 customers applied between 1 and 3 September to withdraw a total of Tk3,304 crore. Against these applications, 26,056 customers withdrew Tk1,040 crore between 7 and 9 September.

This means around 31.5% of the amount applied for has so far been paid to customers.

The bank authorities said funds continue to flow into the bank alongside customer repayments. Regular transactions through personal accounts are continuing as normal and will remain operational.

The bank also said repayments are being made according to customers' applications. A significant number of customers are withdrawing their funds every day, while the flow of funds into the bank and normal banking operations continue.

US President Trump has announced new import bans and 50% tariffs on some Canadian goods as tensions between the two countries intensify. This comes a day after Ottawa's retaliatory tariffs on US products took effect.Canadian dairy products, motorcycles and alcoholic beverages face import bans in the United States, while other goods from across the border will be hit with 50% tariffs, the White House said Tuesday, as President Donald Trump escalates a trade war with Ottawa.
The import ban is scheduled to take effect on September 29.

Trump also ordered a 50% tariff on additional Canadian goods, including mattresses, motorboats and golf carts, starting September 15.The latest moves came after Canada imposed retaliatory tariffs of up to 50% on about $20 billion (€17.2 billion) of US goods on Monday, following Washington's decision last month to levy 50% tariffs on selected Canadian imports.
Why is Trump imposing an import ban?

The White House said the alcohol ban was partly in response to provincial boycotts of US alcohol. Canadian provinces have removed many US wines and spirits from store shelves amid a widespread boycott of American goods, a move Trump called "discriminatory."

"President Trump is doing this to make sure, again, that we keep a level playing field, deter retaliation, and of course protect American production," a senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters on a call.

Trump also directed the US General Services Administration to exclude Canadian products from its long-term government procurement contracts unless Ottawa restores what he called "full and fair reciprocity" for American farmers and companies.

On Monday, Trump threatened to block Canadian aircraft maker Bombardier from selling planes in the US unless it manufactures them in the United States.
What did Canadian Prime Minister Carney say?

Nearly 68% of Canadian exports headed to the US this year, with about 80% of those shipments entering duty-free under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) exemptions, data showed.

However, the latest escalation also cast a shadow on the future of the three-nation trade pact.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his country would accelerate efforts to reduce its dependence on the US.

"It's about ensuring that no country can hold us hostage. And that we can live how we want to live," Carney said on Tuesday.

Aside from tariffs, Canadians were also irked by Trump's repeated reference to their country as the 51st US state and an order renaming of Lake Ontario to Lake America.
Trump pushes Canada toward EU

Trump wielding tariffs as a tool to force smaller partners to agree to lower tariffs in return for market access, investment pledges or alignment with US policy has other governments watching to see how Canada's standing up to Trump plays out.

Recent developments have pushed Ottawa to explore a deeper relationship with the European Union.

Next week, Carney is due in Strasbourg, France, and scheduled address the European Parliament.

Parliament today (9 September) passed the Bank Resolution (Amendment) Act, 2026, abolishing a provision that allowed former directors or owners of merged or merger-bound banks to regain ownership.

Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury moved the amendment bill, which was passed by voice vote. Deputy Speaker Kaisar Kamal presided over the session.

The amendment repeals Section 18A of the Bank Resolution Act, 2026, which had allowed former owners or directors of banks undergoing or listed for merger to regain ownership by paying 7.5% upfront of the money invested by the government or Bangladesh Bank. The remaining 92.5% was to be repaid within two years with 10% simple interest.

The provision was not included in the ordinance issued by the interim government. The current government later added it to the law, drawing widespread criticism from analysts, who said it created an opportunity for those accused of looting banks to buy back ownership in instalments.

Why the provision was scrapped

In a statement explaining the amendment, Khosru said Section 18A was introduced as a market-based alternative to existing resolution tools, allowing banks under resolution to remain operational while being restructured.

He said the provision also aimed to address capital and liquidity shortages, protect depositors and investors, reduce the government's financial exposure and account for the banking sector's prevailing conditions.

However, no individual or institution had applied after the law came into force while fulfilling all the conditions of the provision, he said. Therefore, repealing Section 18A was considered appropriate and necessary.

The minister subsequently moved the bill for passage, and it was approved by voice vote.

Brief disturbance in parliament

The amendment came amid a brief uproar after independent MP Rumeen Farhana criticised the government over rising loan defaults, saying BNP rule was historically marked by corruption and crises.

"The BNP will come to power, and there will be no gas, electricity or fertiliser crisis – that cannot happen. Bangladesh will not become the champion in corruption – that is also not possible," she said.

Government lawmakers shouted from their seats. Rumeen later questioned Section 18A, saying it could benefit lawmakers with loan-default records.

Opposition Leader Shafiqur Rahman criticised the disruption, saying MPs must be allowed to speak, while the Speaker could rule on any remarks deemed unparliamentary or the relevant minister could respond.

The government will import 18 cargoes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from France-based energy company TotalEnergies over the next nine months, with two cargoes scheduled each month from October this year to June next year.

The government may also purchase additional LNG cargoes from the company if needed, subject to mutual agreement between the two sides.

The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase approved the LNG procurement proposal at a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury today (9 September).

The LNG will be procured through the direct purchase method for international procurement.

Each LNG cargo from TotalEnergies will be priced at the Japan Korea Marker (JKM) plus $0.06 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), according to the government.

The rate is slightly lower than the price agreed with US-based Gunvor for 14 LNG cargoes to be imported between 2026 and 2028. Under that arrangement, the price was set at JKM plus $0.0875 per MMBtu.

The TotalEnergies procurement received policy approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs to meet urgent gas demand amid heightened geopolitical instability stemming from the conflict in the Middle East, according to the Ministry of Finance's Public Relations Department.

Bangladesh has long-term LNG supply agreements with Qatar and Oman. However, supplies under the contracts have been disrupted amid the Iran conflict, contributing to the country's ongoing gas shortage.

Against this backdrop, the government has been buying LNG from the spot market at relatively high prices while seeking alternative sources to bolster supplies.

As part of that effort, the government has also approved a proposal to sign a long-term LNG import agreement with US-based Gunvor through 2038.

Under the approved arrangement, Bangladesh will import 14 LNG cargoes from Gunvor between 2026 and 2028 at JKM plus $0.0875 per MMBtu.

The United States banned a broad swath of Canadian alcoholic beverages, motorcycles and dairy products from import on Tuesday, sharply escalating an already acrimonious trade spat.

The import bans, which go into effect on September 29 and were published on the White House’s website, came after Canada’s own retaliatory tariffs on US goods took effect after midnight on Tuesday.
Those Canadian levies themselves followed 50 percent tariffs that the United States imposed on some $20 billion of Canadian goods last month, after several rounds of negotiations collapsed.The breakdown has widened a rift between the longtime allies, who have blamed each other for the failed talks, spurred Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to urge a further shift away from Canada’s biggest trading partner, and cast doubt on the viability of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement.“We have everything we need to pivot and prosper,” Carney said on Tuesday in a video posted on YouTube. “That pivot will come at a cost. There’s always a cost to action. But it doesn’t come close to the cost of standing still,” he said.

The import bans came after Canada’s own retaliatory tariffs on US goods took effect after midnight on Tuesday

The US bans appeared to cover most alcohol products, including beer and various types of wine, whisky, bourbon, rum, vodka, vermouth, tequila, mezcal, and brandy. The dairy ban covers whey protein, invert molasses, cane molasses and non-alcoholic beer, per notices on the White House’s website. In addition to the import bans, various cheese products were added to a list of products subject to a 50 percent tariff, but not banned outright.

Some paper, aluminum, wood, furniture, lighting and other products were also added to the list.

A US official said President Donald Trump’s pre-existing threat to increase tariffs on Canadian autos from 25 percent to 50 percent on January 1 remained in effect.

The official added that US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer had spoken with Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s minister responsible for bilateral US trade, over the past couple of days, and the pair were expected to speak again in the coming days to see if there was an alternative path for the two countries.

In a social media post on Tuesday night, LeBlanc criticized the latest US measures and said he was in contact with Greer regarding a path forward.

“As has been the case for the last 18 months, our first priority remains on protecting and supporting Canadian workers, farmers, families, and businesses from these unjustified actions,” he wrote.

OTTAWA STRIKES BACK

Ottawa’s retaliatory measures, which in turn provoked Washington’s move on Tuesday night, were designed to put economic and political pressure on Washington, Canadian government officials said.

Those counter-tariffs cover some $20 billion of US goods, with duties ranging from 15 percent to 50 percent across products from steel and furniture to clothing and electronics, and are expected to hit sectors in some competitive states such as Michigan and Ohio, ahead of US midterm elections in November.

While the tariffs affect a small amount of exports compared with total trade between the US and Canada, some analysts worry the standoff could destabilize the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the free-trade pact that succeeded NAFTA.

Together they have underpinned commerce across North America for decades.

“What we are worried about is an escalatory spiral,” said Michael Harvey, executive director of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance and a member of Carney’s advisory committee on bilateral US economic relations.

“But at the same time, we totally understand that the prime minister needs to find areas of leverage.”

Trump has been lobbing various attacks at Canada on Truth Social in recent days.
Google News LinkFor all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.

On Monday, he said Canadian private jet maker Bombardier would no longer be allowed to sell its planes in the United States unless it started manufacturing in the country.

He also shared a map of North America draped in the US flag, including Canada and Mexico, and an AI-generated image reviving a running jab at Carney, calling him “Governor,” a reference to his repeated taunt that Canada should become the 51st US state.

On Tuesday, hours before the latest import bans, Trump directed the General Services Administration, a US government body responsible for providing services for the federal government, to coordinate with the US Trade Representative and “REMOVE Canadian-origin products from GSA’s Multiple Award Schedules unless Canada restores full and fair reciprocity for American Farmers and Companies.”

VARIOUS SECTORS HIT

Trump’s tariffs implemented last month hit sectors including wine, furniture, dairy products, cement, clothing, fishing rods and hockey equipment, covering $20 billion, or 5 percent, of Canadian exports to the US.

A Sapporo spokesperson said the brewer is considering moving a limited amount of production of non-alcoholic drinks from Canada to the US due to tariff risks, but no final decision has been made.

Sapporo owns Ontario-based Sleeman Breweries.

Canada accounts for more than half of the Japanese firm’s overseas beer sales.

According to Canadian and US government data, Canada has shipped almost 68 percent of total exports to the US this year, out of which roughly 80 percent moved duty-free due to exemptions under the USMCA pact.

Protections under the agreement have provided the domestic economy some resilience.

Last month’s tariffs, imposed under a Depression-era US law, do not allow Ottawa to exercise USMCA exemptions.

Concerns about the USMCA’s future have fueled uncertainty about investment and growth, as Canada wages a trade war against an economy 13 times its size.

Polls also show Carney has broad support from Canadians, but that could disappear within months as the consequences of the trade war sink in, according to political analysts.

A new poll from Angus Reid on Tuesday showed that approval of Carney’s performance jumped 11 points to 62 percent from an August poll.

Meanwhile, just 20 percent of Americans approved of Trump’s tariffs on Canadian goods, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

Trump threatened last month to raise US tariffs on all cars, trucks and automotive parts from Canada to 50 percent starting January 1, and signed an executive order renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America.

Ten banks accounted for more than 72 percent of the banking sector’s total non-performing loans, according to the central bank, showing that the country’s 61 commercial lenders are not equally responsible for the sector’s financial distress.

As of June this year, bad loans in the banking sector stood at a whopping Tk 6,06,555 crore, according to the latest data from the Bangladesh Bank (BB). Of this, the 10 distressed lenders held Tk 4,39,527 crore in NPLs.

The lenders are Islami Bank Bangladesh, Janata Bank, Agrani Bank, IFIC Bank, National Bank, AB Bank, First Security Islami Bank, EXIM Bank, Social Islami Bank and Union Bank.

In terms of volume, Islami Bank Bangladesh has the highest level of bad loans in the banking sector. Until June this year, its NPLs stood at around Tk 98,914 crore, or 52.15 percent of its disbursed loans.

The bank was taken over by S Alam Group in 2017. The controversial conglomerate later extended around 80 percent of the bank’s total loans to its own companies and associated firms, violating banking rules and regulations.

After the fall of the Awami League government in August 2024 in an uprising, the bank was freed from the group’s control and is now operating under the supervision of the BB.

At the end of December last year, Islami Bank’s bad loans stood at Tk 92,115 crore, or 49 percent of its disbursed loans. In the six months to June, its bad loans increased by Tk 6,799 crore, according to BB data.

Contacted, Md Altaf Hossain, acting managing director of Islami Bank, said that a large share of its defaulted loans is linked to the S Alam Group, with recovery remaining minimal.

He said that the bank is trying to recover loans from other borrowers, but progress has been limited.

“We are trying to recover the loans through cash payments and rescheduling. When we find no other way, we ultimately resort to filing cases against the customers,” Altaf told The Daily Star.

The acting managing director said the bank regularised Tk 5,885 crore this year through rescheduling, while it recovered Tk 749 crore from classified loans.

Scam-hit Janata Bank ranked second in terms of bad loan volume. Its NPLs stood at Tk 75,729 crore, or 75 percent of its disbursed loans.

Seeking anonymity, Janata Bank officials told The Daily Star that a major portion of the bank’s bad loans is concentrated among a small number of powerful business groups.

They said that about 80 percent of its bad loans are stuck with its top 20 defaulters, including Beximco, S Alam and AnonTex.

Beximco Group alone accounted for about Tk 25,000 crore of the bank’s exposure. Other major defaulters include Crescent Group and Thermex Group.

Agrani Bank, another state-run lender, also struggles with a heavy NPL burden. Its NPLs stood at Tk 32,133 crore, or 43.98 percent of its disbursed loans, show BB data.

At EXIM Bank, bad loans stood at Tk 38,052.53 crore, nearly 71 percent of its total disbursed loans, according to central bank data.

The bank was largely influenced by Nazrul Islam Mazumder, chairman of Nassa Group and former chairman of the Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB). Lending irregularities and weak corporate governance have pushed the lender towards a merger with four other troubled banks.

Among lenders linked to the S Alam Group, First Security Islami Bank reported NPLs of Tk 60,645 crore, or 97 percent of its total disbursed loans.

Social Islami Bank’s bad loans stood at Tk 29,799 crore, or 78 percent of its disbursed loans, while Union Bank’s NPLs stood at Tk 27,134 crore, or 96 percent of its disbursed loans.

The boards of the two lenders were also largely dominated by the S Alam Group.

AB Bank’s NPLs stood at Tk 20,325 crore, or 56.04 percent, while National Bank reported Tk 28,276 crore, or 65.46 percent, according to BB data.

Bad loans at IFIC Bank stood at Tk 28,520 crore, or 63.38 percent of its disbursed loans. The bank was dominated by Salman F Rahman, vice-chairman of Beximco Group and an influential adviser to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

Md Ezazul Islam, director general of the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM), said the country’s NPL situation shows that the problem is concentrated in a handful of Islamic and state-owned banks.

“The main reason for the rise in NPLs is that loans have become concentrated among a small number of corporate borrowers. The banking sector needs to move away from this excessive loan concentration,” he told The Daily Star.

Ezazul, a former official of the central bank, said that around 10 percentage points of the banking sector’s NPL ratio, which has now reached 30 percent, can be attributed to economic factors, while the remaining 20 percentage points are the result of willful default, irregularities and corruption.

The value of internet banking transactions in Bangladesh grew by 6.22 percent month-on-month to Tk 1.84 lakh crore in June 2026, driven mainly by sharp increases in two payment systems, according to a recent central bank report.

The total had stood at Tk 1.73 lakh crore in May 2026.
The transactional values of Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and National Payment Switch Bangladesh (NPSB) rose while Bangladesh Electronic Fund Transfer Network (BEFTN) fell, according to the e-Banking and e-Commerce Statistics review by Bangladesh Bank.RTGS, NPSB and BEFTN are BB-operated interbank payment systems, but they serve different purposes.

BEFTN is for scheduled batch transfers, NPSB is for real-time card and account transactions, and RTGS is for high-value, instant gross settlement-- all three route transactions among the country’s scheduled banks and mobile financial service providers.

Among the individual channels, RTGS transactions rose 26.09 percent to Tk 50,461 crore in June, up from Tk 40,022 crore in May. NPSB transactions increased 2.70 percent to Tk 57,480 crore in June from Tk 55,967 crore in May, the report showed.

BEFTN transfers, by contrast, declined to Tk 11,638 crore in June from Tk 12,987 crore in May. “It is clear that a large number of customers are using internet banking to access financial services,” BB said in the report.

However, the total number of internet banking customers fell slightly during the same period, decreasing 0.64 percent to 2.27 crore in June from 2.28 crore in May.

The data also showed that among the internet banking customer base, 1.78 crore were male, 44 lakh were female, and 4.7 lakh were registered under “other” in June.

As of June, 58 scheduled banks were offering internet banking services in the country.

Benchmark Brent crude oil futures rose past $100 a barrel on Wednesday, hitting a more than six-week high and breaching the symbolic threshold for the first time since July 24 as intensifying conflict in the Middle East heightened concerns about oil flows from the region.

Brent crude futures were up $2.01, or 2.05 percent, at $99.93 a barrel by 0802 GMT, after earlier touching $100.19, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was up $1.49, or 1.60 percent, at $94.52 a barrel.
Brent crude prices have risen by a quarter since early last month as hopes fade for a permanent resolution to the six-month-old US-Iran conflict.Since the Iran war began on February 28, Brent has surged as high as $126.41 a barrel, a peak reached on April 30.

This week, attacks by Iran-backed Houthis on Saudi energy facilities set oil installations ablaze, threatening a significant expansion of the conflict.

The attacks also threaten crude shipments via the Red Sea, which has been a key alternative route to the crucial Strait of Hormuz, where oil flows have been severely curtailed since the February 28 start of the Iran war.

Market participants appear to be pricing in a more prolonged conflict in the Middle East as well as the risk that the latest escalation in military strikes disrupts oil flows from the Middle East, said Hamad Hussain, senior climate and commodities economist at Capital Economics.

The key risk is whether the recent attacks on oil tankers lead to fewer ship-to-ship transfers taking place in the Gulf of Oman, which have so far played a key role in providing oil to global markets and keeping a lid on prices.

A growing number of banks, including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and HSBC, have raised their crude price forecasts in recent days.

In the week before a resumption in fighting on August 30, roughly 8 million to 9 million bpd had flowed through Hormuz, double the previous week's volume, according to Rystad Energy's Chief Economist Claudio Galimberti, although more recently it had fallen below 2 million bpd.

I think the market is trying to treat this rise in energy prices as a one-off. It's not. This is structural. It's not going away, and it's part of what I would argue as a security premium. And it's only going to get bigger, said Jeffrey Currie, co-chairman at Abaxx Markets.

While non-OPEC oil producers including the United States, Canada and Guyana have ramped up output, the International Energy Agency said last month it expected global oil supply would fall this year by 4.3 million bpd, or about 4 percent.

Capital market stakeholders have urged the government to allow listed companies to buy back their own shares and streamline merger and acquisition (M&A) processes through amendments to the Companies Act, 1994.

In a letter to the Ministry of Commerce, the DSE Brokers Association of Bangladesh (DBA), the platform of Dhaka Stock Exchange brokerage houses, called for specific provisions on share buybacks and M&A in the proposed third amendment to the law.

The DBA also urged the government to empower the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) to formulate and enforce rules on the issues to ensure effective regulation and investor protection.

Currently, listed companies have no mechanism to repurchase their shares when prices fall sharply during periods of market volatility. The absence of a comprehensive M&A framework also forces companies to seek court approval, resulting in lengthy delays.

"Every country has laws governing share buybacks, but Bangladesh has none. As a result, many cash-rich companies cannot repurchase their shares even when prices fall. Consequently, there is no market support during a downturn," DBA President Saiful Islam told TBS.

He added that if this law is enacted, companies will be able to buy their own shares, providing crucial support during periods of market volatility.

Under current regulations, sponsors and directors can purchase shares when prices fall, but such purchases increase their personal stakes rather than directly benefiting the company, he said.

"Allowing companies to execute share buybacks would deliver direct value to the firm," Saiful said, adding that the DBA had urged the government to include buyback provisions in the Companies Act.

He also called for a dedicated M&A framework to reduce legal complexities and speed up transactions.

"M&As currently require court approvals, which is a time-consuming process. Having dedicated laws or regulations would enable faster mergers and acquisitions," he said.

DBA seeks greater BSEC oversight

In its letter to Commerce Secretary Md Ataur Rahman Khan, the DBA proposed allowing listed companies to conduct share buybacks, with BSEC empowered to formulate rules and oversee their implementation.

It also called for BSEC to be given authority to regulate mergers and acquisitions involving listed companies to reduce legal complexities and protect investors.

The association said empowering the capital market regulator to formulate and implement rules in these areas would ensure more effective oversight and better protection of investors and other stakeholders.

BSEC also seeks buyback provision

Separately, BSEC has called for allowing listed companies to buy back shares in the proposed amendment to the Companies Act.

The regulator also proposed modernising corporate reporting standards, requiring regulatory approval for mergers involving listed companies and extending the validity of financial statements used in prospectuses.

BSEC Executive Director Abul Kalam made the proposals at a views-exchange meeting on the draft Companies Act amendment at the FBCCI Board Room in the capital on Monday.

He said targeted revisions were needed to align the law with modern business practices, noting that several BSEC recommendations submitted on 18 December 2025 had been omitted from the current draft.

Referring to Section 58 of the existing law, which restricts companies from purchasing their own shares, Kalam urged policymakers to allow listed entities to conduct buybacks under specific conditions to improve capital management and protect shareholder interests.

On mergers, acquisitions, demergers and restructuring under Sections 228 and 229, he proposed requiring BSEC involvement when a listed company merges with an unlisted entity to protect general investors, citing similar regulatory arrangements in India.

Bangladesh has set a target to generate at least 20% of its total electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and 30% by 2040 to curb dependence on imported fuels and prioritise renewable energy to meet growing demand, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman told parliament today (9 September).

Under the government's National Renewable Energy Development Strategy for 2026-2030, he said, the country aims to generate 5,500 megawatts of electricity from rooftop solar systems and 4,500MW from ground-mounted solar projects by 2030.

Another 450MW to 550MW is targeted from wind, waste-to-energy, hydropower, floating solar, and agrivoltaics, among other technologies, he added.

The prime minister disclosed the targets in a written response to a question from Meherpur-1 MP Md Tajuddin Khan during the question-answer session of the third session of the 13th parliament.

"Considering the country's growing electricity demand, the government has identified renewable energy as a priority sector to reduce dependence on imported fuel," said the prime minister.

The prime minister also said the government has also introduced incentives to encourage electricity generation from renewable sources, including conditional exemptions from various duties and taxes on solar panels, inverters, batteries and supporting structures used for solar installations.

He said the maximum generation cost for rooftop solar systems with batteries was set at Tk8 per unit on 1 September 2026.

As part of a special incentive package, the government has fixed the purchase price of electricity supplied to the national grid at Tk10.50 per unit, taking into account a 20% profit margin on generation cost and an 11.25% premium.

Under the notification, consumers who install rooftop solar systems by 28 February 2027 in accordance with the Net Metering Guideline 2025 and supply surplus electricity to the national grid after meeting their own consumption needs will receive Tk10.50 per unit for the following three years, until 28 February 2030.

The prime minister also told parliament that the government has formulated several policies and guidelines to expand renewable energy.

These include the "Guideline for Development of Renewable Energy Projects on Land Owned by Government Agencies under the PPP Model, 2026," the "Policy for Increasing Private Participation in Renewable Energy-Based Power Generation, 2025," the "Renewable Energy Policy, 2025," the "Net Metering Guideline, 2025" and the "National Rooftop Solar Programme, 2025."

He said guidelines have also been formulated on business models for waste-to-energy generation, onshore wind development and carbon credit processing.

A fresh US$81.68-million capital is going to be funneled into Janata Bank's UAE operations to avert wind-down of its business following persistent capital-shortfall-triggered regulatory restrictions on its reserve accounts.

To this effect, the Financial Institutions Division (FID) Tuesday sent to the Finance Division a letter seeking approval for the government bailout for the state-owned bank's overseas outfit, sources said Wednesday.

Earlier, the UAE central bank had threatened to freeze Janata Bank's UAE operations and force a three-year wind-down of the business over its persistent capital shortfall, sources said.

The fund will be sourced from Janata Bank's head office in Dhaka and routed through its local office to the United Arab Emirates.

Contacted, an official of the Finance Division said, "We are working on the issue and necessary approval would be issued shortly."

Janata Bank's UAE operations have been running for 52 years since 1974 and currently it operates four branches and a chief executive office, making it the second-largest foreign bank in the UAE by branch count.

The bank serves roughly 70,000 depositors, 3,800 loan and advance customers, and close to one million remittance senders.

In 2021, the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) raised the minimum capital requirement for foreign banks from AED 40 million to AED 400 million.

Janata Bank's UAE unit had paid-up capital of only AED 100 million, plus AED 83 million in retained earnings, well short of the new threshold, even though it had repatriated no profits in the intervening time while trying to build up capital.

Citing the persistent shortfall, the CBUAE imposed restrictions on debit transactions from Janata Bank's reserve accounts held at the central bank, effective July 8, 2026.

A week later, on July 15, the UAE regulator formally asked Janata Bank to begin a rollback to be completed within three years and appoint an administrator.

The CBUAE warned that failure to appoint an administrator and start wind-down proceedings by September 14, 2026 would lead to a permanent freeze of the bank's reserve accounts and the appointment of an administrator by the authority.

Bangladesh's ambassador to the UAE met the CBUAE assistant governor on August 18 to seek a resolution.

The ambassador recommended that the Finance Ministry pledge an AED 2.0-billion capital injection and that Janata Bank immediately meet the AED 100-million minimum capital requirements per branch.

The UAE operations' CEO informed the authorities on September 1 that the CBUAE would begin the winding-down process on September 8 and review progress on the administrator appointment and other compliance measures.

In a September-6th letter to the FID, Janata Bank Chairman Md Fazlur Rahman said the board, at its 900th meeting on September 5, 2026, had decided that the UAE operation was profitable and "should not be closed in national interest".

An official of Janata Bank who deals with the issue has said, "We hope to send capital to the UAE unit of state-owned Janata Bank by the deadline set by the CBUAE."

The closure of Janata Bank's UAE operations could disrupt banking services for around 70,000 depositors, one million remittance customers and 3,800 borrowers, while putting nearly Tk 9.0 billion in outstanding loans at risk of turning non-performing, according to an assessment by the bank's board.

The board's assessment, cited in a letter, warns that shutting down the UAE operations would also disrupt a major formal channel for remittances to Bangladesh.

Janata Bank currently channels an estimated Tk 80 billion to Tk 100 billion in remittances annually from the UAE, the assessment said.

"A closure could disrupt formal remittance flows and affect sales of the government's Wage Earners' Development Bond and dollar bonds.

"The UAE accounts for around 70 per cent of current CIP (remittance) recognitions," the assessment reads.

The board has warned that closure could damage the bank's international reputation, too, jeopardise correspondent banking relationships (RMA) and affect head-office trade-finance operations.

The three-year winding-down would also incur costs for asset disposal, customer liabilities, staff separation, contract termination and IT relocation, while the head office could have to cover administrator fees, salaries and legal expenses.

It could also affect the government's Probashi Card programme, for which Janata Bank has first-phase distribution responsibility in the Middle East.

Against this backdrop, the board approved transferring US$81.68 million (AED 300 million) from head-office assets into the UAE operations as capital, subject to government and central-bank approval.

It also approved a commitment letter to the CBUAE and a request to the Finance Ministry for the full AED 2.0-billion capital injection recommended by the Bangladesh ambassador.

The board further approved a request for ministry assistance to meet the capital shortfall, with all correspondence cleared for dispatch under the chairman's signature.

The FID's approval on Tuesday cleared the immediate AED300-million tranche, which officials say would meet the CBUAE's per-branch minimum capital requirement and avert the September-14th deadline for initiating formal rollback.

Since the political changeover in August 2024, Bangladesh has experienced significant political and social changes. Under the interim government, uncertainty remained over policy direction and the predictability of administrative procedures. It was certainly not an easy business environment for foreign companies.

Yet Japanese companies continued their operations. More importantly, some even announced new investments or business expansions during this period. One reason may be that Japanese companies do not assess Bangladesh solely on the basis of short-term political developments. They are looking beyond the immediate political risks: the country’s large population, rising income levels, competitiveness as a production base and the expansion of its domestic market. In other words, they are looking at what Bangladesh could become over the next 10 or 20 years.
Bangladesh is gradually becoming more than a low-cost production base for Japanese companies. It is also a country where they see potential for future sales and business growth.

The 2025 JETRO Survey on Business Conditions of Japanese Companies Overseas provides some evidence. Of the Japanese companies surveyed in Bangladesh, 50 percent expected to be profitable in fiscal 2025, while 56.9 percent said they planned to expand their business over the next one to two years. At the same time, 94.4 percent identified political and social instability as an investment risk. These figures suggest an interesting contrast: Japanese companies are clearly aware of the risks, yet many continue to see opportunities for expansion.

The reason is not simply low labour costs. Bangladesh offers Japanese companies an established business base today, while its large population, rising incomes and expanding domestic demand offer the possibility of a much larger market tomorrow. In this sense, Bangladesh is gradually becoming more than a low-cost production base for Japanese companies. It is also a country where they see potential for future sales and business growth.

From this long-term investment perspective, the establishment of the Invest Bangladesh authority is an important development. On August 20, the government brought the Invest Bangladesh Act, 2026 into effect through a gazette notification, merging BIDA, BEZA and the PPP Authority into a new organisation. This is an important step towards consolidating investment promotion functions.

However, this merger does not mean that Bangladesh’s investment administration has become a unified system. Institutions such as BEPZA and Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority (BHTPA), which also play important roles for investors, remain outside the new organisation. Moreover, the issues faced by investors do not end with investment promotion agencies. They may need to coordinate with various government agencies on matters ranging from work permits to tax, customs and foreign-exchange regulations.

This is why I believe the potential role of Invest Bangladesh goes beyond managing the three organisations brought together under the new authority. It could become a coordinating “control tower” that addresses cross-government issues from the investor’s perspective.

For example, information submitted by an investor could be shared across relevant agencies. Digital procedures could also create clear records of applications and decisions, reducing room for different interpretations by individual officials. The real objective should not simply be to create “one organisation”, but to create “one administration from the investor’s perspective”.

Japanese companies have continued to see Bangladesh’s long-term growth potential. If the new organisation can play this cross-government coordinating role and improve the investment experience for companies, it could further strengthen that long-term confidence.

The Invest Bangladesh authority has the potential to make Bangladesh’s investment administration simpler, more transparent and more predictable from the perspective of businesses. That is a development worth watching closely.

The number of women working in Bangladesh's banking sector continues to rise, but their representation in senior positions remains comparatively low, according to a Bangladesh Bank report.

At the end of January-June this year, the number of female officers and employees at 61 scheduled banks stood at 35,971, up 910, or 2.60%, from the previous six-month period.

The findings were published in the central bank's semi-annual report on gender equality by its Sustainable Finance Department.

According to the report, the 61 scheduled banks had a total workforce of 2,17,818 employees at the end of January-June 2026. Women accounted for 35,971 of them, or 16.51% of the total workforce.

In July-December 2025, the number of female employees in the banks was 35,061, meaning their number increased by 910 in six months.

Among different categories of banks, private commercial banks employed 23,524 women, accounting for 16.12% of their 145,898-strong workforce.

State-owned commercial banks employed 9,471 women, representing 17.06% of their total workforce – a higher proportion than that of private commercial banks.

Foreign commercial banks had a comparatively smaller number of female employees, with 931 women working across nine banks. However, they had the highest proportion of women in their workforce, at 24.81%.

Women's representation remains low at senior levels

Despite the increase in the overall number of female employees, women's representation in senior positions remains relatively low, the report found.

During January-June, women accounted for 13.14% of bank board members. Their representation was 16.99% at entry-level positions and 16.37% at mid-level positions.

In contrast, women accounted for only 10.55% of employees at senior-level positions.

This means women's representation remains lower at senior levels than at entry and mid-level positions.

Age-wise, the data showed stronger participation among younger female employees. Women accounted for 21.10% of employees aged below 30, compared with 11% among employees aged above 50.

The report also showed that the employee turnover rate among female workers in the banking sector stood at 13.87% during January-June.

Banks take initiatives to support women employees

Banks have taken various initiatives to improve the working environment for female employees.

According to the report, all scheduled banks provide six months of maternity leave for female officers and employees.

All banks also have policies on preventing sexual harassment and raising awareness about the issue.

Of the 61 scheduled banks, 37 have established childcare facilities, either independently or jointly, for the children of female employees.

In addition, 36 banks have their own transport facilities to help female employees commute after designated working hours.

During January-June 2026, 49 scheduled banks organised awareness training on gender equality.

The Bangladesh Bank report said that although women's participation in the banking sector is increasing, there is still scope to improve their representation in senior positions.

The central bank is encouraging banks to take various initiatives to create a supportive working environment for female employees and ensure greater gender equality in the banking sector.

How much oil is flowing through the Strait of Hormuz? Traders, energy executives and government officials are all trying to figure it out – but are reaching wildly different conclusions. It is, however, increasingly clear that this mystery has introduced a residual risk premium into crude prices that could remain deeply entrenched for months.

Benchmark Brent crude futures breached $100 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time since July 24 as ​escalating attacks in the Middle East, including on tankers, stifled hopes of a normalisation of oil shipping in the region.The narrow waterway between Iran and Oman has become the focal point of the conflict amid competing US and Iranian blockades.

Before the war erupted in February, flows through the world’s most important energy artery were largely taken for granted. While never perfect, flow estimates were remarkably reliable, even after accounting for Iran’s longstanding practice of switching off tanker transponders to evade Western sanctions.

For years, the consensus barely changed: Hormuz transited roughly 20 million barrels per day, equivalent to about one-fifth of global oil consumption. That certainty has disappeared.

Today, ​armies of analysts, along with increasingly sophisticated AI systems, are sifting through vast streams of information to determine how much oil is actually moving through the strait. Satellite imagery is cross-checked against port records, tanker drafts, loading ​schedules, refinery receipts and vessel-tracking data to reconstruct movements previously monitored in near real time.

The challenge has become exponentially harder because of the surge in “dark crossings,” when tankers switch ​off navigation and identification systems while approaching, transiting or leaving the strait. A US request for commercial satellite firms to delay imagery from the Gulf has further clouded the picture.

As a result, nobody can say with confidence exactly how much ​oil is flowing through Hormuz on any given day.

There are growing signs that Iran’s grip on the strait may be weakening. Months of tit-for-tat military exchanges have degraded Tehran’s radar systems and strike capabilities near Hormuz. US demining operations and a ​growing US-protected shipping corridor along Oman’s coast have allowed more vessels to enter and leave the Gulf.

The multi-billion-dollar question is how many vessels?

This uncertainty was highlighted by conflicting estimates from the Trump administration.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on September 2 that more than 17 million barrels transited the strait on August 31 under US Navy supervision, a figure that would represent the highest level recorded since the war began. The claim left traders and analysts scratching their heads.

More than a week later, ship-tracking firm Kpler, which uses satellite imagery, transponder ​signals, port logs and commercial shipping intelligence, suggested that perhaps only 6 million barrels crossed Hormuz that day.

Kpler estimates crude flows through Hormuz in August averaged only around 4.3 million barrels per day, rising to nearly 5 million bpd ​during the first six days of September. It also notes that transits appear to have fallen sharply in recent days.

One possible explanation is that the administration is including exports from the United Arab Emirates’ Fujairah terminal, located outside the strait and supplied by Abu Dhabi’s ​bypass pipeline. Moreover, ​a single day’s observation says little about broader trends.

Wright admitted as much, saying on Sunday that flows through Hormuz were averaging more than 9 million bpd, though he did not specify the period.

That would be in line with Kpler’s estimates when Hormuz flows are combined with exports moving through alternative routes that bypass the strait.

To complicate matters further, tankers can remain dark for days or even weeks before and after crossing the strait, so actual volumes could ultimately prove to be significantly higher than current estimates suggest.

The new Hormuz may therefore be carrying half its pre-war volumes, or it may be carrying considerably more. That caveat illustrates the broader problem.

For perhaps the first time in modern oil market history, ​participants cannot accurately measure flows through the world’s most important ​energy corridor. The consequences extend far beyond academic debates over ​tanker movements.
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Oil prices are supposed to reflect fundamentals. Yet it is difficult to assess fundamentals when one of the world’s largest supply arteries has effectively disappeared from view. In effect, uncertainty itself has become a fundamental.

The result is a persistent risk premium that is likely to remain embedded in prices for months. Clarity is likely to improve only with a resolution ​to the US-Iran stand-off. But whether that resolution is closer or farther away remains an open question.

Iran’s economy has come under severe strain after months of war, especially ​since Washington imposed a blockade on ​Iranian exports on July 14 and ratcheted up sanctions. The Trump administration likely aims to use economic pain to bring Tehran back to the negotiating table. But Iran’s clerical leadership continues to demand sanctions relief and maintains hopes of eventually collecting fees from ships crossing the strait.

Moreover, Iran retains the capacity to disrupt maritime traffic. Iran-linked forces have targeted 27 vessels since early July, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). The Islamic Republic has also vowed to announce a new restricted zone in the ​Gulf in coming ​days.

In other words, more uncertainty.

Philosophers have long asked: If a tree falls in a forest and nobody hears it, does it make a ​sound? In today’s oil market, the equivalent question is whether a tanker crossing the Strait of Hormuz can influence global supplies if nobody can see it. The answer is far from obvious.

The securities regulator has widened the scope of investment for directors, officers and employees of stock exchanges and market operators while retaining restrictions on their direct investment in stocks.

According to a new directive issued by the securities regulator, the officials concerned will be allowed to invest in non-convertible bonds, government securities, open-end mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and real estate investment trust (REIT) funds. ETFs and REIT funds, however, are yet to be introduced in Bangladesh's capital market.

Previously, the investment scope was limited to open-ended mutual funds for the targeted group.

The directive covers directors, officers and employees of stock exchanges, Central Depository Bangladesh Ltd. (CDBL), Central Counterparty Bangladesh Ltd. (CCBL), Bangladesh Institute of Capital Market (BICM) and Bangladesh Academy for Securities Markets (BASM).Online newspaper subscription

BICM and BASM have also been brought under the restriction in the latest directive, extending its application to organisations involved in capital market education, training and professional development.

The commission imposed restrictions on their direct investment in shares to prevent conflicts of interest and address concerns over the possible misuse of market-sensitive information by employees of capital market institutions, said Md Abul Kalam, executive director and spokesperson of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC).

The restriction is particularly relevant and important for employees who have access to sensitive information relating to trading, clearing, settlement, depository operations, corporate actions or other market activities before such information becomes widely available.

The move is part of a broader effort to strengthen professional conduct and market integrity rather than merely restrict employees' personal investments, said Mr Kalam.

"The change therefore combines tighter restrictions on direct investment in listed securities with a wider scope for investment in fixed-income and diversified products," he said, adding that the restriction applies to BSEC officers and employees as well, with the directive having come into effect last week.Bangladesh economic report

The broader coverage indicates that the regulator is seeking to establish a common standard for individuals working across the capital market ecosystem, market operators said.

A DSE official, requesting anonymity, said the officials concerned and their dependents — sons, daughters, fathers and mothers — were previously not even allowed to open beneficiary owner's (BO) accounts.

Under the latest directive, however, they will be allowed to open BO accounts solely for investing in non-convertible bonds, government securities, open-ended mutual funds, ETFs and REIT funds.

The exemption of diversified investment vehicles reflects an attempt to strike a balance between preserving personal investment rights and securing market integrity, said Akramul Alam, head of research at Royal Capital.

The inclusion of BSEC officials means that the regulator itself is also subject to the investment restrictions.

"Even when there is no actual misuse of information, the public perception that an employee can benefit from privileged access to information may undermine confidence," said Mr Alam.

The BSEC's latest order is expected to reduce the scope for potential conflicts between institutional responsibilities and personal trading interests, he added.

Enforcement key to effectiveness

Market participants said the effectiveness of the directive would ultimately depend on proper monitoring and enforcement.

"Restrictions on paper are not enough. The regulator needs an effective monitoring and disclosure mechanism to ensure compliance," said a stockbroker, preferring anonymity.

Effective enforcement would require coordination among the BSEC, stock exchanges, brokerage firms, depository and other relevant market institutions.

The BSEC spokesperson said the commission would monitor the investment accounts of the individuals concerned and ensure that prohibited transactions do not take place.

"If the regulator finds any investment beyond the approved instruments, it will take action in accordance with the securities rules," he said.