Oil prices were little changed for the week as traders held on to hopes for a successful outcome from attempts to secure peace between the US and Iran.

Brent futures were up 14 cents, or 0.19 percent, at $71.94 a barrel by 2:31 p.m. ET (1831 GMT), ending the week just 5 cents lower than last Friday’s close. West Texas Intermediate was up 9 cents, or 0.13 percent, at $68.78 a barrel.

Trading was light as US markets were closed ahead of the US Independence Day holiday on Saturday. On Thursday, the two oil benchmarks had hit their lowest levels since before the US-Israeli war with Iran began in late February.

Investor hopes for a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz are being buoyed by peace talks between the US and Iran, Commerzbank analysts said.

The proportion of individuals using the internet across Bangladesh continued its upward climb in the third quarter of the current fiscal year, according to the latest quarterly report of the ICT Access and Use Survey 2025-26, published by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

Meanwhile, in the same period, mobile phone ownership recorded a marginal dip after two consecutive quarters of growth.

The report, covering the January-March 2026 quarter, found that 58.6 percent of individuals aged five years and above used the internet, up from 58.4 percent in the second quarter (October-December 2025) and a sharp rise from 48.9 percent in the first quarter (July-September 2025).

Mobile phone ownership, however, edged down slightly to 65.4 percent in the third quarter from 65.5 percent in the second quarter, after rising steeply from 56.5 percent in the first quarter.

Despite the dip in ownership, overall mobile phone usage — which includes shared devices — rose marginally to 89.5 percent in the third quarter from 89.4 percent in the previous quarter and 80.6 percent in the first quarter.

Computer use among individuals also inched up, reaching 11.7 percent in the third quarter, compared with 11.4 percent in the second quarter and 10 percent in the first, indicating a slow but steady increase in digital device adoption.

At the household level, the survey — conducted through Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) across all 64 districts — found that internet access rose to 57.4 percent of households in the third quarter from 57.2 percent in the second quarter and 56.2 percent in the first.

Comparing full-year figures, household internet access has climbed from 55.1 percent in 2024-25 to 57.4 percent in the current survey year so far.

Mobile phone ownership at the household level remained virtually saturated at 98.9 percent throughout all three quarters, unchanged from the previous year.

The proportion of households owning a smartphone rose slightly to 73.4 percent in the third quarter from 73 percent in the second quarter and 72.4 percent in the first, continuing a gradual upward trend from 72.7 percent recorded in 2024-25.

Ownership of computers at the household level, meanwhile, showed only marginal movement, dipping to 8.9 percent in the second quarter before recovering to 9 percent in the third quarter, broadly flat compared with 9 percent in 2024-25.

Other indicators showed limited change. The proportion of households with a television dipped slightly to 58.8 percent in the third quarter from 59.2 percent in the second quarter, while radio ownership remained largely static at around 15 percent throughout the year.

Fixed-line telephone ownership continued its long-term decline, falling to 0.7 percent of households from 0.8 percent in 2024-25, as mobile phones remained the dominant mode of household connectivity, with 98.2 percent of households relying exclusively on mobile phones.

Household access to electricity showed a slight downward trend over the year, falling from 98.9 percent in the first quarter to 98.5 percent in the third quarter, though it remained near-universal nationwide.

The ICT Access and Use Survey, conducted under the BBS project titled "Measurement of ICT access and use opportunities at individual and household level, district-wise", is the second large-scale, and the first district-representative, survey of its kind, following an earlier modular survey conducted in 2013.

It covers 2,568 sample areas nationwide, gathering data from 61,632 households per quarter, amounting to 246,528 households annually, through 214 trained field enumerators.

The findings, once compiled from all four quarters, will be released as an annual report and will also feed into 22 indicators to be submitted to the International Telecommunication Union, supporting national and global tracking of Sustainable Development Goal targets related to digital access and use.

Gulf oil exports in June jumped more than 3 million barrels from May to exceed 10 million barrels per day as the US military helped to keep oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, data showed, though exports remained 40 percent below pre-war levels.

The United Arab Emirates led the recovery, allowing millions of barrels of crude stranded in the Gulf to reach international markets, enabling producers to raise output and lower oil prices to pre-conflict levels.

Combined crude and condensate exports from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Iraq and Iran rose by more than 3.5 million bpd from May to 10.07 million bpd, Kpler data shows. Vortexa, another cargo analytics company, estimated June flows at 10.2 million bpd, up from 7 million bpd in May but still way short of the 16.5 million bpd a year earlier. Since the June 17 agreement between the US and Iran to halt the conflict and restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the backlog of crude stranded in the Gulf cleared more quickly, leaving about 23 million barrels still to transit the waterway, said Kpler analyst Johannes Rauball. Floating storage in the strait had peaked at 96 million barrels in late April, he added.

UAE exports reached a record 3.7 million to 3.8 million bpd in June, Kpler, Vortexa and LSEG data showed, more than 1 million bpd above May levels. Ship broker BRS said 98 tankers crossed the strait between June 22 and June 28, about 14 a day and the highest since the conflict began. The traffic included 47 laden outbound tankers and 41 ballast vessels entering the Gulf, indicating ship owners are increasingly willing to send vessels into the region.

Saudi crude exports rose by 768,000 bpd to 4.52 million bpd in June, according to Kpler. Exports averaged about 6.3 million bpd last week, close to January levels, as Riyadh boosted loadings from Ras Tanura. During the conflict, Saudi Arabia and the UAE diverted some exports through pipelines bypassing Hormuz, an option largely unavailable to Iraq and Kuwait. ADNOC also used a tanker shuttle service to help to sustain exports.

Exports from Iraq and Kuwait recovered to about 800,000 bpd each, Vortexa data showed. Kuwait raised output sharply in June to 1.65 million bpd, a source told Reuters. Iran raised exports by more than 70 percent in June to 640,000 bpd as the US blockade eased, Vortexa said.

The government on Saturday invited US companies to expand investment in Bangladesh, promising policy stability, equal treatment for foreign investors and a more business-friendly environment to attract higher foreign direct investment (FDI) and strengthen bilateral economic ties.

Prime Minister’s Adviser and spokesperson Mahdi Amin made the call while addressing a programme marking the 250th anniversary of US Independence, organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham) in association with the US Embassy in Dhaka.

Describing the private sector as the main driver of economic growth, Mahdi said the government was committed to restoring investor confidence through transparency, accountability, good governance and the rule of law.

“The government will provide all possible policy support to facilitate investment,” he said.

Acknowledging long-standing concerns over unequal treatment of foreign investors, he said the government was determined to ensure a level playing field for both local and overseas businesses.

He urged leading US companies to step up FDI by bringing advanced technology, expertise and global best practices, creating quality jobs and strengthening local industries through partnerships.

Mahdi said Bangladesh’s large domestic market, expanding middle class and youthful workforce offered significant opportunities for foreign investors, while the government’s development strategy placed the private sector at the centre of economic expansion.

He said recent policy measures included facilitating profit repatriation, pursuing liberal economic reforms and offering tax incentives in economic zones, industrial parks and high-tech parks. The government would continue consulting businesses and implementing reforms to further improve the investment climate, he added.

Highlighting the contribution of American companies, Mahdi said US investment had created employment, transferred technology and management expertise, introduced global best practices and contributed to Bangladesh’s economic development.

“Bangladesh is at a crucial stage where we want to learn from international best practices and create an environment in which both local and foreign companies can thrive,” he said.

Mahdi also called for turning “brain drain” into “brain circulation” by encouraging skilled Bangladeshi professionals abroad, particularly in the United States, to contribute to the country’s economic and technological advancement.

He identified aviation, energy, information and communication technology, agro-based exports, pharmaceuticals, textiles, light engineering and high-value manufacturing as sectors with strong potential for expanded Bangladesh-US cooperation.

He also invited US companies to organise investment roadshows in Bangladesh and engage more closely with policymakers to explore new business opportunities.

Speaking at the event, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent T. Christensen said Washington sought to build a fair, reciprocal and long-term economic partnership with Bangladesh based on trade, investment and shared prosperity.

He said the United States wanted to move beyond a relationship centred on unilateral trade preferences and development assistance towards one based on fair and reciprocal trade and investment.

“This is a vote of confidence in Bangladesh’s potential, its dynamic private sector, young workforce and growing importance as a regional economic hub,” he said.

The ambassador, however, said Bangladesh would need to accelerate reforms by reducing bureaucracy, tackling corruption, promoting competition and ensuring a more predictable business environment to unlock its full economic potential.

He said the proposed US-Bangladesh reciprocal trade agreement could deepen bilateral economic cooperation by promoting investment, job creation, skills transfer and long-term business engagement.

He also highlighted opportunities for greater collaboration in energy, technology, the digital economy, healthcare, defence, security and investment.

AmCham President Syed Mohammad Kamal said the chamber would continue serving as the primary platform for American companies exploring business opportunities in Bangladesh.

He said AmCham had played a key role over the past three decades in strengthening bilateral commerce by connecting US investors with Bangladesh’s private sector and facilitating technology and knowledge transfer.

He added that American companies had made significant contributions to Bangladesh’s economic growth and industrial development through investments in sectors including energy, the digital economy, aviation, healthcare and garments.

The government has allowed businesses to file value-added tax (VAT) returns and make payments every three months rather than monthly, marking one of the biggest changes to the country’s indirect tax system in decades.

The move has divided opinion. Businesses have welcomed the relief, and officials at the National Board of Revenue (NBR) say it will make compliance easier and reduce mismatches between VAT returns and payments.
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However, tax practitioners and former revenue officials warn that the reform could strain the government’s cash flow at a time when revenue collection is already under pressure.

Under the previous system, businesses generally filed VAT returns every month. The Finance Act 2026 now allows VAT returns to be filed every three tax periods, or quarterly, within 15 days after the end of the third tax period. If the deadline falls on a government holiday, returns may be filed on the next working day.

The amendment does not abolish the monthly system. Businesses may continue to file and pay VAT every month if they choose.

The amendment therefore introduces quarterly VAT filing as an alternative rather than replacing the existing monthly regime.

BUSINESSES WELCOME

Businesses have welcomed the move, calling it “long overdue”.

Debabrata Roy Chowdhury, former tax and corporate affairs director of Nestlé Bangladesh PLC, said quarterly filing would reduce the compliance burden, improve working capital management, and give businesses greater financial flexibility at a time of high inflation.

He acknowledged that the government could face short-term cash flow pressure but said the benefits for businesses outweighed that concern.

While some fear businesses could use VAT funds for other purposes before the payment deadline, Debabrata said the risk of default exists under any filing system.

“The focus should be on ensuring compliance,” he said.

MA Razzaque, chairman of Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID), also said the change was unlikely to create a long-term liquidity problem, although it could cause some initial uncertainty.

“I don’t think the government will face a liquidity crisis as long as businesses submit their VAT returns properly every quarter,” he said.

Razzaque said the new provision gives businesses more flexibility rather than requiring them to delay payments.

“The government has not said that everyone must wait three months to pay VAT. It has simply given businesses more flexibility. Those that already pay VAT regularly can continue to do so, while those that need more time can choose the quarterly option,” he said.

REVENUE RISKS

Revenue experts, however, are less convinced.

Snehasish Barua, director of SMAC Advisory Services, said businesses have been paying VAT every month for the past 35 years.

“If businesses are allowed to keep VAT collections for three months, some may use the money for other purposes before the payment deadline,” he added.

He warned that this could increase the risk of default among financially troubled firms and slow the government’s revenue inflows.

A former NBR member shared the same concern, saying the proposal comes at a time when the government is struggling to raise revenue and meet rising expenditure.

“The government now needs to strengthen revenue collection, not delay it,” he said, warning that the reform could weaken revenue mobilisation without strong enforcement.

VAT is one of the government’s most reliable sources of revenue, collected throughout the year to fund salaries, pensions, interest payments and development projects. The timing of VAT receipts is especially important because the NBR is under heavy fiscal pressure and revenue collection has repeatedly fallen short of targets.

In FY26, the NBR collected nearly Tk 4.15 lakh crore, about Tk 1.39 lakh crore below its own target and around Tk 88,000 crore short of the government’s revised target.

If a large share of VAT receipts is delayed, the Treasury could face temporary cash-flow shortages even if total annual revenue remains unchanged. How serious the impact becomes will depend on the government’s cash reserves, borrowing capacity and business compliance.

Some specialists believe the government may have to rely more on short-term bank borrowing if quarterly VAT collections become uneven, according to the former NBR member.

Razzaque questioned whether the change was necessary, arguing that businesses should normally be able to determine their VAT liabilities within a month.

He also warned that a longer payment period could increase the risk of revenue leakage if businesses keep the money, underreport their liabilities or fail to pay the full amount later.

“If the government ultimately receives the same amount of revenue and the overall flow does not fall, there may be some initial disruption before the system adjusts,” Razzaque said.

“The concern about possible revenue leakage is valid, but it is too early to say whether it will happen or how serious it could be,” he added.

Gold rose on Friday and was set for a weekly gain after four straight weeks of declines, as weak US jobs data dampened expectations for a near-term Federal Reserve rate hike.

Spot gold was up 1.3 percent at $4,174.21 per ounce at 1241 GMT, after hitting its highest since June 23. Bullion held above its 21-day moving average and is up over 2 percent for the week so far.

US gold futures for August delivery gained 1.5 percent to $4,186.80/oz. Data on Thursday showed that US nonfarm payrolls rose by 57,000 last month, below the 110,000 expected by economists in a Reuters poll. Gold’s rally was driven by a sharp slowdown in US hiring last month, said Han Tan, chief market analyst at Bybit.

Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury today (Saturday) said Bangladesh is moving towards becoming a trillion-dollar economy, driven by growing domestic and foreign investments and the government's long-term development strategy.

Speaking to journalists at Shah Amanat International Airport during his visit to Chattogram, the minister said the national budget has been formulated with a focus on maximizing the country's regional economic potential and attracting investment, BSS reports.

He said Bangladesh is witnessing increasing inflows of investment, including foreign direct investment (FDI), capital market investment and contributions from international fund managers.

"The budget has been designed primarily for the benefit of Bangladesh, taking into account the unique potential of different regions and identifying ways to utilize those opportunities," he said.

Highlighting Chattogram's strategic importance, Amir Khosru said the government has undertaken a series of initiatives to transform the port city into a regional logistics hub.

"With its seaport and strategic geographical location, Chattogram holds immense potential. Recognizing this, the government has incorporated a number of initiatives into its development agenda," he said.

The minister said a decision has been taken to establish a 600-acre free zone in Anwara across the Karnaphuli River, while several port development projects are also planned in the region.

He said the budget includes measures to develop Chattogram into a logistics hub alongside plans to upgrade Shah Amanat International Airport into a major cargo and passenger hub.

Amir Khosru also said a Chinese economic zone will be established in Chattogram and the government plans to reduce rail travel time between Dhaka and Chattogram by about two hours through the improvement of the Laksam section of the railway.

"If these initiatives are implemented, the economic corridor centred on Chattogram will evolve into a logistics hub, allowing the ports to operate more efficiently," he said.

The minister said major development activities are also underway in the Matarbari area, adding that the budget has been prepared with particular emphasis on strengthening the economic and logistics capabilities of the Chattogram region.

Describing the initiatives as long-term projects, he said their implementation would take several years, although the government intends to begin work as early as possible.

Referring to the country's economy, Amir Khosru said implementing such a large budget remains a significant challenge.

"The current administration inherited a fragile economy from its predecessor, while the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has added further pressure. Our immediate priority is to stabilize the economy before fully utilizing our development potential," he said.

He expressed optimism that the country's economic outlook would improve in the third and fourth years of the current government's tenure, paving the way for sustained growth.

"Bangladesh will move towards becoming a trillion-dollar economy by fully utilizing its potential," he added.

Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Dr. Shahadat Hossain, Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) Chairman Engineer Belayet Hossain and Chattogram City BNP Joint Convener MA Aziz were present.

Economic growth in Bangladesh slows as inflation inflates household and governmental consumption expenses and deflates the volumes of goods and services consumed, just-past fiscal year's available accounts show such domino effect of price rises.

Provisional estimates prepared by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) show total consumption expenditure increased nearly 12 per cent in FY2025-26 to Tk 48.116 trillion.

The consumption-cost escalation is evident under the expenditure approach to measuring gross domestic product (GDP).

Consumption remains a predominant component of Bangladesh's GDP, accounting for more than 78 per cent of total expenditure, while investment represents most of the remaining share.

Private consumption alone contributes around 73 per cent of GDP, with government consumption accounting for about 6.0 per cent.

Officials at BBS told The Financial Express that consumption expenditure typically rises sharply during periods of elevated inflation because households and the government have to spend more money to purchase the same quantities of goods and services.

On average, inflation in the past 11 months of the immediate-past fiscal year was approximately 9.0 per cent while the GDP deflator-a broader measure of price changes across the economy-increased around 10 per cent.

The simultaneous rise in consumer prices and the GDP deflator substantially inflated nominal consumption expenditure, according to BBS national accounting wing.

"When inflation remains persistently high, the purchasing power of money declines. Consumers, therefore, have to spend significantly more to maintain the same standard of living, even if the actual quantity of goods and services consumed changes little," says a senior BBS official at the wing.

He says higher nominal consumption should not automatically be interpreted as an improvement in household welfare.

A large portion of the increase simply reflects higher prices rather than stronger real demand.

The provisional GDP estimates also show that total investment expenditure expanded by 8.59 per cent during the fiscal year, supported by increases in both private-sector investment and public development spending.

Under the expenditure method of GDP calculation, economic output is measured by combining three key components: household and government consumption expenditure, gross capital formation or investment, and net exports.

Bangladesh has consistently recorded a negative contribution from net exports because imports continue to exceed exports, reducing the overall expenditure-side GDP.

Officials say GDP estimates prepared under both the production approach and the expenditure approach broadly converge, with only limited statistical discrepancies, which are considered normal in national accounting.

The expenditure-side estimates suggest inflation remained the principal driver of nominal GDP growth during FY2025-26.

While households spent considerably more in monetary terms, much of that increase was needed merely to offset rising prices rather than to finance higher real consumption.

Economists say the latest figures highlight the distinction between nominal and real economic growth.

Dr Zahid Hussian, an independent economist, says although current-price GDP expands during periods of high inflation, the real purchasing power of consumers may stagnate or even decline if wage growth fails to keep pace with rising living costs.

Bangladesh stands at a rare moment of opportunity. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman enters office with a decisive mandate, a reform-minded coalition and the legitimacy of the July Uprising, which ended a decade of one-party rule.

Guided by the July National Charter and his "Bangladesh First" doctrine, he has pledged an inclusive state, an end to politics driven by fear and an economy that creates opportunities for the country's young majority.

His early instincts mirror the principles behind Singapore's success. The prime minister has sought to repair ties with India without compromising Bangladesh's position on the Teesta and Padma waters, courted Chinese investment while reviewing trade arrangements with the United States through the lens of sovereignty, and insisted that Bangladesh pursue its own national interests.

Combined with the institutional reforms enabled by the July Charter, this approach offers Bangladesh an opportunity to build a stronger and more resilient state.

Singapore and Bangladesh began from modest circumstances. Singapore emerged as a resource-poor island state in 1965 with no hinterland and a divided population.

Six decades later it is the world's third-largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI), behind only the United States and China, with an inward FDI stock of $2.63 trillion.

Bangladesh, despite having nearly thirty times the population, has an inward FDI stock of roughly $20 billion. The difference reflects two enduring disciplines: a balanced foreign policy and an investment regime built on consistency.

Fifty years, measured in capital

Singapore's inward FDI stock grew from only a few billion dollars in 1980 to around $30 billion in 1990, $111 billion in 2000, $633 billion in 2010 and $2.63 trillion by 2023, when it attracted nearly $160 billion in fresh investment.

Bangladesh's inward FDI stock remains roughly 128 times smaller. On a per capita basis, Singapore hosts about $430,000 of foreign investment per resident, while Bangladesh attracts just over $100.

The first discipline: a foreign policy that refuses to choose

Singapore has built its diplomacy on strategic balance. It maintains one of Southeast Asia's closest defence relationships with the United States while China remains its largest trading partner and partner in projects such as the Suzhou Industrial Park.

At the same time, it has maintained independent positions on Taiwan and supported the 2016 South China Sea arbitration without rupturing relations with either power.

The principle is simple: Singapore acts according to its own interests through a rules-based foreign policy. That consistency allows a small state to disagree with major powers without becoming trapped by them.

For investors, it provides confidence that their capital is located in a country unlikely to be drawn into geopolitical confrontation and able to maintain access to major global markets.

The second discipline: a compact with investors that never changes

Foreign policy provides stability; investment policy converts it into capital. Since establishing the Economic Development Board in 1961, Singapore has made one promise to investors and kept it: "Invest here, and the rules will not change."

Foreign companies are not forced into joint ventures or required to surrender management control. Domestic and foreign firms operate under the same laws. Capital and profits can be repatriated freely, company registration is streamlined through a single window, and incentives are transparent and based on published criteria rather than political connections.

These policies rest on strong institutions. Lee Kuan Yew regarded clean administration, enforceable contracts, protected property rights and an honest civil service as non-negotiable. Capital may not be sentimental, but it consistently rewards predictability.

Consistency as the asset itself

The common thread behind Singapore's success is continuity. Its one-party dominance is not a model Bangladesh should emulate, but the policy consistency beneath it is.

Through successive leaders – from Lee Kuan Yew to Goh Chok Tong, Lee Hsien Loong and Lawrence Wong – foreign policy and investor protections remained national assets rather than partisan projects. Investors making thirty-year commitments could trust the rules to outlast the governments that introduced them.

Bangladesh has too often sent the opposite signal. Incentives have been introduced and withdrawn, regulations revised with each administration, and special economic zones left underutilised because credibility, not infrastructure, has been lacking.

Frequent changes to tax and duty structures have further eroded investor confidence.

Bangladesh cannot replicate Singapore's geography or political system, nor should it try. But the disciplines behind its $2.63 trillion FDI stock are choices, not geography.

In foreign policy, Bangladesh should maintain balanced relations with Washington, Beijing and Delhi while acting consistently in its own national interest.

In investment policy, it should establish a durable framework based on equal treatment of investors, unrestricted capital repatriation, transparent incentives and taxation, a genuine single-window system, efficient courts and an honest bureaucracy – and preserve those rules across electoral cycles.

Bangladesh also enjoys advantages Singapore never had: a domestic market of about 170 million people, a large young workforce and favourable demographics. Those strengths will translate into sustained growth only if matched by credible, consistent and investor-friendly policies.

Tarique Rahman has inherited what few Bangladeshi leaders have enjoyed: a powerful reform mandate, institutional backing through the July National Charter and a strategic position sought by every major power.

By institutionalising a balanced foreign policy and consistent, investor-friendly rules that endure across governments, Bangladesh can emulate the enduring principles behind Singapore's success. The blueprint exists; the challenge is to implement it with discipline and continuity.

The author is the Director, Putnam Capital Advisory Pte Ltd, Singapore.

BRAC Bank PLC, founded in 2001 under the leadership of Sir Fazle Hasan Abed to serve the “missing middle” -- small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that had outgrown microfinance but lacked access to formal banking -- has grown into one of Bangladesh’s leading financial institutions.

Over the past 25 years, the bank’s market capitalisation has surpassed $1 billion, and last year it became the first local private commercial bank to earn more than Tk 2,000 crore in annual profit.

It has financed more than 20 lakh SME entrepreneurs, helping create over one crore jobs, according to Tareq Refat Ullah Khan, managing director and CEO of BRAC Bank PLC.

“The numbers show that BRAC Bank has not just provided banking services — it has helped build the economy,” Khan said in an interview with The Daily Star.

Today, the bank operates through more than 2,300 locations across Bangladesh. Its Astha app processes nearly Tk 25,000 crore in monthly transactions and supports a retail portfolio of more than Tk 52,000 crore.

Its subsidiary, bKash, serves around eight crore customers, while the CorpNet platform handles more than Tk 23,000 crore in corporate transactions every month.

The bank has also financed a $96 million standalone Aframax oil tanker, the largest single-bank financing in Bangladesh’s shipping sector.

“BRAC Bank aims to remain one of the country’s best-governed and most trusted banks by providing customer-focused financial services. It also aims to become Bangladesh’s most impactful bank and eventually the country’s first multinational bank with full-scale overseas banking operations,” Khan said.

GOVERNANCE, STABILITY AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION STRENGTHEN RESILIENCE

Explaining banking safety, Khan said rising concerns over liquidity, asset quality and governance have made customers more cautious about where they keep their money.

“In this environment, trust has become banking’s most valuable currency,” he said, adding that trust is built through governance, financial strength, regulatory compliance and consistent performance.

He noted that BRAC, one of the world’s largest development organisations, is the bank’s largest shareholder, while most of its directors are independent financial experts with no shareholder interests, ensuring objective oversight.

The bank is also the only one in Bangladesh with international credit ratings from both S&P Global and Moody’s.

At the end of 2025, Bangladesh’s banking sector non-performing loan (NPL) ratio stood above 30 percent, while BRAC Bank’s fell to 2.27 percent. Its advance-to-deposit ratio was 63 percent, reflecting strong liquidity.

The bank’s capital base crossed Tk 10,000 crore, and net profit after tax reached a record Tk 2,251 crore in 2025.

Customer confidence was reflected in deposit growth as well: while industry deposits rose 11.51 percent, BRAC Bank’s increased by nearly 27.5 percent, or more than Tk 21,000 crore.

Khan acknowledged early challenges in SME banking, saying, “In the beginning, SME banking was our biggest challenge because many of our employees came from the microfinance sector, while SME banking requires a different approach.”

The bank responded by strengthening credit assessment and monitoring systems, reducing SME NPLs to around 2 percent, and working with one of the Big Four consulting firms to further improve operations.

Nearly half of the bank’s 10,600 employees now work in SME banking. Although the segment has a high cost-to-income ratio, BRAC Bank built a strong retail business to support stable funding.

Alongside this, wholesale banking -- including treasury, corporate, commercial and transaction banking -- became a key growth driver after its expansion phase between 2017 and 2020, following entry into the segment in 2010.

Khan said the bank now operates an integrated model where SME, retail and wholesale businesses reinforce each other. “One client relationship creates multiple business opportunities and revenue streams,” he said.

Foreign investors hold 35.89 percent of the bank, while BRAC holds 46.16 percent. The bank has introduced collateral-free CMSME lending, built offshore banking assets worth $1.3 billion, and significantly expanded retail operations.

Around 30–35 percent of income comes from treasury operations. “Even without treasury income, we would invest in other assets,” he said, adding that investment opportunities remain limited due to Bangladesh’s underdeveloped capital market.

Foreign trade has also become a major business driver, rising from about $1.5 billion in 2017 to $7.12 billion last year, enabling financing of around 6 to 7 percent of Bangladesh’s annual trade.

Digital transformation has been central to growth, with the Astha app enabling most routine services without branch visits. The corporate digital platform, launched in 2019, processes Tk 23,000 to Tk 24,000 crore in monthly transactions.

More than 30 projects using artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics and automation have improved efficiency, while staffing in operations has not increased in line with the balance sheet that expanded from Tk 50,000 crore to Tk 162,000 crore.

Its next focus is expanding financial inclusion by strengthening remote banking services, allowing customers in underserved areas to access banking through digital platforms, websites and call centres without visiting branches.

The bank also runs a strong agricultural lending programme through more than 3,000 service points, directly serving rural borrowers rather than relying heavily on microfinance institutions (MFI).

Khan said its agricultural loans are priced at about 14 percent compared to nearly 24 percent charged by many MFIs.

Sustainability remains central to strategy. BRAC Bank is Bangladesh’s highest-ranked bank in Bloomberg ESG ratings, with about 82 percent of lending supporting sustainable sectors and nearly 10 percent of its corporate portfolio in green finance.

As part of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values, the bank continues to emphasise responsible banking.

“Banking is not a one-year business. It is an institution that must endure for generations,” Khan said.

Looking ahead, BRAC Bank aims to become Bangladesh’s most impactful bank by delivering both financial and social value, targeting more than 10 percent market share while expanding convenient banking services to all economically active citizens, especially in underserved and unbanked communities.

The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has begun the process of rebasing the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), a major statistical overhaul aimed at capturing the rapidly evolving economy by incorporating new sectors, updating economic weights, and aligning national accounts with the latest international standards.

Officials at the country's national statistical agency say the exercise would adopt the fiscal year 2025-26 as the new base year, replacing the current 2015-16 benchmark.Bangladesh Investment Opportunities

The revision is expected to provide a more accurate measure of the size and structure of the economy, which has undergone significant transformation over the past decade.

"We have launched the GDP rebasing work," a senior BBS official told The Financial Express on Thursday.

The official said field surveys and data collection had already begun in several key sectors, including real estate, residential housing, and non-residential buildings.

More than 20 additional surveys will be required before the statistical agency can compile the revised national accounts.

The BBS has yet to announce when the revised GDP series will be published, as the exercise will require the completion of extensive nationwide surveys, data validation, and methodological reviews before the new estimates are finalised.

But the official said the rebasing adjustments would be seen in the 2028-29 fiscal year, adding, "Actually, at least two years are needed to complete the rebasing works."

GDP rebasing is a routine statistical exercise undertaken roughly every 10 years to ensure that national accounts reflect changes in production patterns, consumer behaviour, and the emergence of new industries.Statistics

The process updates the relative importance - or weights - of different sectors in the economy while incorporating economic activities that may have been previously undercounted or excluded.

The exercise will follow the internationally recognised System of National Accounts (SNA 2025), developed jointly by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations (UN), the World Bank (WB), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the European Commission.

The framework requires countries to periodically revise their national accounts to improve comparability and statistical accuracy.

The SNA's newly updated focus includes the digital economy, globalisation, including global value chains, and the informal economy.

Besides, SNA expands the framework to directly address the measurement of well-being, sustainability, and Islamic finance.

Economists say the revision is particularly important for the country whose economy has diversified rapidly over the past decade through the expansion of digital commerce, information technology services, logistics, financial technology, modern retail, real estate, new agricultural products, and other service industries that are not fully reflected in the existing GDP series.Economic Trend Analysis

The BBS projected the country's economy to exceed $500 billion in nominal terms in the fiscal year 2025-26 and the Gross National Income (GNI) to stand at $529 billion.

Officials believe the rebasing exercise could further alter both the size and composition of GDP by better measuring these emerging activities.

The statistical revision is expected to affect several key macroeconomic indicators beyond headline GDP.

Ratios such as tax-to-GDP, public debt-to-GDP, fiscal deficit-to-GDP, and investment-to-GDP could all change once the economy is recalibrated, even if the underlying economic activities remain unchanged.

Rebasing does not create new economic output. Rather, it provides a more realistic measurement of an economy that has changed substantially since the last base year, says another BBS official.

Bangladesh has historically recorded upward revisions to both nominal GDP and GDP at constant prices following previous rebasing exercises, reflecting improvements in statistical coverage and methodology rather than sudden increases in production.

The current exercise is also expected to incorporate updated coefficients, benchmark surveys, and administrative data that better capture productivity and value added across sectors.Personal Finance Guide

Officials say many areas are growing, with dragon and strawberry cultivation having higher value additions.

The government is emphasising the creative economy that aligns with the traditional cottage industries, for example "Shithol Pathi".

The revision may also improve the measurement of informal economic activities, an area that has long posed challenges for policymakers in developing economies.

The work is being supported by the Statistical Capacity Enhancement and Modernisation Project (SCEMP), an approximately Tk 11 billion programme implemented by the BBS with substantial financial assistance from the World Bank.

The project aims to modernise Bangladesh's statistical infrastructure by developing an integrated, ICT-based statistical system and strengthening the quality, coverage, and timeliness of official data.

Officials say the project would provide much of the benchmark information required for the rebasing exercise, including updated business registers, household surveys, and sector-specific datasets.

"The availability of improved data under SCEMP will significantly accelerate the rebasing process," another BBS official says.Business News Alerts

Beyond revising GDP, the project is designed to align Bangladesh's statistical system with international best practices by improving core economic, labour, agricultural, price, and social statistics.

Economists say a successful rebasing exercise would enhance the credibility of Bangladesh's macroeconomic data at a time when international lenders, investors, and credit rating agencies are placing greater emphasis on statistical transparency and data quality.

"A more accurate measure of the economy could also improve policymaking by providing a clearer picture of structural transformation, helping the authorities design fiscal, monetary, and industrial policies based on a more representative assessment of economic activities," says Dr Zahid Hussain, an independent economist.

Women spend 7.3 times more hours on unpaid domestic work than men, contributing an estimated $50+ billion annually to the economy that will not be shown in the rebased GDP.

This will be shown in separate satellite accounts as per the SNA suggestions, BBS officials say.

Dhaka Bank has set out a broad strategy to join the top tier of Bangladesh’s private banks by strengthening digital banking, expanding green finance, improving profitability, and adopting artificial intelligence.

In an interview with The Daily Star, Dhaka Bank’s Managing Director and CEO Osman Ershad Faiz said, “My objective is straightforward. I want Dhaka Bank to be measured against the best private banks in the country on all key indicators -- return on equity, asset quality, capital efficiency, customer experience, and digital capability -- and I expect us to lead in most of them.”

As the bank marks its 31st anniversary, Faiz said his goals go beyond short-term gains.

“By the end of my tenure, I want to leave behind an institution that is stronger in every way -- financial performance, asset quality, digital strength, talent, and public trust -- than when I took charge.”

DIGITAL BANKING AND AI-LED TRANSFORMATION

Faiz said Dhaka Bank’s digital push is not limited to apps or online platforms.

“Anyone can launch an app and call it transformation. The real test is whether a customer can manage their entire banking needs without ever visiting a branch -- that is the standard I am setting,” he said.

A key example is e-Rin, a live product that enables instant loan approval and disbursement with minimal human involvement. The bank is now expanding this model to more retail and SME lending products.

It is also building a stronger technology workforce.

“A digital bank is built by engineers, data scientists, and product managers -- not just relationship bankers using new software,” Faiz said, adding that recruitment in these roles is underway.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning will play a central role in future operations. AI-based credit scoring is a priority, especially in the absence of a fully developed credit information system for small businesses and self-employed borrowers.

The bank plans to use alternative data such as mobile financial service transactions, payment records and mobile usage patterns to identify creditworthy customers.

AI will also be used for real-time fraud detection and customer analytics, allowing the bank to offer relevant products proactively instead of waiting for customer requests.

SME GROWTH, WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS AND GREEN FINANCE PUSH

The managing director said digital lending has significantly improved the economics of SME financing by reducing the cost of monitoring small loans.

He also highlighted women-led enterprises as a major untapped opportunity. “We are designing dedicated products and alternative credit assessment models for women entrepreneurs -- not because it looks good, but because the commercial opportunity is significant,” he said.

Green finance is being treated as a core business priority rather than a niche area. Faiz said future growth will depend heavily on financing renewable energy, climate-resilient agriculture, and sustainable manufacturing.

“The banks that build this expertise early will finance the country’s next generation of productive investments,” he added.

In 2025, Dhaka Bank disbursed Tk 580 crore in green finance, bringing its total green portfolio to Tk 660 crore, with plans for further expansion.

STRONG RESULTS, TARGETS AND BROADER ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

Despite a challenging sector environment, Dhaka Bank posted a record performance in 2025. Net profit rose 117 percent to Tk 279 crore, while return on equity more than doubled to 11.62 percent from 5.71 percent a year earlier.

“Doing this in one of the toughest years for the sector shows what this franchise can achieve with discipline,” Faiz said. “That is now the floor, not the ceiling.”

However, he acknowledged the bank still trails the country’s top performers and aims to close the gap over the next five years.

Targets include maintaining return on equity above 15 percent, keeping the non-performing loan ratio below 5 percent through the credit cycle, and ensuring most customer services can be completed digitally without branch visits.

Faiz, whose career includes roles at American Express, Standard Chartered across Asia, and AMTD Digital, said his outlook has been shaped by international experience.

“Having built businesses across several Asian markets, I have seen what separates fast-growing economies: a strong focus on skills, stable and consistent policies, and openness to global talent. Bangladesh has all the ingredients. What it lacks is not capability -- it is resolve,” he added.

Beyond banking, he pointed to pharmaceuticals as Bangladesh’s strongest long-term industrial opportunity, noting that it already meets 98 percent of domestic demand, grows at around 12 percent annually, and includes globally approved manufacturers, making it resilient as the country graduates from least-developed status.

Faiz also highlighted strong potential in IT services, driven by skilled labour rather than infrastructure, while calling renewable energy an economic necessity. The ready-made garment sector, he said, must move towards technical textiles, sustainability and higher-value production instead of volume expansion alone.

He added that remittance inflows should be channelled more into productive uses such as MSME financing and housing, rather than mainly into consumption.

On financial sector reforms, Faiz called for faster implementation of IFRS 9 -- the international accounting standard -- for earlier credit loss recognition, greater operational independence for Bangladesh Bank, full interoperability of mobile financial services under the National Payment Switch Bangladesh (NPSB), and the development of a strong corporate bond market.

“A functioning bond market would diversify funding sources, create new investment opportunities for institutional investors, and reduce concentration risk in the banking sector,” he said.

The proportion of individuals using the internet across Bangladesh continued its upward climb in the third quarter of the current fiscal year, according to the latest quarterly report of the ICT Access and Use Survey 2025-26, published by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

Meanwhile, in the same period, mobile phone ownership recorded a marginal dip after two consecutive quarters of growth.

The report, covering the January-March 2026 quarter, found that 58.6 percent of individuals aged five years and above used the internet, up from 58.4 percent in the second quarter (October-December 2025) and a sharp rise from 48.9 percent in the first quarter (July-September 2025).

Mobile phone ownership, however, edged down slightly to 65.4 percent in the third quarter from 65.5 percent in the second quarter, after rising steeply from 56.5 percent in the first quarter.

Despite the dip in ownership, overall mobile phone usage -- which includes shared devices -- rose marginally to 89.5 percent in the third quarter from 89.4 percent in the previous quarter and 80.6 percent in the first quarter.

Computer use among individuals also inched up, reaching 11.7 percent in the third quarter, compared with 11.4 percent in the second quarter and 10 percent in the first, indicating a slow but steady increase in digital device adoption.

At the household level, the survey -- conducted through Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) across all 64 districts -- found that internet access rose to 57.4 percent of households in the third quarter from 57.2 percent in the second quarter and 56.2 percent in the first.

Comparing full-year figures, household internet access has climbed from 55.1 percent in 2024-25 to 57.4 percent in the current survey year so far.

Mobile phone ownership at the household level remained virtually saturated at 98.9 percent throughout all three quarters, unchanged from the previous year.

The proportion of households owning a smartphone rose slightly to 73.4 percent in the third quarter from 73 percent in the second quarter and 72.4 percent in the first, continuing a gradual upward trend from 72.7 percent recorded in 2024-25.

Ownership of computers at the household level, meanwhile, showed only marginal movement, dipping to 8.9 percent in the second quarter before recovering to 9 percent in the third quarter, broadly flat compared with 9 percent in 2024-25.

Other indicators showed limited change. The proportion of households with a television dipped slightly to 58.8 percent in the third quarter from 59.2 percent in the second quarter, while radio ownership remained largely static at around 15 percent throughout the year.

Fixed-line telephone ownership continued its long-term decline, falling to 0.7 percent of households from 0.8 percent in 2024-25, as mobile phones remained the dominant mode of household connectivity, with 98.2 percent of households relying exclusively on mobile phones.

Household access to electricity showed a slight downward trend over the year, falling from 98.9 percent in the first quarter to 98.5 percent in the third quarter, though it remained near-universal nationwide.

The ICT Access and Use Survey, conducted under the BBS project titled “Measurement of ICT access and use opportunities at individual and household level, district-wise”, is the second large-scale, and the first district-representative, survey of its kind, following an earlier modular survey conducted in 2013.

It covers 2,568 sample areas nationwide, gathering data from 61,632 households per quarter, amounting to 246,528 households annually, through 214 trained field enumerators.

The findings, once compiled from all four quarters, will be released as an annual report and will also feed into 22 indicators to be submitted to the International Telecommunication Union, supporting national and global tracking of Sustainable Development Goal targets related to digital access and use.

The Bangladesh Bank has unveiled yet another exit strategy to tackle the country's ballooning non-performing loans, promising to bring them under control within 18 months through stronger supervision, loan restructuring, legal reforms and quicker recovery of distressed assets.

Similar promises were also made before. Successive governments and central bank governors relied on repeated loan rescheduling and regulatory relaxations, yet bad loans climbed to a record Tk5.89 lakh crore, a third of total bank loans. The question now is whether this roadmap marks a genuine break from the past – or, merely another attempt to buy time without fixing the banking system.

Taking office as finance minister of the now deposed Awami League government in January 2019, AHM Mustafa Kamal had said non-performing loans would not grow even by "a single penny from today". He had also promised of an exit plan to stop new loans from turning default. But NPLs continued to soar. And the measures taken by him and two governors during his time rather gave bad borrowers a safe exit and helped banks hide their real health under the carpet.

After the political transition in 2024, the Bangladesh Bank during the interim government's period uncovered the true scale of distress in several banks and launched emergency measures, including asset quality reviews, bank mergers, and efforts to recover stolen assets.

Before those measures could see preliminary success, the new government took office earlier this year. New central bank governor Mostaqur Rahman, in his first half-yearly monetary policy statement made on 30 June, outlined a long-term roadmap to tackle NPL within the next 18 months. His plan combines stronger supervision, capital restoration, restructuring for viable borrowers, quicker loan recovery through courts, emergency liquidity support, and implementation of the new Bank Resolution and Deposit Protection Acts.

The day before, the central bank announced a mega offer. As part of its bid to bring NPL under control to comply with the International Monetary Fund's new loan requirements, the central bank will now allow banks to waive interest on loans entirely in case of one-time settlement, meaning that defaulters would not have to pay any interest if they repay the principal amount only.

Analysts have cautioned such an offer might adversely affect capital positions of banks, particularly the cash-strapped ones.

Banks lend depositors' money, not their own. Waiving interest may clean up balance sheets, but it also erodes income. Who will bear that loss? Depositors? Shareholders? Bankers? Or, ultimately taxpayers if public money is used to recapitalise banks?

Countries that successfully brought down NPLs after banking crises rarely relied on a single measure. Instead, they combined swift recognition of bad assets, bank recapitalisation, specialised asset management companies (AMCs), legal reforms, and strict accountability. Experience from Asia, Europe and the United States shows that governments were often able to recover much of the public money used to rescue banks.

Following the Asian financial crisis, South Korea created its AMC named KAMCO to purchase distressed loans, while Malaysia established Danaharta to restructure viable borrowers and dispose of unviable assets. Both helped banks clean up balance sheets and resume lending.

Similar steps helped Sweden, Ireland and the USA overcome their banking crises in the 1990s.

But not every AMC did see similar success. Such initiatives in Indonesia and Nigeria did not yield much due to weaker governance and legal challenges.

International experiences suggest that the AMC is not a cure by itself if it is not backed by a comprehensive national strategy involving strong bank supervision, operational independence, legal reforms, out-of-the-court debt restructuring and development of a market for distressed loans.

These instruments succeed only when governments are willing to recognise losses, pursue influential defaulters and insulate the recovery process from political interference.

For Bangladesh, all these principles are yet to be tested, though Governor Mostaqur expects AMCs to become effective by 2027. Experience of Ukraine and Turkey in tackling bad loans has made him hopeful about the success of his exit plan, which, he said, will be supported by necessary legal reforms and strong monitoring.

Economist Dr M Masrur Reaz says the latest exit plan announced by the central bank is a welcome step, compared with previous bad practice of loan rescheduling that only kept NPLs soaring. "All defaulters are not wilful. The one-time settlement will provide good borrowers an exit."

Masrur, who is chairman of the think tank Policy Exchange Bangladesh, said the central bank should now sit with lending banks to discuss how they would implement the new scheme successfully and what support they might need.

The government needs to make the AMC a reality. Such initiative worked well in countries like the Philippines and India, he pointed out.

Masrur attributes "policy inertia" and abuse of political and business power to failure of previous steps to contain bad loans in Bangladesh.

He hoped it might work this time. "Those who abused power in the past have lost their business. Many of them even had to flee the country. These should be a strong safeguard against such abuses in future," he said.

Besides, he added, development partners such as the IMF and the World Bank have strictly attached NPLs and bank governance to their budget support packages, obliging the government to "walk the talk".

The Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) has completed just 28.56 percent of its share of a nationwide project to modernise flood control, drainage and irrigation infrastructure and help farmers cope with climate shocks, forcing a two-year extension from the initial deadline of June 30, 2026.

The findings were revealed in an impact evaluation report of the project released last week by the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) of the planning ministry.
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The report assessed the implementation progress of the Climate-Smart Agriculture and Water Management Project as of April 2026, when cumulative financial expenditure stood at just 17.22 percent of the approved cost of Tk 1,182 crore.

Of the total estimated cost, Tk 332 crore will be funded by the government and Tk 850 crore by the World Bank. The project was scheduled to run from 1 January 2022 to 30 June 2026 across 27 upazilas in 17 districts spanning all eight divisions.

However, with it being clear the project cannot be completed on schedule, the Project Steering Committee, at a meeting on 17 May 2026, recommended a two-year extension, said the report.

The project was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) on 7 December 2021.

A revised implementation plan is being prepared, pushing the completion date to June 2028.

THE DELAY

According to the IMED report, during the initial phase of the project, the recruitment of consultants took approximately 2.5 years due to the World Bank’s approval process.

As a result, no civil works contracts could be tendered or awarded during this period, causing delays in the commencement of construction activities at the outset of the project, it mentioned.

It also said the implementation of construction works under the project has been delayed due to complexities associated with land acquisition.

In addition, the establishment of markets and residential settlements adjacent to the flood control embankments has significantly increased land values, making the acquisition of land and the sourcing of suitable earth for construction more difficult.

The IMED report also said under a service package, the project’s proposal stipulated that the procurement expert would be engaged on 8 March 2022.

However, the contract was actually signed on 12 February 2023, resulting in a delay of nearly one year before the expert was appointed, it said.

In the absence of an expert, the project office prepared the draft requests for proposals and carried out procurement evaluations during the first eleven months of project implementation.

As these documents did not fully comply with the World Bank’s procurement requirements and standards, the development partner repeatedly raised queries and requested revisions, significantly prolonging the procurement process.

Consequently, approximately 2.5 years were spent before the procurement process could be brought into compliance, it added.

DELAY WAS AVOIDABLE

The IMED report said the delay was avoidable.

It explained that the procurement expert should have been recruited at least three months prior to the invitation of bids for the first works package.

Moreover, while the recruitment of the design consultant was in progress, the project office could have utilised its own engineers or the implementing agency’s technical team to prepare draft standard procurement documents and pre-qualification criteria for the remaining procurement packages.

This would have enabled the procurement expert, upon joining in February 2023, to review and finalise the documents promptly, allowing the work packages to be tendered before 2024 and minimising delays in project implementation.

RISING COST

With the project’s two-year extension, the cost is now expected to rise as well.

Escalating prices of construction materials, higher labour wages, increased fuel prices, rising transportation costs, and overall market inflation will require additional financial resources to complete the remaining works, the IMED said.

Furthermore, as the project is financed through external loan assistance, the extension may result in additional financial and administrative burdens.

According to IMED, the two-year extension could result in higher commitment charges, front-end fees, loan management costs, administrative complications arising from delayed disbursements, and the risk of renegotiating or revising the loan conditions.

RECOMMENDATIONS

To sustain the project’s benefits long-term, the IMED recommends turning water management organisations into more effective and participatory institutions.

It also recommends strengthening the participation of local fishers, women, and smallholder farmers; establishing user-based operation and maintenance funds; providing training on gate operation and water management; and introducing digital water management systems.

To maintain the effectiveness of the re-excavated canals and rivers, the report recommends installing silt traps and implementing regular maintenance dredging programmes.

It also suggests introducing an IoT-based automated water control system to monitor river water levels and upstream flood flows in real time.

For riverbank protection works specifically, it calls for digital weighing devices to verify geobag weight, regular field supervision by engineers, proper curing of concrete blocks, and prompt repair of weakened embankment sections.

In a sweeping commitment to modernise Bangladesh's capital market, the newly appointed Chairman of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), Masud Khan, has vowed to dismantle the "analog hurdles" and "bureaucratic pains" that have long stifled the country's bourses.

Addressing a meet-and-greet programme organised by the DSE Brokers Association of Bangladesh (DBA) on 2 July at the DSE Tower, the BSEC chief promised to transition the market into a digital-first, transparent, and vibrant ecosystem.

His vision rests on a fundamental mantra: "Regulate where necessary and simplify where possible." From ending the culture of paper-based trade orders to introducing condensed quarterly reporting, the Chairman's roadmap signals a decisive shift toward deregulation and institutional empowerment.

Ending the 'analog' risk

One of the most significant reforms announced is the total digitisation of share trading orders. Masud Khan sharply criticised the existing practice where clients sign physical papers to authorise traders, often leading to unauthorised sales and misappropriation of funds.

"Our current share buy-sell orders are still paper-based. Clients sign a paper without even verifying what is written, giving traders the power to move their assets. Later, we see disputes where shares were sold against the client's will," Masud Khan observed.

"This analog system must end. We will introduce a system where clients place their own orders digitally, as is the global standard. Once we stop the analog method, no one will be able to embezzle investor funds."

Stopping the 'love letters'

Drawing from his 45 years of corporate experience, including his tenure as CFO of LafargeHolcim Bangladesh, Khan empathised with the "pain" of compliance reporting.

He noted that currently, listed companies are often harassed with dozens of queries – which he jokingly referred to as "love letters" – from both the DSE and BSEC after every quarterly submission.

"I have carried this pain with me to this office. Today, I stand here to say this pain will stop," Khan declared. He announced that the BSEC will introduce IAS 34 (Interim Financial Reporting) to allow for "condensed" quarterly reports.

"Beyond IAS 34, no additional queries will be sent for quarterly results. Detailed reporting will only be required for annual statements. We want to reduce the burden on companies so they can focus on growth," Masud Khan stated.

IPO and bond market: Breaking the stagnation

Addressing the long-standing drought of quality listings, the BSEC Chairman acknowledged that current IPO rules are far from "friendly." He compared the ease of securing a bank loan within three months to the years-long, exhausting process of going public.

"I know the pain of the IPO process. We are going to simplify these rules significantly through amendments," he said, adding that he would soon meet with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB), the stock exchanges, and the Bangladesh Merchant Bankers Association (BMBA) to streamline the process.

Regarding the bond market, Khan questioned why corporate bonds are not getting listed or traded. He attributed the failure to "abnormally high" listing fees and promised to slash costs to encourage trading. "If we want a fixed-income option, it must be traded so people can decide its value. Corporate bonds need to be part of the daily market activity."

Legal reforms and the 'junk' share ghost

Masud Khan also highlighted a major technical flaw in the Capital Market Tribunal, which currently forces cases through civil courts before they can reach the tribunal, rendering the body ineffective. "We are amending the law so that capital market cases can be filed directly with the tribunal, ensuring swift justice," he said.

In a stern warning to market manipulators, the chairman noted that currently, the shares that "keep jumping" are often junk stocks of closed companies. To combat this, he announced the imminent launch of a robust, real-time integrated surveillance system between the BSEC, DSE, and CDBL.

"There will be triggers to halt and release trading automatically. This is the only way to control the 'uninformed, illiterate' speculation that dominates the floor today," he added.

Brokers push for netting and the 'FINRA' model

The DBA leadership, led by President Saiful Islam and Senior Vice President Moniruzzaman, presented their own set of demands to align with the BSEC's reform agenda. A primary concern was the Member Margin Requirement. Currently, brokers are forced to maintain margins based on gross "buy" amounts with the stock exchanges, regardless of their "sell" volume.

"The settlement is done on a net basis, but we are burdened with margins on a gross basis. This forces us to borrow hundreds of crores from banks unnecessarily," Moniruzzaman explained. He also urged the DSE to align with the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) in accepting cheques as valid instruments for trading.

DBA President Saiful Islam called for a long-overdue review of the 2013 Demutualisation Scheme to further empower the exchanges. He also proposed a transformative shift for market intermediaries: the creation of a Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO), similar to the US FINRA or Japan's JSDA models.

"We want the BSEC to focus on policy while a separate body monitors and governs market intermediaries. This would reduce the regulator's burden and take our market to the next level," Saiful Islam said.

He also voiced a shared sentiment that the BSEC should never again be involved in "so-called roadshows," as seen under the previous regime.

A sustainable future

The programme concluded with remarks from DSE Chairman Mominul Islam, who urged for "investment-friendly regulations" while stressing that the industry must also develop its own internal capacity to comply with new standards.

Riad Mahmud, President of the Bangladesh Association of Publicly Listed Companies (BAPLC), added that the limitations on the utilisation of IPO proceeds should be withdrawn to allow companies operational flexibility.

Masud Khan ended the session with a pledge of action: "We want this capital market to grow sustainably, not through artificial booms. We are not just here to listen; we are here to execute. We will do it together."

The World Bank has upgraded Sri Lanka's status to an upper-middle income economy due to its expansion in the economy supported by a broad-based recovery across industries and growth in tourism and financial services, reports The Hindu.

Sri Lanka was earlier upgraded to the upper-middle income in 2019 but lost the status within a year, and then experienced an economic crisis.

According to the World Bank's latest income classification update released on Wednesday (1 July), the present status of Sri Lanka came three years after the island nation faced a severe economic crisis that pushed the country to the brink of collapse.

In its report, describing the country as "a story of recovery", the World Bank said, "Just three years after a severe economic crisis brought the country to the brink of collapse in 2022, real GDP grew by 5% in 2025, driven by a rebound across industries and growth in financial and tourism services."

"The reclassification is a marker of resilience, though the country only narrowly crossed the threshold," it added.

The recovery is attributed to revival in tourism, stronger worker remittances, improving external sector performance and a return to economic growth following two years of contraction.

The reclassification indicates the progress made since then under a far-reaching economic stabilisation effort backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), alongside fiscal consolidation, monetary reforms and external debt restructuring.

Earlier, Sri Lanka faced the Easter Sunday attacks in 2019, the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent balance-of-payments crisis which culminated in the country's sovereign default in 2022, pushing the economy into its deepest downturn in decades.

The World Bank has four country income classifications: high, upper middle, lower middle, and low based on gross national income per capita estimates from the previous calendar year. The milestone serves as a symbolic marker of the nation's economic rebound following its recent financial crisis.

This year's edition covered 218 countries, and the results will serve as a global reference until the end of June 2027.

Sri Lanka first entered the upper-middle-income category in 2019 before falling back to lower-middle-income status as economic growth slowed and income levels deteriorated amid mounting domestic and external pressures.

Bata Shoe Company (Bangladesh) Limited shareholders have approved a 248% cash dividend for 2025, comprising a 143% interim dividend already paid and a 105% final dividend for the last quarter of the year.

The approval came at the company's 54th annual general meeting (AGM), held virtually today (30 June) and chaired by Shaibal Sinha. Shareholders also approved the audited financial statements for 2025.

According to a press release, Bata posted a turnover of Tk916 crore in 2025, demonstrating resilience despite macroeconomic volatility, political uncertainty and global geopolitical pressures.
Managing Director Faria Yasmin, Director Clifford Gary Reuter, Independent Directors Farzanah Chowdhury and Reazul Haque Chowdhury, Finance Director Elias Ahmed and Company Secretary Riajur Reza Md Faisal attended the meeting.

Concluding the AGM, Chairman Shaibal Sinha thanked shareholders, customers, suppliers, employees and the government for their continued support.

Bata has been operating in Bangladesh since 1962 and runs two manufacturing facilities in Tongi and Dhamrai with a combined daily production capacity of around 160,000 pairs of shoes. The company sells about three crore pairs of shoes annually.

The Bangladesh operation is a subsidiary of Bafin (Nederland) BV of the Netherlands, which holds a 70% stake and is part of the global Bata Shoe Organisation that oversees the brand's international business.

The World Bank on Monday extended its climate change policy framework indefinitely, but dropped its targets for the percentage of financing that must have climate-related impacts, according to a statement.

“We will complete our shift from inputs to outcomes to maximize development impact,” said a World Bank Group statement.
“We will retire the 45-percent climate co-benefits target and the 35-percent target in the (Climate Change Action Plan),” it said.

The United States, the World Bank’s largest shareholder, has abruptly changed policy on climate change under President Donald Trump, who has called it a “hoax” and ramped up spending on fossil fuels.

In April, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for the Bank to drop its climate finance targets, saying it “breeds inefficiency, distorts economic decision making, and moves the Bank away from its core mission.”

The World Bank statement said that further work on climate change outcomes would be driven by demand from client countries.

The Bank’s yearly climate financing targets under its Climate Change Action Plans (CCAPs) have largely been reached since work on the area began in 2016.

In 2025, 48 percent of the World Bank Group’s financing had “climate co-benefits,” amounting to roughly $50.8 billion, according to official data.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says that climate change is indisputably attributable to human activity, and in particular to the burning of fossil fuels (gas, oil, coal), especially since the end of the 19th century.

Under Trump, however, there has been a widespread official rejection of climate change as a manmade phenomenon, with the administration embracing high-polluting fossil fuels and shelving renewable energy projects.

Since taking office for his second term, Trump has also exerted pressure on global institutions and other countries to lessen their focus on climate change.

One of the main causes of global warming is the enhanced greenhouse effect, caused by greenhouse gases (GHGs) that persist in the atmosphere.

The World Bank will continue to report on net greenhouse gas emissions and on the percentage of its projects that have a climate-change impact, the statement said. The World Bank’s work is primarily focused on developing countries, which are least responsible for global warming.

Climate-financing for these countries include loans for renewable energy projects, technical advice on dealing with impacts of climate change and projects that build resilience in areas prone to natural disasters.

Taxmen in their last-minute efforts managed to mobilise around Tk 4.20 trillion for the just-concluded fiscal year, shortening an anticipated large gap to Tk 800 billion against the revised budgetary target, officials say.

Economists had projected the revenue gap could exceed Tk 1.0 trillion in the fiscal year 2025-26 because of sluggish economic activity. But tax officials say they could contain the shortfall through "intensified enforcement, improved planning and stronger compliance measures".Economic Trend Analysis

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) taskforces on income tax, value-added tax (VAT) and customs met Wednesday with Finance Adviser Dr Rashed Al Titumir to formulate a medium-term strategy for achieving yet higher revenue target for this fiscal year (FY2026-27).

Speaking to The Financial Express, Dr Titumir said the government would prepare a three-year revenue strategy identifying both the sources of revenue and priority areas for public spending.

"It is clearly evident that revenue collection has gained momentum from mid-February through June under the present government's leadership," he says about the democratic transition after political upheavals.

"The tax base has been broadened while loopholes causing revenue leakage are being plugged," he adds.

Newly appointed NBR Chairman Ahsan Habib has said revenue collection reached Tk 4.12 trillion as of Wednesday and was expected to increase by another Tk 100 billion once end-of-year adjustments were completed.

"The NBR started working actively from day one under its own Budget Implementation Plan (BIP) for FY2026-27. We have prepared written strategies to achieve the revenue target," he says.Financial Planning Tools

He expects that the revenue board would continue working in full vigour with the existing taskforces which had achieved significant success over the past three months.

According to him, the customs and VAT wings have already finalised their revenue-mobilisation plans, while the income-tax wing is expected to complete its strategy shortly.

Former NBR chairman Abdur Rahman Khan says the FY2026-27 budget has introduced several measures aimed at encouraging investment while strengthening revenue mobilisation.

"The measures, including the turnover-based VAT regime, the 0.2-percent advance income tax on supplies to retailers and stronger actions against tax evasion, will contribute to higher revenue collection," he hopes.

He mentions that online income-tax-return submissions had exceeded 4.6 million as of June 30, describing it as a major milestone in the country's tax digitisation drive.

The government has set a tax-revenue target of Tk 6.04 trillion for the NBR in FY2026-27, to help finance an ambitious budget worth Tk9.38 trillion.Business News Alerts

For FY2025-26, the original target was Tk 4.99 trillion, which was later revised up to Tk 5.03 trillion. Based on the projected collection of Tk 4.20 trillion, the revenue shortfall would stand at around Tk 800 billion.

For FY 27, target for VAT-and income-tax wings has been set at Tk 2.23 trillion each, followed by Tk 1.57 trillion for customs wing.