GPH Ispat, one of the leading steel manufacturing companies in Bangladesh, will raise nearly Tk968 crore through issuing rights shares, mainly to repay bank loans amid sluggish demand and persistent energy shortages affecting the steel industry.

The company's board approved the issuance of 967.77 crore rights shares at Tk10 each at a meeting held on Saturday, according to a disclosure to the stock exchanges.

Under the proposed rights offer, existing shareholders will be entitled to receive two rights shares for every ordinary share they hold.

The rights issue is expected to raise Tk967.77 crore, subject to approval from the company's shareholders at its annual general meeting (AGM) and final approval from the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC).

GPH Ispat will announce a separate record date to determine shareholders' entitlement to the rights shares after receiving the necessary regulatory approvals.

GPH Ispat's decision comes as its debt burden remains substantial. As of 31 March 2026, the company had long-term loans of Tk3,439 crore and short-term borrowings of Tk3,145 crore, taking its total borrowings to around Tk6,584 crore.

A senior company official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the steel market has been facing weak demand while persistent energy shortages, particularly the gas crisis, have severely affected production.

"Business is going through a difficult period because demand has slowed, while the gas shortage has also hampered production. But loan instalments have to be paid on time despite the weak business environment," he said.

The company is also negotiating with banks to reschedule its loans, while its management is in discussions with Bangladesh Bank over the matter, he added.

GPH Ispat accumulated the high debt largely after making heavy investments to expand production capacity through new plants. However, delays in infrastructure development and a subsequent slowdown in demand have left the company facing pressure to service the borrowings, according to the official.

The latest rights issue is not the company's first attempt to raise fresh capital. In August 2024, GPH Ispat announced a plan to raise Tk242 crore through a rights offer, proposing one rights share for every three existing shares at Tk15, including a Tk5 premium. The proceeds were intended to finance a new expansion plant expected to generate Tk450 crore in annual revenue.

The BSEC, however, cancelled that rights-share application in May 2025, saying the documents submitted by the company were not satisfactory.

A month later, in June 2025, the securities regulator also rejected GPH Ispat's proposal to raise Tk500 crore through preference shares to repay loans.

The latest proposal therefore marks a significant shift in the company's capital-raising strategy, with debt repayment now taking priority over production expansion.

Meanwhile, GPH Ispat has recommended a 2% cash dividend for the financial year ended 30 June 2026, exclusively for general shareholders. Sponsors and directors holding 14.62 crore shares will not receive the dividend. The proposed payout to eligible general shareholders amounts to Tk6.75 crore.

The company's AGM is scheduled for 25 October, where shareholders will vote on both the dividend recommendation and the rights issue. The record date for participation in the AGM and entitlement to the proposed dividend is 1 October.

GPH Ispat returned to profitability in FY26, though earnings remained thin. The company posted a net profit of Tk3.38 crore, translating into earnings per share (EPS) of Tk0.07, compared with a loss per share of Tk0.51 in FY25.

Its net asset value stood at Tk51.81 per share, while net operating cash flow per share was Tk15.73.

Despite the return to profit, investors remained cautious. GPH Ispat shares fell 3.09% to Tk15.70 on the Dhaka Stock Exchange today (13 September). The company's market capitalisation stood at around Tk759 crore against paid-up capital of Tk483.88 crore.

The capital shortfall in 21 banks rose to nearly Tk2.94 lakh crore in March 2026 from Tk2.74 lakh crore three months earlier, amid a rise in non-performing loans and provisioning requirements.

As some banks have capital surpluses that offset part of the deficits, the banking sector's overall net capital shortfall stood at Tk2.39 lakh crore across 61 banks in March, up about Tk22,000 crore from Tk2.17 lakh crore in December.

Speaking to The Business Standard, bankers and economists said persistent capital shortfalls indicate that a large part of the banking sector remains financially weak, with rising default loans being a major factor behind the deterioration.

"Banks' capital shortfall increases as defaulted loans rise. Banks have to maintain provisions against defaulted loans, which reduces their profits. In other words, continued losses increase the capital shortfall," said Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director and CEO of Mutual Trust Bank.

Bangladesh Bank data show that the banking sector's provision shortfall stood at Tk2,05,665 crore in March, up from Tk1,98,260 crore at the end of December 2025. The provision shortfall rose to Tk2,22,357 crore in June.

Rising defaulted loans put pressure on capital

The banking sector's capital position has deteriorated over the years due to aggressive lending, weak supervision and loan approvals influenced by political considerations, according to bankers and economists.

When loans become classified as defaulted, banks have to maintain higher provisions against them. For regular or performing loans, banks generally need to maintain provisions of around 1% to 2%, while provisions against classified loans can rise to as much as 100%, depending on their classification.

The provisioning requirement is intended to protect depositors and strengthen banks' ability to absorb potential losses. However, as defaulted loans rise and banks have to set aside more funds as provisions, their profitability and capital positions come under pressure.

Total defaulted loans stood at Tk5,88,704 crore in March 2026, equivalent to 32.26% of total outstanding loans.

Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury told parliament recently that the government was spending around Tk40,000 crore in the current fiscal year to recapitalise weak banks as part of broader efforts to restore discipline and stability to the financial sector.

Capital weakness affects depositors, healthy banks

Zahid Hussain, former lead economist at the World Bank's Dhaka office, said capital shortfalls have two major effects on the banking sector.

"First, depositors lose confidence in banks that have capital shortfalls. Capital is an important indicator that protects depositors' interests and deposits, and adequate capital helps banks withstand shocks. Therefore, negative capital creates risks. Banks with capital shortfalls also cannot conduct business properly," he said.

Second, the economist said, financially sound banks could also come under pressure because lenders and creditors from abroad may become hesitant to extend credit to banks in Bangladesh.

"If one or two banks have capital shortfalls, it may be manageable. But when 20 or 21 banks of the 61 banks have been suffering from capital shortfalls for a long time, it indicates that the banking sector is in a weak position," Zahid said.

CRAR falls deeper into negative territory

The banking sector's capital-to-risk-weighted assets ratio, or CRAR, another key indicator of financial strength, fell to negative 3.17% at the end of March from negative 2.64% in December, according to Bangladesh Bank data.

International regulatory standards require banks to maintain a minimum CRAR of 12.5%.

According to Bangladesh Bank's Financial Stability Report 2025, Pakistan's banking sector had a CRAR of nearly 21% at the end of 2025, while Sri Lanka's exceeded 19%. India's banks had an average CRAR of 17.20%.

Md Touhidul Alam Khan, managing director and CEO of NRBC Bank, said failure to maintain the required regulatory capital, particularly the CRAR, could have serious regulatory, financial and operational consequences.

He said, "If a bank fails to maintain its required regulatory capital, particularly the CRAR, it may face serious regulatory, financial and operational consequences. These may include restrictions on dividend payments and incentive bonuses, deterioration in credit ratings, declining depositor confidence, increased solvency and funding risks, higher costs of doing business, especially in trade finance, and pressure on profitability due to higher provisioning requirements."

Touhidul further said, "Inadequate capital may also limit lending capacity and reduce the bank's ability to absorb losses."

First Security Islami Bank tops shortfall list

First Security Islami Bank recorded the highest capital deficit in the country at Tk66,264.80 crore as of March 2026. Bangladesh Krishi Bank followed with a shortfall of Tk31,687.17 crore, while Social Islami Bank reported Tk30,936.67 crore.

Among other major default-ridden institutions, Union Bank faced a deficit of Tk30,594.56 crore, Exim Bank Tk30,302.23 crore, Janata Bank Tk18,354.90 crore, Global Islami Bank Tk16,297.61 crore, National Bank Tk11,984.98 crore, AB Bank Tk8,487.59 crore, and Agrani Bank Tk8,234.92 crore.

Bangladesh’s wheat imports are expected to fall by 11 percent to 66 lakh tonnes in the 2026-27 marketing year as high global prices, large stocks and uncertainty over global supplies weigh on demand.

The country relies on imports for more than 80 percent of its wheat-based food needs. It imported 74 lakh tonnes of wheat in the previous marketing year, according to a recent United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) report on Bangladesh.

The wheat marketing year runs from July to June.

The USDA said disruptions to grain shipments from Russia and Ukraine had reduced export supplies from the Black Sea, making global supply and trade flows less predictable for countries that depend heavily on imports.

US wheat export prices have increased by $26 per tonne since July. Hard Red Winter (HRW) wheat reached $321, or more than Tk 39,500, per tonne in August, partly because the disruptions increased market volatility.

“Because Bangladesh’s wheat import market is highly price-sensitive, higher global prices are expected to reduce import demand,” the report said.

LARGE STOCKS TO LIMIT FRESH IMPORTS

The private sector imported a large volume of wheat last year, pushing total imports to a record high, the USDA said. Private millers and traders are now holding substantial stocks, which are expected to reduce the need for fresh imports this year, particularly if global prices remain elevated.

Private-sector wheat imports rose 16 percent to nearly 66 lakh tonnes last year, while public-sector imports increased 61 percent to 7.51 lakh tonnes.

The increase in public-sector imports was largely driven by purchases from the United States after the government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with US Wheat Associates.

Under the MoU, Bangladesh procured about 7.45 lakh tonnes of US wheat during the period, according to the USDA.

The government has committed to buying up to 7 lakh tonnes of US wheat annually until 2030. It has already contracted around 2.2 lakh tonnes for this year.

Despite the expected decline in imports, the USDA forecasts wheat consumption at 78 lakh tonnes this year, 4 percent higher than its previous estimate.

Demand for wheat flour remains strong among households and industries producing biscuits, confectionery, pasta, noodles and bakery products.

“As rice prices have remained high for more than a year, many households are now consuming more wheat flour than before,” the USDA said.

LOCAL PRODUCTION REMAINS LARGELY UNCHANGED

The USDA kept its forecast for local wheat production unchanged at 10.5 lakh tonnes.

It said both wheat acreage and production have remained largely stagnant in recent years.

“Despite strong domestic demand for wheat and wheat flour, farmers have shown limited interest in expanding wheat cultivation,” the report said.

Farmers can earn higher returns from other crops, such as vegetables and corn, during the same Rabi season. This reduces their incentive to use more land for wheat, the USDA said.

The agency also identified the limited availability of high-yielding wheat varieties suited to local conditions as a major constraint on production.

These factors are expected to continue limiting any significant increase in wheat acreage and production this year.

While Bangladesh has made remarkable strides in expanding access to financial services, ensuring that individuals and businesses can fully participate in and benefit from the formal financial system will define the next chapter of the country’s development journey.

According to a June 2026 report by the Bangladesh Bank, domestic credit card usage increased by 43.24 percent between June 2025 and June 2026, illustrating how rapidly payment behaviour is evolving among existing users. This is a meaningful signal of momentum. Yet financial inclusion is about more than increasing transaction activity among those already inside the formal system. The question today is how widely people and businesses across Bangladesh can participate in that system and use it to transact, save, grow businesses and build economic resilience. In that sense, financial inclusion is not only a social objective; it is an economic growth imperative, one that shapes how resilient households and enterprises are in the face of shocks, and how effectively capital reaches the people who can put it to productive use.

Much of that opportunity lies in reducing reliance on cash. Bangladesh Bank’s latest annual report shows that cash accounted for 67.2 percent of total transaction value in 2025, while digital payment channels represented 32.8 percent. Meanwhile, transaction volume through cards increased by 91 percent between July 2021 and June 2026, underscoring the longer-term shift towards card-based payments even as cash retains a substantial share of everyday commerce.

If the last decade was about building Bangladesh’s digital payments ecosystem, the next should be about ensuring every Bangladeshi can participate fully in it and access financial freedom.

Closing that gap will not happen overnight, but it is a clear and achievable opportunity. Making cards, POS devices, and QR acceptance infrastructure more affordable can help extend this progress across the mass market and encourage wider merchant acceptance, particularly among small retailers and businesses for whom the upfront cost of digital acceptance remains a real barrier. At the same time, well-designed, time-bound incentives for small merchants and consumers, particularly first-time and occasional users, can help turn digital payments into a habit rather than an alternative, nudging behaviour at the margin where it matters most.

Ensuring that inclusion reaches everyone, especially women, must be a national priority. Payroll digitisation has already demonstrated its transformative potential among Bangladesh’s four million ready-made garment workers, most of whom are women, for whom receiving wages digitally becomes far more than a change in payment method. It becomes a gateway to savings, a credit scoring history and greater financial security, benefits that ripple outwards into households and communities. Extending similar solutions to freelancers and SME workers, groups often left at the margins of formal finance, can bring these same benefits to even more people as Bangladesh’s economy continues to diversify.

Government-led programmes are playing their part too. Initiatives such as the Family Card and Farmer’s Card, which channel social safety net disbursements through open-loop digital systems, are similarly helping reach citizens who may not otherwise enter the formal financial system, demonstrating that public and private infrastructure can reinforce one another when designed to work together.

None of this requires reinventing the wheel. It requires keeping financial inclusion, rather than transaction volume alone, at the centre of policy and industry priorities, and sustaining the collaboration between regulators, financial institutions and technology partners that has brought the country this far. Mastercard remains committed to supporting this journey by strengthening the connected infrastructure that enables banks, fintechs, businesses and government programmes to operate together seamlessly. If the last decade was about building Bangladesh’s digital payments ecosystem, the next should be about ensuring every Bangladeshi can participate fully in it and access financial freedom.

The Chattogram Garments Accessories Association (CGAA) has urged Bangladesh Bank to simplify the documentation and payment process for back-to-back letters of credit (LCs), saying repeated approvals are delaying payments and squeezing the working capital of 100% deemed exporters.

In a letter to the central bank governor on 9 September, the association said manufacturers of garment accessories and packaging materials face prolonged delays because delivery challans, commercial invoices and other LC documents often have to pass through garment factories before reaching banks.

The letter was signed by Jamil Ahmed, acting president of CGAA and managing director of Britannia Label BD Ltd.

The association said that even when deemed exporters prepare all LC-required documents, they cannot always submit them directly to the concerned bank. Instead, documents are first sent to the garment factory for an authorised person's signature or "party acceptance", after which the factory submits them to the bank.

The bank may then return them to the factory for another approval or acceptance before payment or maturity is processed.

CGAA said the repeated movement of documents between deemed exporters, garment factories and banks causes processing delays, duplicate verification and approval, delayed payment or maturity, blocked working capital and cash-flow pressure.

It also raises banking and administrative costs and can result in discrepancy charges for procedural issues beyond suppliers' control.

CGAA seeks UCP 600-compliant LC process

The association has sought a policy review of whether the practice complies with the International Chamber of Commerce's UCP 600, the internationally recognised rules governing documentary credits.

It argued that required documents should primarily be determined by the relevant LC. Where documents are properly prepared and compliant, additional post-delivery party acceptance or repeated approval should not be mandatory unless specifically required by the LC, law or Bangladesh Bank directives.

CGAA asked Bangladesh Bank to review the practice and issue clear guidelines for commercial banks. Its seven-point proposal includes allowing deemed exporters to submit documents directly to banks; removing mandatory party acceptance unless explicitly required by the LC; requiring banks to examine documents strictly under LC terms and, where applicable, UCP 600; and notifying suppliers of discrepancies within prescribed rules and timeframes.

It also called for an end to repeated submission of documents to garment factories solely for internal approval, no discrepancy fees for bank processing delays or issues beyond suppliers' control, payment or maturity within the prescribed timeframe for compliant documents, and a uniform, simplified, digital and time-bound SOP for back-to-back LCs involving 100% deemed exporters.

Industry seeks stakeholder discussion

CGAA said a practical solution could be developed through discussions among Bangladesh Bank, commercial banks, garment manufacturers and deemed exporters.

It requested an open discussion to identify the root causes and establish a transparent, faster procedure.

The association said reducing unnecessary document movement, duplicate approvals, payment delays and unjustified charges would help deemed exporters manage working capital and cash flow more effectively while improving export-sector efficiency.

High government taxes, expensive fuel, steep ground-handling charges and congestion caused by Dhaka airport’s single runway are pushing up airlines’ operating costs, expenses that ultimately land on passengers’ ticket prices, an airline managing director said on Saturday.

Mohammed Abdullah Al Mamun, managing director of US-Bangla Group and US-Bangla Airlines, made the observations at the policy conclave “World-Class Aviation for Bangladesh’s Economic Advancement”, organised by Bonik Barta at a conference centre in Dhaka.

A passenger travelling from Dhaka to Kuala Lumpur pays around Tk 9,890 in government tax and excise duty, Mamun said, against around Tk 2,000 on the Kuala Lumpur-Dhaka leg, a difference of around Tk 7,000.

US-Bangla alone loses around Tk 20 lakh a day due to the single-runway constraint, while congestion causes delays as aircraft queue for landing and departure

He cited similar disparities on other routes. A passenger departing Dhaka for Singapore pays around Tk 9,890 against around Tk 5,800 on the return leg. For Muscat, the figures are around Tk 10,000 from Dhaka against Tk 3,000 on return, while Dubai-Dhaka costs around Tk 4,000 against around Tk 10,000 from Dhaka.

“Fare will be high,” Mamun said, arguing that airlines have to factor such charges into ticket prices.

The burden is significant on domestic routes too, he said. A Dhaka-Jashore journey draws Tk 500 in VAT and Tk 200 in tax, with overall airport-related charges reaching around Tk 1,200.

Fuel is another factor. Mamun said aviation fuel in Bangladesh is currently more expensive than in Kolkata.

He also pointed to a large disparity in ground-handling charges. US-Bangla pays around Tk 97,000 for ground handling in Kuala Lumpur, he said, while a Malaysian airline coming to Dhaka can be charged around Tk 3 lakh for the same service.

Aeronautical, overflying and parking charges for a Boeing aircraft in Kuala Lumpur amount to around Tk 15,000, he said, against ground-handling charges of up to Tk 2.25 lakh in Bangladesh.

“An airline, at the end of the day, prices its ticket based on how much it costs to land and operate in a country,” he said.

Mamun said a level playing field was necessary for the aviation sector to grow. He pointed out that Kolkata and Kuala Lumpur each have four ground-handling companies, while Bangladesh remains wary of allowing more than one operator over concerns it could hurt Biman Bangladesh Airlines.

US-Bangla received a ground-handling certificate in 2023 and was capable of providing the service under the relevant rules and global certification, but had not received a licence, he said.

Bangladeshi airlines also have to pay ticket-sale commissions that some major foreign carriers do not, Mamun added.

The single runway at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport is another major source of expense, Mamun said. Aircraft can spend around 20 minutes taxiing because of congestion, he said, adding that a Boeing can burn an additional 300-400kg of fuel as a result, an Airbus around 900kg and an ATR around 75kg.

Mamun said US-Bangla alone suffers losses of around Tk 20 lakh a day because of the single-runway constraint. The congestion also affects punctuality, with aircraft left waiting in queues for both landing and departure, he said.

Mamun also criticised the planning process for the Third Terminal, saying domestic airline operators were not properly consulted on the facilities they needed.

“The Third Terminal is for whom? First of all, it is for the operators, because operators facilitate the passengers,” he said.

He argued that Bangladesh’s ambition to become an aviation hub would ultimately depend on domestic airlines rather than foreign carriers. Air Commodore Md Nur-E-Alam, member (air traffic management) of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), told the programme that Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport can currently handle around 20-22 flights an hour.

With high-speed taxiways reducing runway occupancy time, CAAB expects the figure could eventually rise to 26-28 flights an hour, he said.

He acknowledged the limitations of a single runway and said a dependent runway was being considered, though development around the airport and shortage of space complicate plans for another runway and its associated facilities.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat said the government was changing civil aviation rules after 42 years and wanted industry stakeholders to have a role in the process.

Addressing airline representatives, he said the government wanted to “give space to the stakeholders” and would invite them to a meeting before the rules were finalised.

“We will give you letters to join the meeting, and we will discuss and finalise the matter,” the minister said.

In a major push to foster self-employment and drive grassroots economic growth, Bangladesh Bank today (13 September) issued a comprehensive guideline titled "Udyog: Upazila-Driven Youth Opportunity for Growth".

The program aims to hunt, identify, and finance prospective young entrepreneurs across all upazilas in Bangladesh.

Issued by the SME and Special Programmes Department, the circular directs Managing Directors and Chief Executive Officers of all scheduled banks to immediately implement the scheme.

The policy covers a wide array of legal ventures–including tech startups, agriculture, food processing, light engineering, renewable energy, and handicrafts–prioritising both new innovative ideas and existing business models.

To ensure funding reaches genuine and capable young creators, Bangladesh Bank established specific eligibility guidelines:

Age Limit: Applicants must be adult Bangladeshi citizens aged up to 28 years on the final date of application submission.

Local Residency: Candidates must be permanent residents of the respective upazila.

Clean Credit History: Applicants must not be loan defaulters. Any default status revealed during Credit Information Bureau (CIB) checks will result in immediate cancellation.

Furthermore, anyone who has previously taken a business loan from any bank or financial institution is ineligible.

Employment Status: Public, semi-government, and autonomous institution employees are excluded from applying.

No Collateral Required: To alleviate barriers for youth, loans under this program can be disbursed without collateral support.

The framework offers a maximum blended financing package of up to Tk20 lakh per selected entrepreneur, evaluated strictly against business requirements and proposed cost plans, according to the circular.

The funding is split equally: 50 percent bank loan (Up to Tk10 lakh) and 50 percent matching grant (Up to Tk10 lakh)

If a business needs Tk12 lakh, for example, the applicant receives Tk6 lakh as a bank loan and Tk6 lakh as a grant.

The grant and loan portions will be disbursed simultaneously into the recipient's bank account.

However, failure to repay the loan or misuse of funds will automatically convert the grant portion into an interest-free debt, recoverable under standard recovery laws.

Bangladesh Bank will nominate one Lead Bank for each upazila to execute and coordinate the program.

Any branch of scheduled banks will collect application forms. On the working day following the application deadline, branches will forward all applications to the respective Upazila Lead Bank, which will then channel them to the District Lead Bank and eventually to Bangladesh Bank's departmental offices.

A multi-stakeholder panel comprising central bank officials, scheduled bank representatives, successful entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and academics will evaluate business plans, market feasibility, and employment potential to make final selections.

Designated banks must sanction loans within 15 working days of final selection, adhering to their internal credit rules and central bank regulations.

All participating banks will also provide financial literacy training, mentoring, market linkage support, and assistance with business registrations to ensure long-term sustainability for the newly minted enterprises.

A crude oil tanker of Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC), MT Ninemia, arrived at Chattogram port from Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

Carrying 1 lakh tonnes of oil, the ship sailed through the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean Sea and the Strait of Gibraltar before going around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.

To avoid the Bab el-Mandeb Strait amid tensions, the detour stretched to 50 days. Besides, it cost an additional Tk 66.63 crore.

Had the vessel taken the regular route from Yanbu through the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb, the Indian Ocean and then to Bangladesh, the voyage from Yanbu to Chattogram would have taken around 13 to 15 days, officials said.

After the US-Israel war on Iran led to disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, Bangladesh had been increasingly relying on shipping routes through the Red Sea for oil and other energy imports from the Middle East.

But as Yemen’s Houthi rebels have tightened their grip on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a narrow waterway located at the mouth of the Red Sea, the escape route for a sizable chunk of the Middle East’s oil is looking increasingly shaky.

As a result, Bangladesh’s imports from Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries face significantly longer routes and higher transport costs. The development is significant for Bangladesh because Saudi Arabia is a key source of crude oil, urea, diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertiliser, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and methanol.

Bangladesh imported 29.98 lakh tonnes of goods worth Tk 21,307 crore from Saudi Arabia in the fiscal year 2024-25. The volume rose to 30.41 lakh tonnes, worth Tk 25,673 crore, in FY2025-26.

In the first two and a half months of the fiscal year 2026-27, Bangladesh imported about 526,000 tonnes of goods worth Tk 5,604 crore from the Gulf country.

Of the 30.41 lakh tonnes imported from Saudi Arabia in 2025-26, crude oil accounted for 13 lakh tonnes, urea 6.07 lakh tonnes and DAP 3.27 lakh tonnes.

NO IMMEDIATE RISK TO FUEL SUPPLIES

Bangladesh relies on Saudi Arabia and the UAE for crude oil imports, although its dependence on the Middle East for refined petroleum products is minimal.

The country now sources diesel and other refined fuels from a wider group of suppliers under government-to-government arrangements and international tenders.

Recent procurement has involved suppliers from China, Malaysia, the UAE, Indonesia, Thailand, India and Oman, while crude oil imports remain concentrated in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Under government-to-government arrangements, BPC imports Arabian Light crude from Saudi Arabia and Murban crude from the UAE.

Monir Hossain Chowdhury, joint secretary of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division who oversees fuel issues, told The Daily Star that Bangladesh currently faces no immediate risk to fuel supplies because stocks remain adequate and refined petroleum products continue to arrive normally from alternative sources.

According to Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) data, Bangladesh’s annual petroleum demand is about 72 lakh tonnes, while Eastern Refinery Ltd (ERL) refines about 15 lakh tonnes of crude oil, all of which is imported.

“Our stocks are sufficient. I can assure you that we have at least 35 days of diesel stocks.

There has been no interruption in the supply chain so far, and no supplier has told us that they will be unable to supply,” said Monir.

He said Bangladesh does not significantly depend on the Middle East for refined petroleum products, limiting the immediate impact of disruptions around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Crude oil imports, however, remain a concern as Bangladesh sources crude from the region.

Asked about the possibility of higher transport costs as crude vessels take longer routes, Monir said such additional costs may have to be borne if the security situation persists.

“We may have to incur higher costs, but as long as the supply chain remains secure, we have nothing to be anxious about,” he added.

Apart from the MT Ninemia, another tanker carrying about 1 lakh tonnes of crude oil from the UAE’s Fujairah port is scheduled to sail on September 14-15 and reach Chattogram on September 29.

BPC officials said the vessel does not need to pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and is therefore expected to arrive on schedule.

Even so, officials are becoming increasingly concerned about the broader impact of rising global oil prices. Brent crude recently crossed the $100-a-barrel mark, which could push up the price of refined petroleum products.

FERTILISER MAY FACE RENEWED PRESSURE

The disruption risk extends to fertiliser imports, especially urea and DAP, for which Bangladesh relies significantly on Saudi Arabia.

In FY 2025-26, Bangladesh imported 14.79 lakh tonnes of urea, of which 6.06 lakh tonnes came from Saudi Arabia. During the same period, the country imported 7.81 lakh tonnes of DAP fertiliser, including 3.27 lakh tonnes from Saudi Arabia.

Any prolonged diversion of vessels away from the Bab el-Mandeb could therefore raise freight costs and extend delivery times for fertilisers.

Md Mosharraf Hossain, chairman of the Bangladesh Fertilizer Association, said fertiliser supplies could come under renewed pressure if growing Houthi control along Yemen’s Red Sea coast disrupts shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

“There is already anxiety and concern, and we have already started discussions with the exporters,” he said.

Mosharraf said fertiliser imports need to be expedited, as the upcoming Rabi season will require adequate supplies for crops including potatoes, corn, linseed, oilseeds, onions and garlic.

He thinks any disruption or delay in fertiliser supplies during the Rabi season could create serious problems for agricultural production.

TENSION MAY HURT FOOD EXPORTS

Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, chairman and chief executive officer of PRAN-RFL Group, said Bangladesh exports about $200 million worth of agro-processed food products to Saudi Arabia each year.

He said PRAN has significant business dealings with Saudi Arabia. Any disruption or delay in shipments could therefore affect business operations.

“If shipments are affected, the impact will naturally be felt in our business,” he said.

However, Ahsan expressed optimism that the situation would not continue for long and that business activities would eventually return to normal.

“We believe the situation will not prolong. Ultimately, things will be okay,” he said.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) is set to hold its third meeting of the 2026-27 fiscal year on Wednesday, with a 15-project agenda spanning transport, defence, health, water resources and land management sectors, according to a notice issued by the Planning Division.

The meeting will be held at 10:00 am at the Cabinet Room of the Secretariat, chaired by Prime Minister and ECNEC Chairman Tarique Rahman, according to the notice.

Under the Physical Infrastructure Division, the committee will examine the Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development Project (Line-5): Southern Route, to run from September 2026 to August 2033 under the Road Transport and Highways Division.

Also on the list are upgradation of district highways under Rajshahi Road Zone and under Chattogram Road Zone in its third phase, both under the same division, reports UNB.

Defence-related infrastructure proposals include the second phase of Barisal Cantonment establishment (July 2026-December 2030) and construction of accommodation and other facilities for naval personnel in the Khulna Naval Zone (July 2026-June 2029), both proposed by the Ministry of Defence.

The Khulna Drainage System Development Project (first revised), running from July 2020 through June 2027 under the Local Government Division, is also listed, alongside two railway projects from the Ministry of Railways: the Implementation of Electric Traction Along the Narayanganj-Dhaka-Joydebpur Section of Bangladesh Railway and the first-revised project for a new dual-gauge railway line from Bogura to Sirajganj.

Under the Industries and Energy Division, ECNEC will review the Improved Working Conditions and Social Protection for Workers in the Textile and Leather Sector project from the Ministry of Labour and Employment, and the first-revised upgradation and expansion of the electricity distribution system in Manpura island area under the Power Division.

Three proposals fall under the Socio-Economic Infrastructure Division, all from the Health Services Division of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Financial Institutions Division: Health System Strengthening through MNCH Services Improvement and NCDs Control, Integrated Health System Response to Fight Against TB, HIV/AIDS and Malaria in Bangladesh, and Financial Sector Support Project-II or FSSP-II.

Rounding off the approval list under the Agriculture, Water Resources and Rural Institutions Division are the construction of the Musapur Regulator with integrated flood and river management and drainage improvement of the Chhoto Feni and Bamni rivers, part-1 from the Ministry of Water Resources, and the second-revised Digital Land Management System project, covering digital land surveys in three city corporations, one pourashava and two rural upazilas (July 2018-December 2028) from the Ministry of Land.

The notice also lists 15 additional projects already approved by the minister concerned to be placed before ECNEC for information.

These include the second-revised Automation of Land Management project and the first-revised construction of the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society's national headquarters, both from the Ministry of Land and the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, respectively.

Also featured are the first-revised Establishing Green Belt at Bhasan Char and Reforestation of areas affected by Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar, from the Ministry of Environment and a project on strengthening research, conservation and development of indigenous poultry from the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock.

Infrastructure items on this list include the first-revised establishment of a telecommunication network in economic zones, replacement of ageing and risky bridges in the Rangpur zone, construction of an RDA building from the fifth to tenth floor, construction of a quarter guard and ancillary infrastructure at Jalalabad Cantonment, and preparation of a Digital Elevation (3D) Model of Sylhet division to enhance flood forecasting capacity.

Education, social welfare and sports-related projects for information include infrastructure development at Cantonment Public School and College, Saidpur; further infrastructure development at Military Collegiate School, Khulna; the first-revised Strengthening Social Protection for Improved Resilience, Inclusion and Targeting (SSPIRIT) project; and development works at the Barguna and Dinajpur district stadiums.

Besides, the second-revised drilling of the Sylhet-10 exploration well, under the Energy and Mineral Resources Division.

The plan was discussed earlier this month when a team of the Washington-based multilateral lending agency had meetings with Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury in Dhaka.

IDA's lending terms are highly concessional, meaning that IDA credits carry almost no or low-interest charges. Its funds are allocated to the recipient-countries in relation to their income levels and record of success in managing their economies and their ongoing IDA projects.

Historically, Bangladesh is the second-largest recipient of IDA credits worldwide.

"Our joint objective should be to reach an overall disbursement rate of 25 per cent in FY27, equivalent to US$2.03 billion," Jean Pesme, World Bank's Division Director for Bangladesh, wrote in a recent letter to the finance minister in reference to their meeting early September.

He also disclosed the proposed FY27 pipeline for Bangladesh totaling some $2.61 billion.

Mr Pesme further wrote that as the proposed FY27-28 tentative programme would substantially exceed Bangladesh's performance-based IDA21 allocation, "we will need to make adjustments, including accessing additional IDA windows and reallocating resources from underperforming projects".

He sought government's continued assistance in securing the necessary approvals, particularly for operations planned for FY27 Q1 and Q2, to support timely disbursement of the funds.

In FY26, Bangladesh received $1.27 billion from the IDA followed by $2.01 billion in FY25, $1.60 billion in FY24, $1.85 billion in FY23, $1.55 billion in FY22, and $1.30 billion in FY21.

Under the FY27 pipeline Bangladesh is likely to get $59.67 million from IDA for 'Learning Acceleration in Secondary Education Operation Project', $95 million for 'Bangladesh Resilient Urban and Territorial Development Project', $140 million for 'Chattogram Water Supply Improvement Project' and $300 million for 'Learning Enhancement and Acceleration in Primary Education in Bangladesh project".

Also, for the 'Bangladesh One Health Project', the World Bank may disburse $225 million from IDA, $70 million for 'Dhaka MRT Development (Line-2) and Institutional Strengthening Project", $142 million for 'Bangladesh: Digital Service Transformation for Access and Resilience Project, and $400 million for 'Bangladesh Strategic Flood Resilience Program'.

Moreover, 'Bangladesh Coastal Resilience Project' may receive $230 million, 'Accelerating Clean Energy Investment Programme (IDCOL Renewable Energy Facility) Project' may receive $350 million, the 'PFM Reform Programme for Modern, Transparent, and Inclusive Public Financial Management' may receive $250 million and 'Bangladesh Agriconnect' may receive $350 million.

A senior finance division official told The Financial Express the World Bank gave importance on effective use of IDA resources as the money comes from "generosity" of the member-countries.

He said the World Bank officials also emphasised timely approval for projects so that disbursements can be made as planned.

"World Bank's low-cost loan and grants help to accelerate socioeconomic growth and reduce poverty in Bangladesh," he said.

Bangladesh so far has received over $45 billion in commitments from the World Bank's IDA programme.

The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) will facilitate the disbursement of Tk23.03 crore in long-pending insurance claims to 5,868 policyholders tomorrow (14 September) under the second phase of its special claim settlement programme.

According to the regulator, the claims totalling Tk23,03,56,971 pertain to policyholders of five life insurance companies.

IDRA is arranging funds from various sources, including assets and security bonds of the concerned insurers, to settle legitimate claims that have remained unpaid for an extended period.

Under the second phase, Padma Islami Life Insurance Company will pay around Tk12 crore to 3,600 policyholders.

Homeland Life Insurance Company will settle Tk4.98 crore for 1,145 policyholders, while Fareast Islami Life Insurance Company will pay Tk5 crore to 580 policyholders.

Sunflower Life Insurance Company will pay Tk55.30 lakh to 300 policyholders, and Sunlife Insurance Company will settle Tk50.18 lakh for 243 policyholders.

The latest initiative is part of IDRA's broader effort to address the longstanding claim settlement crisis in the insurance sector, where thousands of policyholders have been waiting for years to receive legitimate dues.

According to IDRA data, insurers had received claims worth Tk10,611 crore across the life and non-life segments by March 2026. Of this, Tk7,779 crore, or 73.31%, remained unsettled. The situation is particularly severe in the non-life segment, where 88.7% of claims remained unpaid.

In the life insurance sector alone, claims worth Tk6,812.67 crore were outstanding as of March 2026, with Tk4,410.12 crore, or 64.73%, remaining unsettled, according to data cited by IDRA.

Against this backdrop, IDRA has prioritised the settlement of long-pending legitimate claims, particularly those involving financially distressed insurers. The regulator has been working with several troubled life insurance companies to arrange funds by liquidating assets and using other available financial resources. IDRA Chairman Mir Nadia Nivin earlier said clearing nearly Tk7,000 crore in outstanding claims is among the authority's top priorities.

The second phase follows the first round of payments made on 3 September, when IDRA facilitated the settlement of Tk14,51,03,146.58 in claims for 2,549 policyholders of seven life insurance companies.

Including the latest phase, IDRA's special initiative will have facilitated the settlement of about Tk37.55 crore in claims for 8,417 policyholders.

The first phase covered Baira Life Insurance, Fareast Islami Life Insurance, Golden Life Insurance, Homeland Life Insurance, Padma Islami Life Insurance, Progressive Life Insurance and Sunflower Life Insurance.

IDRA said the initiative is aimed at expediting the settlement of valid long pending claims and restoring policyholders' confidence in the insurance industry.

The authority has indicated that the claim settlement drive will continue in phases, with the remaining legitimate claims to be considered after verification and scrutiny.

The initiative comes at a time when the insurance industry is facing a serious confidence problem stemming from delayed claim payments, financial weaknesses among some insurers and regulatory concerns. Ensuring timely payment of legitimate claims is therefore seen as critical to rebuilding trust in the sector and encouraging greater participation in insurance.

IDRA has also been pursuing broader reforms, including stronger supervision of insurers and measures to improve financial discipline, as part of efforts to strengthen the overall insurance sector.

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.

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.

Bangladesh has outlined a $1.85 billion investment plan to execute an equitable green economic transition, becoming the first country in Asia to incorporate a dedicated Just Transition chapter into its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC 3.0).

The framework translates the country's climate targets into actionable and bankable investment opportunities, according to an action plan presented at a national high-level dialogue in Dhaka on Thursday.

The dialogue was jointly organised by the Department of Environment, International Labour Organisation (ILO), South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) and the Embassy of Sweden.

The strategy was developed through a cross-mapping of 14 national strategy documents, including the Eighth Five-Year Plan, Perspective Plan 2041 and Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100. It consolidated 258 commitments into 33 core priorities.

These priorities form an action matrix containing 69 traceable and time-bound activities across six key sectors-energy, transport, construction, agriculture, waste management, and industrial processes and product use (IPPU).

The final implementation plan will be incorporated into NDC 3.0 this month before being presented to international development partners and global investors at COP31 in November.

SANEM Executive Director Dr Selim Raihan and ILO Just Transition Technical Officer Elisa Benistant Fremigacci jointly presented the action plan and its annexes at the dialogue.

Speaking as the chief guest at the event, State Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shaikh Faridul Islam said the government was focusing on field-level measures to clean major rivers and reduce air and noise pollution.

Referring to his recent visits to facilities in Rajshahi, he stressed the need to improve occupational safety and health standards for factory and waste-management workers.

Workers are central to economic growth and therefore need fair wages, stronger social protection and skills upgrading to cope with technological changes, he said.

Bangladesh is also targeting 10,000 MW of renewable energy within five years as part of its clean-energy transition, including through wind power projects such as those in Cox's Bazar.

The government is forming an inclusive, multi-sectoral team to present strong research and policy positions at COP31, the state minister added.

Speaking at a panel discussion, Dr Fahmida Khatun, distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said a just transition must focus on creating employment through the green transition.

She called for sector- and occupation-level mapping to identify where jobs would be gained or lost and proposed adding a green jobs module to the Labour Force Survey to establish a reliable baseline. She also stressed the need for data disaggregated by sex, age, geography, and formal and informal employment to better target social safety-net programmes such as the Family Card.

Emission-reduction tracking should be paired with employment and decent-work indicators, she said, calling for an institutional mechanism to integrate data across the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, government ministries, employers and worker organisations.

Moustapha Kamal Gueye, director of the ILO's Just Transition Priority Action Programme, said climate ambition requires building human capacity among workers, businesses and communities to transform energy, agriculture and transport systems.

Social justice and decent work are essential to climate mitigation and adaptation rather than merely additional benefits, he said, stressing that social dialogue should be formally institutionalised instead of remaining ad hoc.

Bangladesh Employers' Federation Secretary General Farooq Ahmed said a just transition required a whole-of-society approach involving all stakeholders, not just employers and workers.

He noted that Bangladesh accounts for only 0.47 per cent of global carbon emissions, yet remains disproportionately vulnerable to climate change because of its geographical position.

He identified three key responsibilities: raising public awareness, mobilising financial and technical resources, and developing a framework for resilience and preparedness.

He also called for climate issues to be communicated in simple and accessible language and stressed the need to build the capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises to adapt to environmental and technological changes.

Mesbahuddin Ahmed, chairman of the National Coordination Committee for Workers' Education, recalled past industrial disruptions caused by globalisation and cautioned against repeating instances where workers lost jobs without opportunities for retraining.

The current green transition must prioritise worker reskilling and involve worker organisations from the outset, he said.

Sector-level specialisation is also crucial to understanding future workforce needs and designing appropriate training, he added, stressing that a just transition must go beyond policy documents to deliver real jobs, job security and effective skills transfer.

ILO Country Director Max Tunon moderated the panel discussion.

The intensifying global competition for critical minerals could be a transformative moment for Africa.

The continent is already a major producer of energy transition metals such as copper, cobalt and manganese but is nowhere near its full potential.

Africa’s share of global mineral revenues sits at just 10 percent, despite accounting for 30 percent of the world’s reserves, according to the Brookings Institution.

There may be yet more riches hidden underground.

It’s difficult to know, because the continent was the target of just 10 percent of global mineral exploration in 2024, according to the US think-tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Moving forward, however, that number is likely to increase as Africa becomes the front line in the global battle for resources, with the West vying with China for control of metals that are core components of both green technologies and AI data centers.

Can Africa seize its metallic moment?

To do so, the continent must break with a long history of resource exploitation by external powers.

European colonisation of Africa in the late 19th and early 20th centuries laid the foundations for unequal trading relationships centred on the extraction of raw materials for overseas markets — a pattern that persists to this day.

From the rubber plantations in the Belgian Congo through goldfields in South Africa to the copper mines of what is now Zambia, Africans have provided the blood, sweat and tears only to see the rewards reaped by foreign owners.

Now, many African governments are realising that the global hunger for critical metals offers a unique chance to change the terms of resource trade.

One obvious route African nations can take to capture more value from mining is to build more processing capacity.

Indonesia has shown others the way.

The country banned exports of nickel ore in 2020, forcing miners to invest in smelters.

The strategy has been so successful that Indonesia is now the world’s dominant producer, exporting a wide spectrum of nickel products, including high-purity refined metal and sulphate for battery manufacturers.

African countries have taken note.

Zimbabwe has imposed export controls on lithium, Guinea on bauxite and the Democratic Republic of Congo on both cobalt and copper, all with the ambition of leveraging raw materials to expand domestic processing capacity.

However, the number of barriers to establishing a successful processing business is “vast”, according to a joint analysis by consultancy CRU and the World Bank in a June report.

Power supply, infrastructure, logistics, technical capacity and policy must all be right to make what is a low-margin business profitable even when prices drop. Indeed, these factors can be more important than the mineral reserves themselves.

Just look at Angola.

It is building an aluminium smelter at the port of Barra do Dande despite having neither bauxite nor the capacity to process it into alumina, the intermediate product fed into the smelting process.

What the project does have is a deep-sea port suitable for handling raw materials and a strategic location in a free-trade zone, allowing it to benefit from shared infrastructure, favourable business rates and reliable power supplies.

Angola also sits at the end of one of the largest infrastructure projects in Sub-Saharan Africa — one that has huge implications for the region’s push to limit external power on the continent.

The Lobito Corridor will combine new and existing railway lines to link the central African Copperbelt with the Angolan port of Lobito.

The ambitious project is heavily backed by both the US and Europe.

It has massive strategic significance.

The Lobito Corridor offers a Western shipping alternative to the Chinese-built TAZARA railway line running from Zambia to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam.

TAZARA is the transit route for much of the region’s copper and cobalt as they start their long journey to a Chinese port.

Chinese companies own and operate some of the largest copper and cobalt mines in the region, beginning a supply chain that ends in Chinese-made electric vehicles or humble air-conditioner units.

The Lobito Corridor is a direct challenge to that dominance.

The project cuts freight time from Congo’s mines to the sea from over a month to just one week, helping reduce risk for potential private-sector investment. China has responded with a commitment to spend $1.4 billion to revamp TAZARA, which it financed in the 1970s.

Ultimately, the competing rail corridors, one heading west and one east, represent a potential win-win for both Congo and Zambia.

The Lobito Corridor, however, promises much more than a fast exit route for Africa’s metals.

It is intended to be an economic booster in its own right, creating agricultural, metals and technology hubs along its 1,800-kilometre (1,120-mile) route.

Western partners in the project are investing not just in hard infrastructure but also in what the European Union describes as “soft connectivity”, meaning trade facilitation, technical and vocational training, and a focus on creating local employment.

The results are already tangible in Angola, where railway infrastructure is simply being upgraded rather than built from scratch, as will be the case for the planned extension into Zambia in 2030.

Upgrades create more immediate economic opportunity in the local economy.

Congo’s copper and cobalt are now accompanied on their journey to Lobito by Angolan agricultural goods from the country’s farming heartland in Huambo province.

Angola exported its first avocados to Europe last November thanks to an EU-funded trade logistics platform and a €50-million investment programme in sustainable agricultural chains.

This holistic approach to the Lobito Corridor offers one way out of Africa’s historic resource trap.

Even building processing plants doesn’t necessarily spread any wealth through the local economy if they operate as export-oriented fiscal enclaves.

Congo’s copper production is now largely in the form of high-purity refined metal, but the country still exports almost all of it to China for conversion into manufactured goods.

That needs to change if Africa is to grab a larger share of its mineral revenues.

HISTORIC MINERS

Perhaps the single biggest challenge facing African countries seeking to convert mineral wealth into long-term economic growth is how to deal with their traditional workforce.

It’s estimated that around 10 million people are directly involved in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in Africa, with many more dependent on it for subsistence.

Africans have been mining for thousands of years, and collective small-scale operations have been the norm for most of that time, particularly in rural areas with low employment prospects.

It’s dangerous work, but that doesn’t prevent the participation of both women and children.

Fatalities are common and the environmental impact can be devastating.

The word “artisanal” implies a degree of free agency, but ASM is often more akin to bonded labour.

The ore dug out of the ground is sold to middlemen at a fraction of its true value.

In conflict zones such as Congo’s eastern provinces and some Sahel countries, ASM can be outright forced labour at mines controlled by insurgent groups.

Africa’s historical miners operate in a dark zone thanks to colonial-era laws declaring all such “native” operations illegal.

The result is the criminalisation of millions of people, lost revenue for states and an ethical dilemma for Western companies, many of which are understandably wary of buying metal that may include ASM ore.

There are multiple efforts to “formalise” ASM by integrating the workforce into the official mining sector.

The most ambitious is in Congo, which has long been targeted by campaigners for its “blood” cobalt.

Kinshasa has tried and failed before to find ways of merging its “illegal” miners into the official sector.

But new cobalt export quota controls and enhanced powers for the mining regulator, the Entreprise Générale du Cobalt, promise better results from a new scheme launched with Eurasian Resources Group.

The irony is that if the West wants Congo’s cobalt and doesn’t want to rely on Chinese operators, it needs to source from the ASM sector.

But the metal has to come with guarantees that it’s untarnished by human rights abuses.

It’s in everyone’s interests to bring Africa’s original miners in from the cold.

Indeed, for Africa itself, it may be the single most important lever it can pull in terms of changing a blood-soaked historical narrative of exploitation.

The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) will facilitate the payment of Tk23.03 crore in long-pending insurance claims to 5,868 policyholders today (14 September) under the second phase of its claim settlement programme.

The claims, totalling Tk23,03,56,971, involve five life insurance companies, according to the regulator.

IDRA is arranging the funds from various sources, including assets and security bonds of the concerned insurers, to settle legitimate claims that have remained unpaid for an extended period.

Under the second phase, Padma Islami Life Insurance Company will pay around Tk12 crore to 3,600 policyholders.

Homeland Life Insurance Company will settle Tk4.98 crore for 1,145 policyholders, while Fareast Islami Life Insurance Company will pay Tk5 crore to 580 policyholders.

Sunflower Life Insurance Company will pay Tk55.30 lakh to 300 policyholders, and Sunlife Insurance Company will settle Tk50.18 lakh for 243 policyholders.

The initiative is aimed at expediting the settlement of valid long-pending claims and restoring customer confidence in the insurance sector, IDRA said.

In the first phase, IDRA facilitated the payment of Tk14,51,03,146.58 in insurance claims to 2,549 policyholders of seven life insurance companies on 3 September.

Bangladesh needs more quality companies to enter the capital market to deepen the market and reduce businesses' heavy reliance on bank financing, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) Chairman Masud Khan said today (12 September).

"Good companies need to enter the capital market. We have to encourage them to do so," he said while speaking as the chief guest at the Capital Market Growth Dialogue at the Chattogram Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) conference hall in Chattogram this afternoon.

CCCI and IDLC Investment Limited jointly organised the dialogue.

Khan said Bangladesh's stock market remains relatively small compared with several regional markets when daily trading is measured against total market capitalisation.

Citing recent figures, he said the ratio was around 0.14% in Bangladesh last week, compared with 0.19% in Pakistan, 0.23% in Thailand, 0.26% in India and 0.21% in Vietnam.

"If our daily trading volume reaches Tk1,500 crore, the ratio would rise to around 0.39%," he said, stressing that increasing both the number and quality of listed companies is essential for sustained market growth.

The BSEC chairman said the regulator was working to simplify the process of bringing good companies to the market and considering new options for initial public offerings (IPOs) and direct listings.

He also said the commission planned to move fully towards an international-style book-building mechanism to improve price discovery.

Masud stressed the need for a clear distinction between the money market and the capital market.

According to him, banks should primarily provide short-term financing, while businesses should rely on the capital market for longer-term funding.

"Banks taking deposits for one year and lending for eight years is highly risky," he said, referring to the asset-liability mismatch created by long-term bank lending.

He said Bangladesh's underdeveloped capital market had forced banks to take on a larger role in long-term corporate financing, creating additional pressure on the banking sector.

CCCI President Amirul Haque urged the BSEC to change its institutional approach towards businesses and treat companies as partners rather than subordinates.

He called for fair treatment of listed and prospective companies, saying bureaucratic hurdles and inconsistent treatment discourage businesses from entering the capital market.

IDLC Chairman Kazi Mahmood Sattar said Bangladesh also needs to develop the debt segment of the capital market alongside equity financing.

Companies undertaking large infrastructure and development projects often require financing for 15 to 20 years, which banks cannot efficiently provide, he said.

"The capital market has two sides. We need to operate not only on the equity side but also on the debt side," Sattar said.

Developing long-term bonds, mutual funds and other capital market instruments would help finance large projects while reducing pressure on commercial banks, he added.

DSE Chairman Mominul Islam and CSE Chairman AKM Habibur Rahman also spoke as special guests at the dialogue.

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.