US ambassador to India and special envoy for South and Central Asian affairs Sergio Gor has said Bangladesh has committed billions of dollars to buy additional Boeing aircraft from the United States under a new deal between Dhaka and Washington.

In a post on X last night (30 August), Gor said US President Donald Trump and Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had reached an "incredible Deal" under which Bangladesh would significantly increase its initial order for Boeing aircraft.

"Just this week, President Trump and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh made another incredible Deal, with Bangladesh committing to spend Billions of Dollars to buy more Boeing Aircraft, significantly increasing their initial order," Gor said.

President Trump is the Greatest JOBS President in American History. He works tirelessly every day to create millions of high-paying Jobs, drive Trillions of Dollars in Investment, and reinvigorate our Economy. Just this week, President Trump and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh…

However, Gor did not specify the number or models of aircraft involved, the total value of the reported commitment or whether a purchase agreement had been formally signed.

The US envoy's statement came nearly a month after his three-day official visit to Bangladesh from 30 July to 1 August. During the visit, he met senior government officials and discussed bilateral relations, trade and economic issues.

Bangladesh had previously increased its planned purchase of Boeing aircraft from 14 to 25 in July 2025 amid trade negotiations with the Trump administration.

The aircraft were planned for Biman Bangladesh Airlines as part of efforts to modernise and expand the national flag carrier's fleet.

Gor's latest post suggests the planned order could now be expanded further, although neither the Bangladesh government nor Boeing has so far publicly disclosed details of the reported new commitment.

MIDAS Financing, a non-bank financial institution (NBFI), plans to sell three commercial properties at prevailing market prices, subject to approval from shareholders and regulators.

According to a disclosure to the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) yesterday, the decision was taken at a board meeting on August 27. The properties include commercial floor space on the second floor, along with eight car parking spaces, at Nahar Green Summit in Dhanmondi.

Another property comprises commercial floor space on the first floor, along with one car parking space, at Excel SM Tower in East Nasirabad, Chattogram.

The third property comprises commercial floor space on the third floor, along with one car parking space, at Jamil Shopping Center in Bogura.

The asset sale comes as the company faces a liquidity crunch amid a rise in classified and non-performing loans, said Tanvir Hasan, company secretary of MIDAS Financing PLC.

“Some of our good borrowers also failed to repay their loans,” he said.

There has also been some demand from depositors to withdraw their deposits, he said, adding that the company has a large fixed-asset base and the board wants to revive its financial position by selling some of its assets. Shares of MIDAS Financing rose 1.79 percent to Tk 5.70 on the DSE yesterday.

The NBFI reported a loss of Tk 89.30 crore in the first six months of 2026, sharply higher than the Tk 46.88 crore loss recorded in the same period a year earlier, according to its financial statements.

European Union nations outside the euro have made little to no progress in convergence in recent years and even Hungary, the nation most actively ​discussing accession, meets none of the key criteria, a European Central ‌Bank report showed on Wednesday.

All EU members except for Denmark have a legal requirement to adopt the common currency but non-compliance is not penalised, so only a few are actively ​working on joining, with most others preferring to retain the leverage provided ​by an independent monetary policy.

"Progress towards compliance with the convergence criteria ⁠has been held back by external shocks," the ECB said in a biennial ​report, echoing a similar conclusion made two years ago and suggesting that progress ​has essentially stalled.

"Public finances have deteriorated in most countries since the 2024 Convergence Report, with debt-to-GDP ratios in some cases rising significantly," the ECB said.

While Bulgaria joined the currency bloc at ​the start of the year, the five prospective members --the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, ​Romania and Sweden -- all appear many years away from membership.

Hungary's new government promised to meet key conditions, ‌commonly ⁠known as the Maastricht criteria, by 2030 but the country is among the furthest away.

It has the highest debt and interest rate level among the five, while its budget deficit, inflation rate and its currency's volatility level are all outside ​reference values.

In addition, its ​central bank law ⁠does not comply with requirements and it needs to improve the rule of law and tackle corruption, the ECB's report ​said.

"Further improving the quality of public institutions and ensuring that ​they are ⁠free from undue political interference, fighting corruption, implementing adequate product market policies and safeguarding the rule of law, are prerequisites for private sector-led economic growth," the ECB said ⁠of ​Hungary.

Hungary also faces structural challenges related to ageing ​as well as emerging skill mismatches in the labour market, the ECB added.

Bangladesh Bank (BB) has formed a Tk 2,000 crore revolving pre-financing fund to support the frozen food industry, particularly shrimp and fish exporters, and help businesses cater to international markets.

The fund will provide financing at a maximum interest rate of 7 percent, while participating banks will receive funds from the central bank at 4 percent interest.

The initiative comes as exports of frozen and live fish rose marginally in fiscal year 2025-26, while exports of shrimp, the main export item, fell nearly 4 percent year-on-year to $286 million.

The low-cost financing is aimed at easing key financial constraints facing the export-oriented frozen food sector, including long cash-conversion cycles, high inventory costs, expensive cold-chain operations and limited access to affordable financing, according to a Bangladesh Bank circular issued yesterday.

The three-year fund will operate on a revolving basis. All scheduled banks operating in Bangladesh will be eligible to participate, subject to signing an agreement with Bangladesh Bank’s Agricultural Credit Department-2.

The facility will support the production, collection, processing and export of frozen shrimp, fish and other frozen food products. Financing can also be used to purchase raw materials, expand or modernise factories, buy machinery and set up cold-storage facilities.

It will also cover the reopening of closed or partially operational fish and food-processing factories, solar power projects and environmental remediation, including soil reclamation.

For new factories, banks can provide term loans for up to seven years, including a maximum one-year grace period. For the renovation, expansion and modernisation of existing facilities, the maximum loan tenure will be five years, also including a one-year grace period.

Working-capital loans can be provided for one year and renewed once, with a borrower eligible for the facility for a maximum of two years.

Under the scheme, new frozen-food factories will be eligible for term loans of up to Tk 30 crore, while existing processors can receive up to Tk 20 crore for renovation, expansion and modernisation.

Businesses can also obtain up to Tk 5 crore, or 30 percent of the main project loan, whichever is lower, for installing solar panels.

Working-capital loans for raw materials, production, wages and utility bills will be determined based on annual turnover, subject to a maximum of Tk 20 crore.

Banks have been instructed to prioritise frozen-food exporters whose factories are fully or partly closed because of working-capital shortages.

However, firms already receiving financing under other Bangladesh Bank or government schemes for the same purpose will not qualify. Classified loan defaulters will also be excluded.

Bangladesh Bank will provide pre-financing to participating banks, but lenders will bear the full credit risk and remain responsible for loan recovery. Banks that fail to repay the pre-financed amount on time will face an additional 2 percent interest for the delayed period.

Banks must monitor loan utilisation and inspect borrowers’ factories or offices every quarter.

Beneficiaries must also take steps to meet at least 15 percent of their electricity needs from solar power within two years. Non-compliance may result in the suspension of further financing.

The scheme aims to diversify exports, boost foreign exchange earnings, create jobs and expand rural economic activity.

Six months into the US-Israeli war with Iran, governments across Europe and Asia are scrambling to accelerate a renewables build-out in a bid to cut dependence on fossil fuel imports, providing a fresh impetus to the global energy transition.

As the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has choked off a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments, governments from South Korea and Thailand to the European Union have pledged to increase funding for renewables.

Has the conflict delivered a boon to the clean energy transition? Here are some ways to measure the impact.

RENEWABLES ARE SURGING, BUT COAL IS ALSO UP

Renewable power output is soaring across the world, and the International Energy Agency (IEA) expects it to become the top electricity source for the first time this year.

Since the war began, rooftop solar has proved attractive because it is quick and cheap to install.

In the Philippines, high power prices driven by costlier imported fuel are pushing households and businesses onto solar, while a battery subsidy scheme is fuelling a rooftop resurgence in Australia.

European demand for rooftop systems has also jumped since the war began.

But coal is rising too.

With the Strait of Hormuz closed and renewables still unable to guarantee round-the-clock power, coal-fired generation is set to grow — though the IEA’s forecast 8.5 percent jump in renewable output this year dwarfs the 1.4 percent rise in coal.

In the United States, where President Donald Trump has opposed green energy, renewable generation rose 10 percent in the first half of the year from the same period in 2025.

EMISSIONS ARE STILL CLIMBING

Even as renewable generation surges, the IEA expects emissions of the greenhouse gases that cause climate change to rise 1.1 percent this year to an all-time high of 14.2 billion tonnes.

In 2027, the IEA expects coal output to dip by 0.7 percent, but gas-fired power generation to rise 1.5 percent from this year’s levels. Curbing climate change will require even more renewable energy and investments in power grids and energy storage.

ASIA BEARS THE BRUNT

Asian economies most dependent on oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz have absorbed the sharpest shock.

China leaned hard into solar, with output rising more than three times as fast as coal between March and July.

India, Vietnam and South Korea went the other way, burning more coal.

Some European countries also saw extra coal burn, but the IEA expects EU coal generation to resume its decade-long decline in 2026.

Last month, the Vietnamese government said it was considering building more coal plants to secure supply — despite pledging at the 2021 U.N. climate summit to build no new coal after 2030.

TRANSPORT

Most of the world’s oil is burned as transport fuel — in cars, trucks, ships and planes.

The war has not collapsed that demand, but it has reversed the growth forecasters had pencilled in.

Higher prices, reduced air travel, softer Chinese consumption and faster EV adoption mean the world is now likely using less oil for transport than projected before the war.

Goldman Sachs estimates gasoline-related demand fell about 20 percent at the April peak of the disruption; GL Consulting puts the drop nearer 15 percent.

Costlier fuel has pushed drivers toward EVs, and China — the world’s biggest maker — has seen its EV export value top $10 billion for the first time this year.

Electric models made up 63 percent of the country’s passenger-car retail sales in June, up from 53 percent a year earlier, according to BofA analysts, who estimate electrification explains roughly a third of China’s year-to-date decline in crude imports.

EV sales have also soared across Europe since the war began as high oil prices have caused pain at the pump.

HOW LONG WILL IT LAST?

As long as Hormuz stays shut, high oil and gas prices are likely to persist, strengthening the case for countries to invest in cheaper, home-grown renewables and reduce their exposure to volatile fuel costs.

But whether a shift away from oil and gas gathers even more momentum is difficult to predict.

“Changing a nation’s energy mix requires investments, and higher interest rates will make the considerable upfront capital required for renewables and power grids more expensive. Thus, while the present conflict is likely to ultimately favour decarbonization, it is not a one-way street,” said Sverre Alvik, vice president and energy transition outlook director at DNV.

Many large Asian markets have substantial gas and coal resources to provide a buffer against Middle East supply disruptions and a lot more US LNG supply is expected to come online between 2026 and 2030.

“As this supply materialises, LNG should become more affordable for import-dependent Asian markets, reducing the incentive for a permanent shift away from gas driven solely by the current conflict,” said Victor del Carpio Neyra, senior research associate at Aurora Energy Research.

মধ্যপ্রাচ্য যুদ্ধ শুরুর পর এখন পর্যন্ত জি৭ জোটভুক্ত দেশগুলোর ঘাড়ে চেপেছে ১ হাজার ৬০০ কোটি ডলার ঋণ বাবদ বাড়তি ব্যয়ের বোঝা। এ প্রবণতা অব্যাহত থাকলে আগামী বছরের প্রথম প্রান্তিকের (জানুয়ারি-মার্চ) শেষ নাগাদ বাড়তি ব্যয় ৩ হাজার ৪০০ কোটি ডলারে পৌঁছতে পারে।

ফাইন্যান্সিয়াল টাইমসের (এফটি) সাম্প্রতিক বিশ্লেষণে এসব তথ্য উঠে এসেছে। বিভিন্ন সরকারের বন্ড ইস্যুর তথ্য বিশ্লেষণ করে বাড়তি ঋণ ব্যয়ের হিসাব করা হয়েছে। এতে দেখা গেছে, জি৭-এর প্রায় সব দেশেই বিভিন্ন মেয়াদের সরকারি বন্ডের ইল্ড ফেব্রুয়ারির তুলনায় এখন বেশি। ফলে নতুন করে ঋণ নিতে সরকারগুলোর বেশি অর্থ ব্যয় করতে হচ্ছে।

বাড়তি ঋণ ব্যয়ের সবচেয়ে বড় অংশ বহন করছে যুক্তরাষ্ট্র। দেশটির ক্ষেত্রে এ পর্যন্ত অতিরিক্ত ব্যয়ের পরিমাণ আনুমানিক ১ হাজার ৬০ কোটি ডলার। জি৭-ভুক্ত দেশের মধ্যে যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের অর্থনীতি সবচেয়ে বড়। দেশটির সরকারি বন্ডের বাজারও বিশ্বের বৃহত্তম। ফলে ইল্ড বাড়ার প্রভাবও দেশটির ওপর বেশি পড়ছে।

বর্তমান পরিস্থিতি অব্যাহত থাকলে আগামী বছরের প্রথম প্রান্তিকের শেষ নাগাদ যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের অতিরিক্ত সুদ বাবদ ব্যয় আরো ২ হাজার ১৭০ কোটি ডলার বাড়তে পারে ধারণা করছেন বাজার বিশ্লেষকরা।

সাম্প্রতিক সপ্তাহগুলোয় যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের বন্ড ইল্ড দ্রুত বেড়েছে। এর পেছনে রয়েছে দেশটির বাড়তে থাকা সরকারি ঋণ নিয়ে বিনিয়োগকারীদের উদ্বেগ। একই সঙ্গে ইরানের সঙ্গে যুদ্ধের কারণে মূল্যস্ফীতি আরো বাড়ার আশঙ্কাও কাজ করছে। যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের অর্থমন্ত্রী স্কট বেসেন্ট দীর্ঘমেয়াদি বন্ড কেনার মাধ্যমে ইল্ড কম রাখার চেষ্টা করলেও এর উত্থান থামেনি।

তবে শুধু যুক্তরাষ্ট্র নয়। যুক্তরাজ্য, ইতালি, জার্মানি ও জাপানের মতো বড় জ্বালানি আমদানিকারক দেশও চাপে রয়েছে। হরমুজ প্রণালি বন্ধ হয়ে যাওয়ায় সংকট তৈরি হয়েছে জ্বালানি সরবরাহে। এতে মূল্যস্ফীতির প্রত্যাশা বেড়েছে। এর প্রভাব পড়ছে এসব দেশের বন্ডের ইল্ডেও।

এফটির হিসাবে, ১ হাজার ৬০০ কোটি ডলারের বাড়তি ব্যয় নির্ধারণ করা হয়েছে যুদ্ধ শুরুর আগের ইল্ডের সঙ্গে বর্তমান ঋণ ব্যয়ের তুলনা করে। আর ৩ হাজার ৪০০ কোটি ডলারের সম্ভাব্য ব্যয়ের হিসাব করা হয়েছে বিভিন্ন দেশের অর্থ মন্ত্রণালয়ের প্রকাশিত বন্ড ইস্যু পরিকল্পনার ভিত্তিতে। কোন দেশে কোন মেয়াদের কত বন্ড ইস্যু হবে, সে তথ্যও হিসাবের মধ্যে নেয়া হয়েছে।

জেফরিজের প্রধান ইউরোপীয় অর্থনীতিবিদ মোহিত কুমার বলেন, ‘সুদহার বাড়া শেয়ার ও ঋণবাজারের জন্য বড় ঝুঁকি।’ তার মতে, সুদহার আরো বাড়লে শেয়ারবাজারে নেতিবাচক প্রতিক্রিয়া দেখা দিতে পারে। বিশেষ করে যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের ১০ বছর মেয়াদি ট্রেজারি বন্ডের ইল্ড ৫ শতাংশের ওপরে উঠলে শেয়ারবাজারে চাপ বাড়তে পারে।

বন্ডের ইল্ড বাড়লে শেয়ারের তুলনায় বন্ডের আকর্ষণ বাড়ে। একই সময়ে কোম্পানিগুলোর ঋণ নেয়ার খরচও বেড়ে যায়। এতে মুনাফার ওপর চাপ তৈরি হতে পারে। ফলে উচ্চ ইল্ড শুধু সরকারি অর্থ ব্যবস্থার জন্য নয়, বেসরকারি খাত ও শেয়ারবাজারের জন্যও ঝুঁকি তৈরি করছে।

প্রতিবেদন বলছে, বিশ্বের বিভিন্ন দেশে এখন বাজেট ঘাটতিও বাড়ছে। সরকারগুলো অর্থনীতিতে ব্যয় বাড়াচ্ছে। এর সঙ্গে যুক্ত হচ্ছে প্রতিরক্ষা খাতের ব্যয়, অবকাঠামো উন্নয়ন ও পরিবেশবান্ধব জ্বালানি খাতে বিনিয়োগ। এসব কারণে সরকারের অর্থের চাহিদা বাড়ছে। ফলে ঋণের বাজারে চাপ আরো বাড়তে পারে।

পিটারসন ইনস্টিটিউটের প্রেসিডেন্ট অ্যাডাম পোসেনের মতে, মূল্যস্ফীতির ঝুঁকির পাশাপাশি বিভিন্ন দেশের রাজনৈতিক স্থিতিশীলতা নিয়েও ঝুঁকি রয়েছে। যুক্তরাষ্ট্র, ফ্রান্স, জাপান ও যুক্তরাজ্যের রাজনৈতিক পরিস্থিতিও বন্ডের ইল্ডে প্রভাব ফেলতে পারে। এর সঙ্গে ভূরাজনৈতিক উত্তেজনা যুক্ত হলে ঝুঁকি আরো বাড়বে।

প্রতিরক্ষা, জনসংখ্যাগত চাহিদা, অবকাঠামো ও সবুজ বিনিয়োগে ব্যয় বাড়ায় দীর্ঘমেয়াদে সুদহার বাড়তে পারে। এর সঙ্গে যুক্ত হয়েছে কৃত্রিম বুদ্ধিমত্তা বা এআই খাতে বিপুল বিনিয়োগ। সম্পতি বিপুল অর্থ যাচ্ছে এআই অবকাঠামো তৈরিতে। এতে সরকারি বন্ডের মতো অন্যান্য বিনিয়োগ মাধ্যমের জন্য অর্থের জোগান কমে যেতে পারে। ফলে বন্ডের ইল্ডের ওপর আরো ঊর্ধ্বমুখী চাপ তৈরি হওয়ার আশঙ্কা রয়েছে।

আইএনজির প্রধান বৈশ্বিক অর্থনীতিবিদ জেমস নাইটলির মতে, বাড়তি ঋণ ব্যয় শুধু সরকারি অর্থ ব্যবস্থার জন্য সমস্যা নয়। যুক্তরাষ্ট্রে এটি এরই মধ্যে অর্থনৈতিক কর্মকাণ্ডেও প্রভাব ফেলছে। কারণ পরিবার ও কোম্পানির ঋণ নেয়ার খরচ বেড়ে যাচ্ছে। দেশটির আবাসন বাজারও স্থবির হয়ে পড়েছে। ইল্ডের ব্যবধান বাড়তে থাকলে বন্ধকি ঋণের সুদ ৭ শতাংশের ওপরে উঠতে পারে বলে সতর্ক করেন তিনি।

ইল্ডের উত্থানকে দীর্ঘস্থায়ী প্রবণতা হিসেবে দেখার বিষয়ে সতর্ক করেছেন মরগ্যান স্ট্যানলির ইউরোপীয় রেট কৌশল বিভাগের প্রধান জিয়ানলুকা সালফোর্ড। সব মিলিয়ে বন্ড ইল্ডের সাম্প্রতিক উত্থান এখন জি৭ দেশগুলোর জন্য নতুন আর্থিক চাপ তৈরি করছে। যুদ্ধ ও মূল্যস্ফীতির ঝুঁকির সঙ্গে বাড়ছে সরকারি ঋণ। একই সময়ে এআই ও অন্যান্য খাতে বিনিয়োগের চাহিদাও বাড়ছে। ফলে বিশ্বজুড়ে ঋণ ও বিনিয়োগের অর্থের চাহিদা-জোগানের পরিস্থিতিতে পরিবর্তন এসেছে। এমন পরিস্থিতিতে ইল্ড আরো বাড়লে সরকারি ঋণ ব্যয়ের পাশাপাশি ব্যবসা ও বিনিয়োগেও এর প্রভাব পড়তে পারে।

The government repaid nearly three times more in foreign loans than it received in July, mainly due to lower loan disbursements.

According to data from the Economic Relations Division (ERD), the government repaid $453 million in principal and interest on foreign loans in July, compared with $446 million in the same month last year.

Meanwhile, it received $180 million in foreign loans in the seventh month of the year, down from $208 million in the same month the previous year.

Fresh loan disbursements also fell a massive 83 percent year-on-year to $14 million in July. Of the total disbursement, the Asian Development Bank provided $65 million, the World Bank $47 million, Japan $39 million and India $27 million.

The government has begun searching for nearly US$4.5 billion in foreign financing to build the proposed Dhaka-Chattogram Expressway, one of Bangladesh's largest planned transport infrastructure projects.

With the total project cost estimated at Tk 710 billion, the government is exploring concessional loans, co-financing and alternative models, including public-private partnerships, to develop the strategic economic corridor linking Dhaka with Chattogram Port, officials said on Saturday.

The Planning Commission (PC) recently requested the Economic Relations Division (ERD) to explore sources of foreign financing for the project, they said.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has already expressed interest in financing the construction of the Dhaka-Chattogram Expressway, said an official of the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges (MoRT&B).

The ERD is also attempting to prepare a hybrid co-financing proposal. The framework could potentially bring in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) alongside traditional lenders to break the financing deadlock, he added.

The ministry recently sent a preliminary development project proposal (PDPP) to the Planning Commission, as the planned Dhaka-Chattogram Expressway will require Tk 710 billion in funding.

Of the Tk 710 billion, the government aims to mobilise Tk 550 billion, or about US$4.48 billion, through external borrowing, while providing Tk 160 billion from its own exchequer.

Planning Commission Chief Kabir Ahmed told the FE that the PDPP had already been sent to the ERD to explore foreign financing options.

The expressway project will require massive investment to develop the economic corridor connecting Bangladesh's largest port in Chattogram with the capital, Dhaka, he added.

The existing Dhaka-Chattogram highway currently has four lanes and often experiences congestion at different points. The new expressway is intended to ease congestion and ensure the smoother movement of passengers and freight.

The existing Dhaka-Chattogram National Highway handles more than 80 per cent of Bangladesh's total import-export cargo.

An MoRT&B official said the government was also exploring other options, including Government-to-Government (G2G) arrangements, public-private partnerships (PPP) and the Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model, to construct the expressway.

"If we get concessional financing from any development partner, such as the ADB, we will try to proceed with that lender to build the expressway," he added.

According to the Roads and Highways Department (RHD), the proposed Dhaka-Chattogram Expressway will span approximately 232.76 kilometres, or roughly 231 to 233 km depending on the final route alignment.

The route will stretch from Daudkandi in the

Dhaka region to GEC Crossing in Chattogram, running mostly parallel to the existing Dhaka-Chattogram National l

Highway (N1).

The proposed design divides the route into three key geographic stretches: a 38-km section crossing Dhaka, Narayanganj and Munshiganj; a 125-km central section from Cumilla to Feni; and a 69-km section ending in Chattogram.

RHD officials said the upgraded highway had been designed as a toll-based facility.

Vehicles will not be able to move freely between the main carriageway and service lanes. Controlled access is expected to reduce congestion and travel times while improving safety and reliability.

The design includes a 13.5-km elevated section from Jatrabari to Madanpur and an 8-km elevated section from Salimpur to Sagarika at the entrance to Chattogram city.

It will also include six flyovers at Signboard, Shimrail and Madanpur in Narayanganj, and at Baraiyarhat, Abutorab Bazar in Mirsarai and Salimpur in Chattogram, with up to 10 lanes, including service lanes, in urban sections.

The corridor currently struggles with a daily traffic volume of more than 30,000 vehicles, leading to severe delays in cargo movement.

A fully isolated, access-controlled expressway is considered essential to reduce soaring logistics costs and help local businesses remain globally competitive.

There is a simple question worth asking about Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG, the firms we call the “Big Four”. How have they lasted this long? Deloitte goes back to the 1840s. They have outlived empires, wars and currency collapses. Most companies do not survive a century. These four have thrived for the better part of two, and today employ around 1.5 million people globally and make more than $200 billion.

The reason, in my view, is not their size. It is their willingness to keep changing what they sell. They began as bookkeepers, became auditors, then tax advisers, then consultants, and today they are, in large part, technology firms. Through all of it, they have guarded one thing above all else: trust. That kind of trust is slow to build and very hard to copy, and it is the real product they sell. It also explains why their arrival or departure matters greatly for business.

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Risk is the other half of the story. A firm that vouches for other people’s numbers must manage its own with the same care. One bad audit, or one conflict of interest left unchecked, and a brand built over a century can disappear in no time. So, these firms have wrapped themselves in layers of protection: strict rules that keep their auditors independent, constant internal quality reviews, and walls between one service line and the next. Helping a bank or company understand the risks it is actually running, across its loan book, supply chain, computer systems and legal dealings, has become one of their largest lines of work.

Take technology, where they are growing fastest. As banks, factories and government offices move online, the ‘Big Four’ have moved with them, installing enterprise software such as SAP and Oracle, upgrading core banking systems, shifting operations to the cloud, building cyber defences and advising on digital government. In this work, they behave more like engineers than auditors, building controls into the systems the economy runs on. To my mind, the most exciting area is data and analytics. Analytics tools, automation, and now artificial intelligence are changing how businesses operate, how fraud is caught and how decisions are made.

Away from the headlines, these firms help with Basel and IFRS 9 rules, insurance and non-bank finance. They advise on restructuring weak institutions, carry out actuarial work for insurers and help firms raise money. They also work with regulators on supervising a modern financial system, and with boards and audit committees meant to hold banks in check.

Assurance is the oldest of these services, and goes beyond signing off annual accounts. They help companies report under financial reporting standards, carry out internal audits and provide independent assurance over sustainability and other non-financial information.

In management consulting, they advise governments and large companies on reform and strategy. This includes modernising tax and revenue collection, structuring public-private partnerships, turning around loss-making state enterprises and redesigning how organisations operate. Their deals teams handle: financial and tax due diligence, independent valuations, advice on mergers and acquisitions, and support for companies raising money through share flotations or bond issues. On ESG, they build sustainability reporting frameworks, provide assurance over the results, and advise banks and exporters on climate risk and green finance.

No one really buys a logo anymore. Clients want value-driven service, trust and hard-won experience, and that is what the “Big Four” bring to the table. The brand may open the door, but it is the substance behind it that keeps them going.

The writer is an economic analyst and founding managing partner of PwC, Bangladesh

Bangladesh is yet to see recovery in investor confidence even though the current government has taken some good initiatives to improve the business environment and encourage investment.

Without investment revival, the economy, which has been suffering from sluggish growth for the last four years, will struggle to gain momentum, said Birupaksha Paul, a professor of economics at the State University of New York in Cortland, US.

In an interview with The Daily Star recently, he said Bangladesh needs stronger institutions and political inclusivity for a manufacturing revival to put the economy back on the growth path.

As the government marked six months in office, he said weak domestic and foreign investment, factory closures and growing frustration among young people show that the economy is yet to regain confidence.

“Neither foreign direct investment nor domestic investment has shown an exponential rise. Without a significant increase in investment, Bangladesh will struggle to achieve the growth required to become a trillion-dollar economy,” said the economics professor.

Stating that growth fell to 3.49 percent in fiscal year (FY) 2025 and stood at 4.14 percent in the following year, Birupaksha noted that a minimal recovery would largely represent a rebound from a weak base.

CONFIDENCE IS THE MISSING LINK

For Birupaksha, who is also a former chief economist at the Bangladesh Bank, the problem is not simply the cost or availability of credit. Investment depends heavily on confidence -- what economist John Maynard Keynes described as ‘animal spirits’.

“That confidence is missing,” he said.

When businesses are uncertain about demand, policy direction, political stability or the investment climate, they postpone expansion. An investor may have financing but still decide not to build a factory, expand production or hire workers.

Birupaksha pointed to the early 1990s as an example of how reform can change economic expectations. After the BNP came to power in 1991, bank privatisation, reforms in hospitals and universities, VAT and the rapid expansion of mobile phones helped reshape economic activity.

“That reform momentum is not visible today,” he said.

POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY DELAYS INVESTMENT

Birupaksha believes political inclusivity is also necessary to restore investor confidence.

“Wrongdoers must be punished,” he said, stressing that every political party has people who commit wrongdoing.

He said if businesses remain unsure about the political and economic environment, they are likely to delay major investment decisions. That is why political accommodation cannot simply be postponed until the end of the government’s five-year term. “It has to begin now.”

FACTORY CLOSURES DEEPEN CRISIS

Hundreds of factories have closed, and workers have lost their jobs in recent years, according to Birupaksha.

“Being unemployed is one kind of pain. But once you are employed and then lose your job, that pain is 10 times greater,” he said.

The employment challenge is becoming more urgent as around 22 to 23 lakh young people enter the labour market every year. The government cannot employ everyone, Birupaksha said, and cannot even provide jobs to one lakh people directly.
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That leaves private investment and business expansion as the main mechanisms for absorbing new workers. But businesses cannot create jobs on a large scale without investing.

The economist questioned the government’s emphasis on services. A healthy economy, he argued, first develops strong manufacturing and then expands services around that productive base.

“You cannot build a service economy without a manufacturing base,” he said. A stronger service economy should grow around productive industries through logistics, finance, transportation, trade, exports and imports.

Birupaksha noted that China and Vietnam have demonstrated the importance of manufacturing, while Bangladesh still has factories that have not reopened. The government’s employment target will be difficult to achieve when a large share of jobs is expected to come from services. He described the strategy as ‘impractical’.

BANKS AND INSTITUTIONS NEED REFORM

Banks should primarily provide working capital to SMEs, startups and the creative economy.

Calling for institutional reforms, Birupaksha recommended that revenue collection be separated from the finance ministry and placed under a new ‘Ministry of Revenue’.

He also suggested separating the Planning Commission from the planning ministry.

Greater autonomy for the Bangladesh Bank would help prevent excessive fiscal pressure on monetary policy, he added. “Sometimes you need to lose power to be strong.”

INVESTMENT BEFORE GROWTH TARGET

Birupaksha also questioned whether Covid-19 can still explain Bangladesh’s economic weakness. The pandemic caused severe supply disruptions, but he said it cannot account for all of the country’s continuing problems.

A temporary GDP rebound will not be enough if businesses remain reluctant to invest, factories continue to close and young people struggle to find productive employment.

Investment is the bridge between economic recovery and sustainable growth, stated Birupaksha.

The economist, therefore, sees political inclusivity, institutional independence and manufacturing revival as parts of the same investment challenge.

“If you do not create an environment of inclusivity, you will have problems on the investment front,” he said.

For Bangladesh, the real test of recovery is not simply whether growth returns, but whether investors regain the confidence to invest for the future, he added.

Even a month ago, machine operator Alauddin could earn more than Tk 15,000 a month, including overtime. Now, the 40-year-old garment worker at Choydana area in Gazipur struggles to earn even his basic pay of Tk 10,000.

And the fall in monthly income due to the ongoing acute gas and power crisis has its own implications.

“I used to eat rice for lunch; now I eat bread and bananas,” said Alauddin, requesting that his employer not be named.

His experience is increasingly common among garment workers in Gazipur, one of the country’s biggest industrial cities.

Asma Akter, who works at a factory at Konabari, told The Daily Star last week that her monthly income had also fallen by half.

“I used to earn Tk 20,000 a month, but now I get Tk 10,000. Working hours have been reduced, and there is no overtime now,” she said.

The squeeze comes at a difficult time for garment workers. For Asma, who lives in Gazipur with her children and family, the loss of income has made it harder to cope with rising living costs.

During the August to December period, factories would normally be running almost round the clock to meet Christmas shipment deadlines, with workers earning extra through overtime.

But a gas crisis that has lasted for more than a month is disrupting production across industrial belts. The crunch followed an accident at a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Cox’s Bazar. Supplies improved slightly in the second week of August before gas pressure in supply lines fell again to almost zero.

Manufacturers say the shortage is disrupting production, raising costs and making it harder to meet delivery deadlines. For workers, it is also cutting into their incomes.

PLENTY OF ORDERS, REDUCED WORKING HOURS

Around noon on Sunday last week, several garment workers were sitting at a roadside tea stall at Ambagh of Konabari. It was an unusual sight in an area where factory floors normally remain busy until late evening.

The workers said they were spending time outside because there was little or no work at their factories.

A short distance away, the dyeing machines at MM Knitwear Ltd were found largely silent and idle.

Nurul Haque, production director of the company, said gas shortages occurred in previous years too. But the latest situation has deteriorated sharply over the past month, with virtually no gas available now.

“This is making it extremely difficult to run the boilers. We are spending around Tk 20 lakh on diesel every day to meet urgent shipment deadlines,” he said.

MM Knitwear is using diesel to keep production going and meet delivery commitments, but the additional cost is becoming difficult to absorb.

“If this continues, it will not be possible to absorb the additional costs for long. If production falls because of the gas crisis and wages cannot be paid on time, worker unrest may erupt. There is also a risk that buyers may move away from Bangladesh,” said Nurul.

There are currently 2,674 active apparel and industrial factories in Gazipur city, according to Industrial Police data. Most manufacturers said they have enough work orders, but are struggling to ship them on time.

M Naimul Hoque, manager of human resources at DBL Group, said the company has adequate work orders ahead of Christmas.

“There is no shortage of foreign orders for other items too. But we are struggling with the delivery due to the gas crisis,” said Hoque.

DBL Group employs around 36,000 workers in its ready-made garment segment.

Another large manufacturer Ananta Group has four factories in Gazipur employing around 18,000 workers.

Mazharul Islam Milon, the company’s HR manager, said the gas crisis at the factories has become more severe.

The company is using diesel to run gas-dependent production sections. Its factories now need around Tk 7 lakh to Tk 8 lakh worth of diesel every day just to operate the washing machines.

“Overall, the situation is bad,” he said.

WORKERS FACE AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE

Mohammad Sakhawat Hossain, deputy managing director of Titas Gas’s Gazipur office, said, “We are trying to manage with whatever gas we are receiving. However, what we are getting is very little compared with the demand.”

Industrial Police Superintendent Amzad Hossain said production at factories had fallen by around 20-25 percent because of the gas shortage.

He said factories in Gazipur have so far avoided a major crisis by extending the use of shifts and distributing workers accordingly.

Ashrafuzzaman, central organising secretary of the National Garment Workers Federation Bangladesh, said owners continue to bear higher operating costs, wages and allowances even when production is suspended.

“If the situation does not improve quickly, many owners may be forced, against their wishes, to take difficult decisions such as declaring layoffs or shutting down factories to reduce losses,” Ashrafuzzaman said.

That could further deepen the pressure on workers already struggling with falling incomes.

Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmmed, executive director of the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS), said the government should introduce a rescue programme for workers and employers affected by production disruptions.

He said the government should identify how many workers have lost their jobs or seen their incomes fall and take measures to support them.

“We are talking about solving the gas problem, but we are not paying enough attention to the problems caused by the gas shortage. The workers who are losing income because of it also need support,” said Sultan, who led the Labor Reform Commission during the interim government.

He said prolonged disruption could have wider social consequences, including growing discontent, poverty, malnutrition and people being forced to change professions.

“When a working person loses a job or income, the impact spreads through the whole society. He has to pay house rent, and his children have to go to school. The person who receives that rent also has a family, children to educate and parents to care for. So, the effect multiplies,” he said.

He called for a universal social security system that would provide temporary support to people who become unable to meet their basic needs, regardless of the reason.

[The Daily Star Senior Reporter Jagaran Chakma has contributed to this report]

Apex Footwear has introduced biodegradable shopping bags, replacing conventional plastic ones, for its customers amid growing concern over the widespread use of plastic in Bangladesh and its impact on the environment.

The bags use a bio-resin derived from corn starch and do not contain synthetic materials such as polyethylene and polystyrene, which are commonly used in traditional plastic packaging, Apex said in a press statement.

Apex, one of the largest footwear manufacturers in the country, said the bags have been tested by the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) to assess their quality and environmental characteristics.

According to test findings, the bags can fully biodegrade within seven months of disposal without leaving harmful residues.

Plastic waste, particularly single-use items such as polythene, has been cited by environmentalists and authorities as a major challenge for waste management, drainage systems and ecosystems.

Bangladesh generates around 800,000 tonnes of plastic waste a year, of which only about 40 percent is recycled, according to the Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

Apex Footwear has a retail presence across 64 districts, with more than 250 retail outlets nationwide, along with more than 260 franchise outlets and a network of over 90 wholesale dealers, according to Raihan Kabir, head of marketing at Apex Footwear.

Together, its outlets require around 700,000 shopping bags a month, he said.

The footwear manufacturer is the latest to join the transition from plastic bags in stores.

Supershops have also moved to cut plastic use in recent years. Following the enforcement of a decades-old polythene ban, chains including Shwapno, Agora, Unimart and Meena Bazar began offering jute and paper bags at checkout counters.

Speaking on the launch of the bags, Raihan said the company had been seeking an alternative to its existing shopping bags for some time.

“We had been looking for something that would allow us to take our sustainability efforts to a wider group of consumers,” he told The Daily Star yesterday.

The search for a supplier took more than a year, as Apex evaluated several locally developed alternatives before selecting a manufacturer capable of meeting its requirements

Raihan informed that a group of students from Chattogram first approached the company with a jute-based bag.

“I found the idea interesting because sustainability is one of our core values. But when we looked at their production capacity, raw material availability and financial strength, we realised they were not yet in a position to supply a company of our size,” he said.

Later, a supplier from Rajshahi proposed a corn-starch bag, but was also found to lack sufficient production capacity to fulfill Apex’s needs.

The footwear company eventually began working with a packaging manufacturer supported by BRAC, after assessing its production capacity, financial stability, raw material availability and technical certifications.

“We checked their documents and were satisfied with their capacity. That was when we decided to start working with them,” he said.

Developing samples and negotiating prices took 6-7 months, as the initial cost of the biodegradable bags was considerably higher than that of conventional alternatives, Raihan said.

“After several rounds of sample development and negotiation, we reached a level where we felt we could move forward,” he said.

The bags were introduced at several outlets on a pilot basis to collect feedback from customers and staff before wider rollout. “The response was very positive. Our store managers, sales officers and customers appreciated the initiative.”

Raihan said the bag initiative is part of broader sustainability efforts at the company.Water-saving measures had also helped reduce electricity consumption from generators by around 30 percent, and Apex has also received a sustainability-related award from Singapore, he said.

Seat-trim covers made at a Japanese-owned factory in Bangladesh are shipped to Japan, where they are assembled into complete seats and fitted into vehicles made by manufacturers including Honda and Suzuki.

TS Tech Bangladesh Limited, located at Adamjee Export Processing Zone (EPZ), began operations in Bangladesh in January 2017. The company has invested $4.67 million in the country, employs 375 people and exported products worth $14.75 million in the last fiscal year, mainly supplying seat-trim covers to Japanese vehicle manufacturers.

The company operates from a six-storey Standard Factory Building (SFB) rented from the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (Bepza).

At the factory, workers cut leather and other materials, sew different components and prepare seat-trim covers according to specific designs. Most of the raw materials are sourced from Japan and China.

The finished covers are then sent to different TS Tech facilities in Japan, where they are assembled into complete seats before being supplied to the respective vehicle manufacturers.

"Among our major customers are Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki in Japan. At our facility, we mainly produce car seat-trim covers, motorcycle seat-trim covers and various plastic parts like door trims and roof trims," Satoru Onishi, managing director of TS Tech Bangladesh, told TBS.

"Cutting and sewing of raw materials are mainly done at the Bangladesh factory. Complete seats are then prepared in Japan and later installed in vehicles at the manufacturers' end," he said.

The Bangladesh factory currently produces about 206,000 seat-trim cover units a year, and the company plans to maintain roughly the same level of production next year.

Automation and 3D printing

During a visit to the factory recently, the production floor was found busy across a large area. Leather materials were being cut in some sections, while workers used sewing machines to stitch different parts. Others were carefully joining sections of the covers, while workers elsewhere inspected and measured finished products.

Onishi said TS Tech is increasingly focusing on productivity and automation while using modern technologies such as 3D printing for internal production work. The company's production capacity has been expanded gradually since it began operations.

The company began several initiatives in August 2023 to improve its production system. These included installing conveyor belts, automation systems and auto-lay machines.

It also manufactures various jigs and production-support equipment in-house for use in its manufacturing process. Some of these tools are designed and produced using 3D printers.

TS Tech is a global company with 73 plants operated under 13 establishments around the world. The group has about 141,000 employees in total, including around 16,000 in Japan.

"In the Japanese market, we make products for various companies. Outside Japan, TS Tech also does business with various international vehicle manufacturers," Onishi said.

Day-care centre

Alongside its manufacturing operations, TS Tech Bangladesh has introduced workplace facilities aimed at supporting its employees, around 60% being women.

The company opened an in-house day-care centre in 2025. Onishi said 19 children were currently staying there under the care of five babysitters.

Asma, a Japanese-language interpreter at the company who has a child at the day-care centre, said, "It is very helpful for me. I can leave my child at the day-care centre and concentrate on my work without worry."

The company also provides special facilities for pregnant employees, who wear separate green ribbons so they can be easily identified and given the necessary support.

A worker wearing a green ribbon said, "Pregnant employees receive special care."

Six months into the Iran war , the world’s most powerful oil alliance, OPEC+, finds itself in an unfamiliar position: unable to influence a market it once helped shape. The war, which has shut a major export route for Middle Eastern oil and damaged energy infrastructure in several OPEC countries, has eroded the group’s market share and, with it, its ability to affect prices. Its statements and policy decisions barely move oil markets anymore.

Instead, cuts in Chinese crude imports have emerged as one of the dominant themes of 2026, helping to balance oil markets amid what analysts describe as the worst-ever supply disruption. OPEC+ — the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia — accounted for about 40 percent of global oil output in July, according to Reuters calculations based on International Energy Agency data.

That’s down from more than 48 percent before the US and Israel attacked Iran in late February, although about four to five percentage points of the decline were due to the United Arab Emirates’ withdrawal from OPEC in May. OPEC+’s core group of seven producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, accounted for only a quarter of world oil output in July. The war has reduced OPEC+’s ability to quickly raise or cut supply by effectively shutting the Strait of Hormuz, a key export route for top OPEC producer Saudi Arabia and other members such as Iraq and Kuwait.

OPEC was formed in 1960, and the expanded OPEC+ framework was created in 2016 when Russia and other producers joined efforts to help the group counter its shrinking share of world oil production. OPEC’s share of global crude output peaked at about 50 percent during the oil crises of the 1970s before falling to 30 percent by the mid-1980s as output from the North Sea, Alaska and Siberia increased. OPEC did not reply to a Reuters request for comment. OPEC+ says its decisions are aimed at supporting market stability and it does not target a specific oil price.

Wartime supply disruptions are not new for OPEC, from Kuwait during the 1990-91 Gulf War to Iraq following the 2003 US-led invasion. What is unusual now is the scale of the outage, which is constraining multiple producers simultaneously, reducing the group’s ability to offset losses elsewhere.

Since March, the core OPEC+ group has announced six oil output increases. Yet, because of the Hormuz blockade, most have remained largely on paper, with the decisions having little effect on oil prices, apart from in July during a brief US-Iran ceasefire that raised hopes Hormuz would reopen.

Apart from in July, OPEC+ decisions do not impact oil prices

The contrast with 2019 is striking. Then, OPEC+ and US President Donald Trump, during his first term, regularly clashed over oil prices, and OPEC+ decisions were closely watched by traders for their potential market impact. At that time, the key question was how much oil OPEC+ chose to pump. Now, the focus is how much oil can physically be produced and exported amid a Middle East war.

One of the biggest price drivers this year has been a steep decline in Chinese oil imports. Since the war began, China has bought roughly 400 million fewer barrels of oil than during the same period last year. The decline reflects a ban on fuel exports, lower refining output and the growing use of electric transport. The trend further highlights China’s growing role in balancing oil markets, a role once associated almost exclusively with OPEC+ as the world’s swing producer. China’s weaker demand for oil has helped place a ceiling on prices this year. By contrast, its buying spree last year, which may have accounted for as much as half of global oil demand growth, helped underpin the market. “They’ve become the swing demand centre,” said June Goh, an analyst at Sparta Commodities.

President Donald Trump said Friday his administration has reached a huge oil deal with Venezuela that gives the United States majority control of 65 billion barrels of proven petroleum reserves.

The deal -- which Trump proclaimed as “the biggest oil deal in world history” -- will bring nearly $100 billion in private investment to Venezuela, US and Venezuelan officials said.

Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves. Its government has operated under intense pressure and close scrutiny from the Trump administration since the US ousted and captured long time ruler Nicolas Maduro in January.

Washington allowed his vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, to stay on and serve as interim leader so long as she toes the US line. Trump has made no secret of his desire to secure Venezuelan oil for the US, and in his post announcing the deal on his Truth Social platform, he said it will more than double US oil reserves.

Interim leader Rodriguez confirmed what she called a “historic agreement” that would “have a significant impact on the rebirth of our nation.”

Writing on social media, she hailed potential investment of “more than $100 billion and more than $209 billion in tax revenue for the State.”

Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had reached the deal with Rodriguez “through a partnership with private business.”

“This Transaction will greatly strengthen the already growing relationship between Venezuela and the United States!” Trump wrote.

Rubio said the deal demonstrated how “President Trump’s bold foreign policy is driving America First wins: securing stable reserves and low-cost oil in our Hemisphere and lowering gas prices here at home.”

“For the Venezuelan people, this deal will bring nearly $100 billion in private investment, support thousands of high-paying jobs, and drive the reconstruction of Venezuela’s economy,” Rubio wrote on X, without providing further details.

Jorge Pinon, a senior researcher at the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, said the agreement was unconventional and many questions remained about how the oil assets would be transferred, “not to a private enterprise, but to another country.”

“We don’t know how the transfer would take place,” he said. “Is it a sale? Is it a title transfer? Is it only transferred once the reserves are actually produced?”

The news site Axios had reported Thursday that the two countries were in talks on a dozen productive oil fields with 90 billion barrels of proven reserves -- about a third of Venezuela’s total proven reserves of 300 billion barrels.

In return for a US ownership stake, private companies, including American firms, would develop the fields and return more oil revenue to Venezuela, according to Axios.

Axios also said the deal would more than double US oil reserves at a time when the US strategic petroleum reserve is at a 40-year low.

High gasoline prices for Americans is a major political issue for Trump, whose approval ratings have fallen ahead of November’s midterm elections after launching a war on Iran that has disrupted global oil supplies.

The Trump administration has been urging US companies to invest in Venezuela, but they remain wary due to dilapidated infrastructure and past appropriation of assets of foreign investors by the government in Caracas.

Chevron, the only US oil company that was still operating in Venezuela when Maduro was ousted, said in July that it had raised its daily crude production to 280,000 barrels and plans to increase output by 50 percent by the end of 2028.

John Kilduff, energy expert at Again Capital, said the biggest problem for companies to operate in Venezuela is “the safety and security of your investment.”

He said if the US is now going to control or own the oil fields, the goal would be “to establish a sort of state zone where US companies can go in, operate, and not be impacted, and hopefully eliminate the political risk that otherwise goes with investing in Venezuela.”

The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) will begin settling long-overdue insurance claims from next week by liquidating assets and selling properties belonging to several troubled insurance companies, IDRA Chairman Mir Nadia Nivin said on Friday.

The regulator will process claims for seven to eight financially distressed insurers in the initial phase, she said at a workshop organised by the Insurance Reporters Forum (IRF) at the Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) in Cumilla.

“Funds generated from liquidating land, treasury bonds, and fixed deposits belonging to these companies are being deposited into separate bank accounts under IDRA’s supervision to pay policyholders on a first-come, first-served basis,” she said.

Nivin added that some assets had already been sold, while others were in the process of being liquidated.

Citing the situation of one troubled company facing unsettled claims worth around Tk 3,000 crore, she said proceeds from selling its land in Feni, along with liquidated bonds, would fund an initial payout of a few hundred crore taka.

If all its assets and bonds are fully liquidated, the regulator estimates that it can raise around Tk 1,500 crore to address a major portion of policyholder dues before a final decision is made on its future operations.

Nivin hoped that once the aforementioned company began repaying claims, it would regain policyholders’ confidence, start earning premiums again and turn around.

Failure to settle claims had hurt the companies themselves, Nivin stressed, adding that the industry as a whole would benefit once insurers started clearing dues.

REGULATORY REFORMS AND CHALLENGES

Nivin pointed out that there was no reliable data on the insurance sector available to anyone, not even to IDRA itself, as many insurance companies withheld real data both in their financial statements and from the regulator.

She said that some insurers had been keeping undisclosed “double servers” to hide their real financial data. The regulator wrote to them to follow a strict six-week deadline to eliminate the practice or face severe legal action.

Against this backdrop, a fully operational risk-based supervision model will be launched by December, making IDRA the first regulatory body in Bangladesh to adopt such a mechanism to identify data gaps and institutional risks, she added.

On digitalisation, Nivin said a centralised digital ID system for every policy would be rolled out within four months to eliminate fake premium reporting and partial business disclosures.

She declared zero tolerance for corruption, saying that anyone who offers a bribe to or demands one from an IDRA official would face immediate prosecution rather than an administrative warning.

Nivin acknowledged that IDRA faces severe operational constraints, regulating 82 companies with a staff of just 150, alongside outdated provisions in the Insurance Act, 2010.

Regulatory enforcement would nonetheless be intensified to protect policyholders, she added.

National Life Insurance CEO Md Kazim Uddin said claim defaults by a handful of companies had cast a shadow over the entire industry.

“The most effective way to restore public trust in the insurance sector is to settle claims on time,” he said.

IRF President Golam Mowla focused on the crisis of confidence in the sector stemming from the failure of some insurers to settle claims.

IDRA should ensure that insurance companies comply with rules and regulations, he stressed.

MIXED TRENDS IN CLAIM SETTLEMENT

The latest IDRA data shows that about 12 lakh policyholders remain unpaid, with 32 insurance companies struggling to clear their dues and seven recording the lowest settlement rates. Unsettled claims had grown to Tk 4,403 crore by 2025.

According to data from the Financial Institutions Division under the Ministry of Finance, the total amount of life insurance claims in 2024 stood at Tk 13,056 crore, of which Tk 8,609.5 crore were settled, meaning 65.94 percent of the claims were settled.

In comparison, 66.54 percent of life insurance claims were settled in 2025, marking a slight improvement.

Meanwhile, the total amount of non-life insurance claims in 2024 stood at Tk 4,322 crore, of which Tk 1,333 crore were settled, meaning 30.84 percent of the claims were settled.

In comparison, 25 percent of non-life insurance claims were settled in 2025, marking a significant drop.

Dutch-Bangla Bank PLC (DBBL) has decided to more than double its authorised capital to Tk3,500 crore, creating room for future equity issuance as it prepares to meet Bangladesh Bank's new capital requirement for cash dividends.

The board approved the decision at its meeting on Tuesday (25 August), according to a price-sensitive disclosure filed with the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) today (27 August).

The board approved raising authorised capital from Tk1,500 crore to Tk3,500 crore. The proposal will be placed before shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on 15 October, with 20 September set as the record date.

Following the disclosure, DBBL's share price rose 1.10% to Tk46.10 on the DSE.

Capital requirement drives move

The move comes after Bangladesh Bank, in a circular issued on 23 May, set a minimum paid-up capital requirement of Tk2,000 crore for commercial banks to remain eligible to declare cash dividends from 31 December 2026.

DBBL's current paid-up capital is Tk1,015 crore, leaving a Tk985 crore shortfall. The bank will therefore need to issue substantial bonus or rights shares to meet the threshold.

Increasing authorised capital will provide the legal headroom needed for such future equity issuance.

DBBL paid a 25% cash dividend and 5% stock dividend for 2025. Strengthening its capital base is expected to help the bank maintain dividend payments under tighter rules, which also cap the portion of declared dividends that even well-capitalised banks can pay in cash at 50%.

Earnings surge

DBBL's earnings also strengthened sharply in the second quarter of 2026. Its earnings per share (EPS) jumped 947% year-on-year to Tk1.78 in April-June, from a restated Tk0.17 a year earlier.

For January-June, EPS rose 318% to Tk4.35, compared with a restated Tk1.04 in the first half of 2025.

The bank's net asset value (NAV) per share stood at Tk61.15 as of 30 June, while net operating cash flow per share (NOCFPS) increased to Tk13.89.

Land purchase for data centre

The board also approved the purchase of 16.60 decimals of land in Baipail, Savar, for Tk3.48 crore.

Subject to Bangladesh Bank approval, the land will support the expansion of DBBL's ongoing data centre project at Dhaka Export Processing Zone (DEPZ), aimed at strengthening its digital banking operations.

Bangladesh has sought greater cooperation from the United States on small modular reactors (SMRs), peaceful nuclear technology and other areas of the energy sector as it looks to strengthen energy security and meet rising electricity demand.

The issue was discussed at a meeting between Science and Technology Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam and US Energy Secretary Chris Wright in Washington, DC, on Thursday.

The Bangladesh minister stressed the importance of adopting modern and safe nuclear technologies and expanding the exchange of technology, expertise and knowledge with the US and other technologically advanced countries, according to a press statement

Anam said the peaceful use of modern and safe nuclear technology could play an important role in meeting the country's growing energy needs, strengthening energy security and supporting sustainable development.

Bangladesh remained committed to the peaceful, safe and responsible use of nuclear technology and wanted to deepen the exchange of knowledge, experience and technology with countries such as the US, he added.

US Energy Secretary Wright expressed a positive view of the potential for greater US-Bangladesh cooperation in the energy and nuclear technology sectors.

He noted that the development and expansion of modern nuclear technologies, including SMRs, were among the priorities of the US.

The two sides also discussed possible US assistance in the energy sector, technology and knowledge exchange, and ways to deepen mutual understanding and cooperation in nuclear science and technology.

They expressed interest in working together to further strengthen cooperation in nuclear science and technology as well as the broader energy sector.

The securities regulator has stepped in to protect general investors of three listed non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), urging Bangladesh Bank (BB) not to proceed with liquidation or delisting without safeguarding shareholders’ legitimate interests, official sources said.
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In a letter to the Bangladesh Bank governor, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) said general investors should not be made to bear the consequences of the financial distress of the troubled institutions.

The three NBFIs -- Fareast Finance & Investment, International Leasing and Financial Services, and FAS Finance & Investment -- are facing liquidation after the BB deemed them non-viable due to persistent losses and erosion of capital.

The three are among four financial institutions brought under resolution by the BB through an order issued on August 10 under the Bank Resolution Act, 2026.

The BSEC's intervention comes at a critical stage because resolution of a financial institution ultimately involves restructuring, transfer of assets and liabilities, liquidation or cancellation of its listing—steps that may have major implications for ordinary shareholders.

One of the BSEC's key proposals is that if the government provides compensation to any party as part of the resolution process, a portion should be allocated to general investors.

The commission also proposed a mechanism for determining the minimum value of general shareholders' interests before liquidation.

The proposal is significant for small investors, who have purchased shares of the listed NBFIs from the stock market and may face substantial losses if the companies are liquidated or delisted without an investor-compensation mechanism.

The BSEC has also opposed any move to liquidate or delist the three companies before the interests of general shareholders are assessed and disclosed.

Alternatively, a price should be fixed and publicly announced for the shares held by general investors, it said.

Such a requirement, if followed, would provide shareholders with greater clarity over what their investments are worth before the companies cease to exist as listed entities.

The securities regulator has also asked BB to consult it on investor-protection issues whenever the resolution of the companies is discussed with the government.

The BSEC further requested that it be kept informed of developments in the liquidation process.

The developments involving the three listed NBFIs could become an important test of how the country's new resolution framework balances competing interests of depositors, creditors, shareholders and other stakeholders.

For ordinary shareholders, liquidation can mean losing both their investment and the opportunity to recover any value from their shares. Unlike controlling shareholders or management, however, general investors might have had little or no involvement in the decisions that led to the financial distress.

Meanwhile, the latest financial disclosures paint a grim picture of the three listed NBFIs.

FAREAST Finance reported a negative EPS of Tk 3.75 and negative NAV per share of Tk 54.23 for January-September 2025.

International Leasing's EPS stood at negative Tk 6.71, while its NAV per share plunged to negative Tk 219.03 during the same period.

FAS Finance reported an even steeper negative EPS of Tk 10.34 for January-June 2026, with its NAV per share deteriorating to negative Tk 158.39.

Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Country Representative Kazuiki Kataoka said political and social stability following Bangladesh's February 2026 general election has encouraged Japanese companies to reassess the country's market potential and investment opportunities.

In an interview with BSS, Kataoka said political and social instability had been one of the major concerns for Japanese investors under the interim government.

The establishment of a new government following the election, however, has provided companies with greater scope to formulate medium- and long-term business plans and consider investment decisions, he added.

According to JETRO's FY2025 Survey on Business Conditions of Japanese Companies Operating Overseas, 94.4 percent of Japanese companies operating in Bangladesh identified "unstable political and social conditions" as an investment risk.

The figure was almost unchanged from 94.8 percent in the previous year, indicating that political and social stability remained a major concern for Japanese businesses, he said.

"Greater stability makes it easier for companies to formulate medium- and long-term business plans and make investment decisions," Kataoka said.

He noted that JETRO has recently observed an increase in visits to Bangladesh by senior executives of Japanese companies from their headquarters in Tokyo and regional offices such as Singapore.

"I believe that one factor behind this trend is that, with political and social conditions becoming more stable, more companies are reassessing Bangladesh's market potential and business opportunities," he said.

However, Kataoka cautioned that political stability alone would not automatically lead to a significant increase in investment.

He stressed the need for continued improvements in the day-to-day business environment, particularly in taxation and customs clearance, licensing and permits, and the transparency of laws and regulations.

Regarding the future of Bangladesh-Japan economic relations, Kataoka said the two countries should move beyond traditional development cooperation and build a stronger trade- and investment-driven partnership.

He also emphasized that economic relations should not be limited to Japanese investment in Bangladesh.

"Economic relations should not be limited to investment from Japan into Bangladesh. We would also welcome investment from Bangladeshi companies into Japan," he said.

"To further develop economic relations between the two countries, it is important not only to promote investment in one direction, but also to expand investment and business transactions by companies from both countries and build a relationship that generates mutual economic benefits," Kataoka added.

He said Japanese companies have shown increasing interest in Bangladesh's domestic consumer market, particularly in Dhaka.

Citing a survey by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), Kataoka said Dhaka accounts for approximately 46 percent of Bangladesh's GDP, while its per capita income exceeds US$5,000.

Alongside Bangladesh's population of around 180 million, rising income levels in Dhaka are making the capital increasingly attractive as a consumer market, he said.

Kataoka pointed to the growing number of cafes, restaurants and other businesses in Dhaka offering higher levels of quality and service as an indication of rising demand for quality products and services.

He also noted that Bangladesh's relatively high tariff rates can make imported products expensive.

"As a result, some Japanese companies are considering entering the market not simply through exports, but by combining local production with local procurement," he said.

He identified food and consumer goods as sectors that could offer increasing opportunities for Japanese companies as domestic demand expands.

The combination of Bangladesh's large population, rising consumer demand and potential for local production could provide a stronger basis for Japanese investment in the coming years, he said.

At the same time, Kataoka reiterated that sustained efforts to improve the business environment would be crucial to translating growing investor interest into actual investment commitments.