Haque Specialized Group's News

There exist numerous quasi-fiscal activities in the country which adversely impact the budget, sometimes creating financial distortions. Experts believe such factors also affect profitability of the central bank and some other regulators, leading to their poor contribution to the consolidated fund of the government. Among the quasi-fiscals are subsidised lending, credit ceiling, bailout packages, exchange-rate guarantees, charging less than commercial prices, provision of non-commercial purposes and the like. People familiar with the matter told the FE that these activities are also undermining transparency of the government's fiscal activities to a great extent. The central bank of Bangladesh provides many subsidised lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the agricultural sector and these are not synchronised with the national budget and financial statements. As a result, the government cannot assess its subsidy activities properly. Dr Ahsan H Mansur, executive director at the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI), told the FE that there are some quasi-fiscal activities which are required in the interest of the economy but should be incorporated into government's financial statements. He feels that some of such activities should be stopped to ensure fair practice and give efficiency a chance to grow. Dr Mansur said there are some credit ceilings for some sectors like the agricultural sector that also impact the economic activities as some need higher volume of loans and some others lower. "If we give a ceiling to a particular sector that cannot be justified as some need much if they have large-size plants," he said. "Rescue operations by the government like the recapitalisation of the state-owned banks are also examples which help grow inefficiency, and should be stopped," the economist said. Exchange-rate guarantee mostly happens with the foreign companies involved in power projects where government promises to pay at a rate which must avoid fluctuation in exchange rates. In such cases the government has to pay from its budget at a time when the exchange rate of the local currency depreciates. The government also charges less than commercial prices in case of food prices and in lending to the state-owned enterprises. Dr Mansur said such type of funding by distorting the market rates bleeds the national exchequer. The government funds many SOEs and their lending rates are too low which also cut down revenues to the national exchequer. Dr S. R. Osmani, a visiting Professor at BRAC University, told the FE that the government should include in separate budget documents, during the presentation of the national budget, such activities. "We know about the taxes and expenditures but there are more explicit and implicit expenditures in a financial year due to such activities, and they must be incorporated in the budget documents." Dr Osmani, who teaches Development Economics at Ulster University in the United Kingdom, told the FE that this is very much important in terms of transparency as the people have the right to know the actual expenditures and losses for such activities. Dr Mohammed Tareq, a former secretary at the finance division, said the Bangladesh Bank's quasi-fiscal activities need to be incorporated into the national financial statement as such activities make the regulator incur lower earnings. If the Bangladesh Bank earns more, he noted, its contributions to the national exchequer will expand in terms of non-tax revenues. jasimharoon@yahoo.com....

Published at: 2017-08-13 05:00:03

Doulot Akter Mala Authorities have decided to reconsider the idea of further reducing duty on rice import as the tax incentives caused the exchequer substantial loss to little benefit for consumers. Sources said such dilemma cropped up as an impact analysis by a wing of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) found out that market largely ignored the government intervention that came in the wake of price spiralling of the staple.        The fact-finding study, conducted by the NBR's customs wing, found 18 per cent cut in the import duty caused around Tk 1.35 billion loss to the public exchequer since the duty cutbacks with effect from June 21 last. The customs cut down the duty on the main staple to 10 per cent in a bid to rein in its galloping prices on the local market. Official sources said India and Thailand revised prices of their exportable rice upward close on the heels of the duty cut by the NBR. "Initially, rice prices had decreased up to Tk 5.0 per kilogram but took an upturn again," said one official following the impact analysis. Import duty on rice was the highest at 28 per cent earlier as a protective measure to ensure fair price for local farmers. Recently, the NBR received a request from the food ministry for waiving the import duty on rice. An NBR official said they are yet to receive any directive from the government high-ups to cut the import duty on rice in a second phase. "The NBR is not in favour of further reduction in duty unless any instruction comes from the high-ups," he added. According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), as of June 21, prices of coarse varieties of rice increased 46.88 per cent in a year. Prices of fine and medium varieties of rice like Najir, Miniket and Paijam had also increased 20.65 per cent. Neither the prices of coarse nor of fine varieties of rice did show any impact of duty reduction although the government expects a Tk 6.0 decrease per kg after 18 per cent rate cut. According to the TCB data, coarse rice sold Thursday at Tk 43-45 a kg. It was Tk 46-48 per kg before the lowering of duty to encourage import. Also, prices of fine and medium verities of rice sold almost at similar prices as before--ranging from Tk 48 to Tk 60 per kg.   The country saw a twofold import of rice in recent times compared to that of the fiscal year 2015-16. Both public and private sectors imported 2.88 lakh tonnes of rice between July 1 and August 8, 2017. Despite import of a large quantity of rice prices of the item remained high as earlier, the official said. Customs officials said many of the importers held up release of their imported rice anticipating further cuts in duty Some importers have piled up imported rice in the customs port, waiting for government decision on further duty cuts, they added. doulot_akter@yahoo.com....

Published at: 2017-08-13 05:00:03

A gathering of hundreds of white nationalists in Virginia took a deadly turn on Saturday when a car plowed into a group of counter-protesters and killed at least one person in a flare up of violence that challenged US President Donald Trump. The state's governor blamed neo-Nazis for sparking the unrest in the college town of Charlottesville where rival groups fought pitched battles using rocks and pepper spray after far-right protesters converged to demonstrate against a plan to remove a statue to a Confederate war hero. A car slammed into a crowd of people, killing a 32-year-old woman, police said. Video on social media and Reuters photographs showed the car hit a large group of counter-protesters, sending some flying into the air. Two Virginia policeman died in a helicopter crash nearby after assisting efforts to quell the clashes. Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, declared an emergency and halted a white nationalist rally, while President Donald Trump condemned the violence. "I have a message to all the white supremacists and the Nazis who came into Charlottesville today. Our message is plain and simple: go home," McAuliffe told a news conference. "You are not wanted in this great commonwealth. Shame on you." The clashes highlight how the white supremacist movement has resurfaced under the "alt-right" banner after years in the shadows of mainstream American politics. Trump said "many sides" were involved in the Charlottesville incidents, drawing fire from across the political spectrum for not specifically denouncing the far right. The violence presented Trump with perhaps the first domestic crisis of his young administration. "We’re closely following the terrible events unfolding in Charlottesville, Virginia," Trump told reporters at his New Jersey golf course. "We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides." Trump made no reply to a reporter's shouted question whether he had spoken out strongly enough against white nationalists. A man from Ohio was held by police on charges relating to the car incident, including second-degree murder, said Martin Kumer, Albemarle Charlottesville's regional jail superintendent. The suspect was James Alex Fields, Jr., a 20-year-old white man from Ohio, Kumer said. It was not clear why the suspect was in Charlottesville, home to the University of Virginia's flagship campus. After hours of clashes, a silver sedan driving at high speed plowed into the crowd before reversing along the same street. The incident took place about two blocks from the park displaying the statue of Robert E. Lee, who headed the Confederate army in the American Civil War. Five people suffered critical injuries and four had serious injuries from the car strike, health officials said. Another three men had been arrested earlier, Virginia State Police said late on Saturday night. Two 21-year-olds from Tennessee and Virginia were charged, one with disorderly conduct and the other with assault and battery, while a 44-year-old Florida man was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon. 'DOMESTIC TERRORISM?' Prominent Democrats, civil rights activists and some Republicans said it was inexcusable of the president not to denounce white supremacy. "Mr. President - we must call evil by its name," Republican U.S. Senator Cory Gardner wrote on social network Twitter. "These were white supremacists and this was domestic," said Gardner, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the group charged with helping to get Republicans elected to the Senate. Fighting broke out on Saturday in the city's downtown, when hundreds of people, some wearing white nationalist symbols and carrying Confederate battle flags, were confronted by a nearly equal number of counter-protesters. The Charlottesville City Council voted unanimously to allow the police chief to declare a curfew. No action on the move has been taken yet, Mayor Mike Signer said on his Facebook page. The confrontation was a stark reminder of the growing political polarization since Trump's election last year. "You will not erase us," chanted a crowd of white nationalists, while counter-protesters carried placards that read: "Nazi go home" and "Smash white supremacy." Scott Stroney, 50, a catering sales director at the University of Virginia who arrived at the scene of the car incident just after the crash, said he was horrified. "I started to cry. I couldn't talk for a while," he said. "It was just hard to watch, hard to see. It's heartbreaking." The violence began on Friday night, when hundreds of white marchers with blazing torches appeared at the campus in a display that critics called reminiscent of a Ku Klux Klan rally. David Duke, a former leader of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan, was in Charlottesville for the rally, according to his Twitter account. The rally was part of a long debate in the US South over the Confederate battle flag and other symbols of the rebel side in the Civil War, which was fought over the issue of slavery. The Charlottesville violence is the latest clash between far-rightists, some of whom have claimed allegiance to Trump, and the president's opponents since his inauguration in January, when black-clad anti-Trump protesters in Washington smashed windows, torched cars and clashed with police, leading to more than 200 arrests. About two dozen people were arrested in Charlottesville in July when the Ku Klux Klan rallied against the proposed removal of the Lee statue. Torch-wielding white nationalists also demonstrated against the decision in May.  ....

Published at: 2017-08-13 05:00:03

A college student was found dead at Munsef Para in Brahmanbaria district town on Saturday night. On information, police recovered the hanging body of Junaied Ahmed Anik, son of Jahirul Islam and student of Brahmanbaria Government College, from a house in the area at 8:30pm, said Sadar Model Police Station officer-in-charge Nobir Hossain. Later, the body was sent to District Sadar Hospital, reports UNB. Family members alleged that Anik has been murdered in a planned way. "After investigation, it will be cleared whether it's a suicide or a murder," said OC Nobir.....

Published at: 2017-08-13 05:00:03

China's President Xi Jinping has urged Donald Trump and North Korea to avoid "words and actions" that worsen tensions, state media say. Mr Trump and North Korea have been exchanging hostile rhetoric, with the US president threatening to rain "fire and fury" on the North. But China, North Korea's only major ally, has been urging restraint. A White House statement said the US and China agreed North Korea must stop "provocative and escalatory behaviour". A statement by North Korea's official KCNA news agency issued on Saturday said the Trump administration "had better talk and act properly," if it did not want "the American empire to meet its tragic doom". Long-standing tensions over North Korea's nuclear programme worsened when it tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles in July. The regime was also angered by last week's UN decision to increase economic sanctions against it. According to Chinese state media, Mr Xi told Mr Trump in a phone call that "all relevant parties" should stop "words and deeds" that would exacerbate the situation. Mr Xi also stressed China and the US shared "common interests" over denuclearisation and maintaining peace on the Korean peninsula. A White House statement on the phone call did not mention the apparent plea to the US president. It stressed the two men enjoyed a close relationship, which would "hopefully lead to a peaceful resolution of the North Korea problem". President Trump has previously chided China for not reining in North Korea, saying it could do "a lot more". FROM 'FIRE AND FURY' TO 'LOCKED AND LOADED' Tuesday: "North Korea, best not make any more threats to the United States," Mr Trump tells reporters. "They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen" Wednesday: Mr Trump boasts that the US nuclear arsenal is "more powerful than ever" Thursday: He says that his "fire and fury" warning maybe "wasn't tough enough". Asked what would be tougher than fire and fury, he replies, "you'll see" Friday: The US president warns that military solutions are "locked and loaded" should North Korea "act unwisely". North Korea has announced plans to fire missiles near the Pacific territory of Guam, but there is no indication an attack is imminent. On Friday, Mr Trump issued a fresh threat against North Korea, saying it should expect "big, big trouble" if anything happened to Guam. But he added: "Hopefully, it will all work out. Nobody loves a peaceful solution better than President Trump, that I can tell you." Mr Trump also called the governor of Guam on Friday to reassure him that his island was safe. "We are with you 1,000 per cent," Mr Trump said in the phone call, recorded and posted on YouTube by Governor Eddie Calvo. Pyongyang has accused Mr Trump of "driving" the Korean peninsula to the "brink of a nuclear war". Russia said the exchange of threats between Washington and North Korea worried Moscow "very much". Germany has also expressed alarm.   ....

Published at: 2017-08-13 05:00:03