Haque Specialized Group's News

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) underscored on Thursday the need for upgrading macroeconomic policy for maintaining economic growth like in the past in order to reach middle-income status. "Looking ahead, maintaining the economy's past growth performance will become increasingly challenging over the medium term, and will require upgrading of the macroeconomic policy-making practices and institutions to support the country's ambition to reach middle-income status," said Brian Aitken, leader of the IMF's  2017 Article IV Consultation Mission to Bangladesh. Briefing newsmen at the central bank's conference room, he said steady monetary policy management and fiscal discipline have delivered macroeconomic stability that allowed the economy to benefit from a favourable external demand, high remittances, and low commodity prices. He said all these resulted in strong output growth, falling inflation, moderate public debt, and a rebuilding of external resilience. This solid macroeconomic performance is set to continue this year with output growth projected to remain close to current levels and inflation broadly in line with Bangladesh Bank's target, Mr Aitken said. The mission visited Dhaka from February 26 to March 09 and held discussions with public officials and representatives of business and banking sectors, labour unions, think-tanks and development partners. The IMF officials discussed policies and reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability and contain risks, maintain competitiveness, build buffers against global uncertainties and shocks, mobilise revenue to fund needed public investment without compromising debt sustainability, and build a financial sector that supports a productive use of Bangladesh's ample savings. Mr Aitken said Bangladesh's investment needs are large and will require stepping up of intermediation of the country's under-utilised pool of savings over longer horizons. He identified National Savings Certificates (NSCs) as a financing vehicle for the government budget as costly and suggested for better targeted and less costly alternatives that can achieve the government's social policy goals without distorting financial markets. At this stage, he underscored the need for developing bond market to mobilise fund for longer term investment. "As commercial banks' ability to carry out this function (providing fund for investment) will remain limited, policies that develop the country's capital markets for financing long-term private investment would greatly improve future growth prospects," he said The mission chief said revenue mobilisation is very important for Bangladesh to finance development needs. VAT (value added tax) revenue collection in Bangladesh is very low. Thus new VAT law will be helpful in this case. "Launching the new VAT law in July 2017 as planned will be central to raising revenue, and will have other significant benefits as well. In particular, it will make tax administration more transparent, reduce taxpayers' compliance costs and serve as a key building block for a modern tax system more broadly," he said. He said modernisation of the tax system is needed to boost Bangladesh's low budget revenue and it will allow room for public investment and social spending to increase to levels consistent with the government's growth ambitions without compromising fiscal sustainability. Mr Aitken said Bangladesh's economy will continue to rely on exports and remittances for growth, and it remains particularly exposed to the changing external environment. "It is, therefore, essential that the country's foreign exchange reserve buffers, which have been built over the last several years, continue to be maintained at levels adequate to ensure the economy's resilience," he suggested for the country's economy to avoid any external shock. In the recent months, inward remittance inflow through official channels maintained a lower trend and is still continuing the same while export earnings declined by 4.49 per cent in February compared to the same period of the previous year. Replying to a query, he said rising non-performing loans in the state-owned banks is a long lasting problem for Bangladesh. He suggested the state-owned banks to be cautious first before initiating any new loans and take effective steps to recover the loans have already become default. IMF resident representative in Bangladesh Stella Kaendera was present among others on the occasion. syful-islam@outlooik.com....

Published at: 2017-03-10 00:00:04

A Natore court on Thursday convicted a man and sentenced him to life term imprisonment for violating his daughter-in-law in Lalpur upazila in 2007. The convict, Jamal Hossain, is a resident of Narayanpur village of the upazila, reports UNB. According to the prosecution, Jamal violated his daughter-in-law, Saima, in the absence of other family members in their house on May 21, 2007. Later, Saima filed a case against Jamal. After examining all the records and witnesses, Natore District and Sessions Judge Rezaul Karim handed down the verdict.....

Published at: 2017-03-10 00:00:04

A security guard of a Pabna church was stabbed and wounded by some miscreants at Mathurapur Church Gate in Chatmohor upazila of Pabna district early Friday, reports UNB. The stabbed victim has been identified as Gilbart Kosta, 60. SM Ahsan Habib, officer-in-charge of Chatmohor Police Station, said a group of miscreants swooped on the guard around 2:45am and stabbed him indiscriminately, leaving him critically injured. He was taken to Pabna General Hospital with several injury marks, said police. Quoting the victim, police said he had an altercation with some local youths over a trifling matter. Police suspected that the guard might have been attacked over the issue. Meanwhile, police have arrested three young men for their alleged involvement in the attack from the area.....

Published at: 2017-03-10 00:00:04

Members of Bangladesh Coast Guard confiscated 2900 kilograms of polythene from Mawa Launch Ghat in Lohajang upazila of Munshiganj on Wednesday night, reports UNB. Tipped off, the members of coast guard carried out a drive at the launch terminal around 11:00pm and seized the consignment of polythene in abandoned condition, said sources at the coast guard. However, nobody was arrested during the drive.....

Published at: 2017-03-10 00:00:04

A mobile court on Thursday sentenced a young man to six months' jail for selling drugs in Manikganj Sadar upazila. The convict, Liton Hossain, 28, of Basudebpur village in Harirampur upazila had long been involved in selling drugs and Yaba tablets in the area, reports UNB. Tipped off, a team of Narcotics Control Department conducted a drve at Nobogram village in Sadar upazila and arrested Liton along with 500 pieces of Yaba tablets around 1:30 pm. Later, he was produced before a mobile court led by Executive Magistrate and UNO Shahadat Khandaker who sentenced him to six months' jail.  ....

Published at: 2017-03-10 00:00:04