Haque Specialized Group's News

Members of Bangladesh Navy arrested 10 Myanmar nationals as they entered the Bangladesh water territory in the Bay of Bengal near Saint Martin's island. On information that a group of Myanmar citizens intruded into the Bangladesh water territory in the Southeast sea for committing robbery, a Navy patrol team went there around 7:00pm on Wednesday, said M Imran Ahmed, petty officer of Navy ship BNS Abu Bakar. As they tried to flee, the Navy team chased them and one stage detained them along with a trawler, he said. Three draggers and two machetes were also recovered from their possession, reports UNB. The arrested Myanmar nationals were handed over to Teknaf Model Police Station on Thursday noon and a case was filed against them, said Imran.  ....

Published at: 2017-03-24 00:00:04

The Modi government is preparing to sign the Teesta river water sharing agreement with Bangladesh, but I am not in the loop, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has said. She told the 'ABP Ananda' late on Thursday night that the Teesta treaty may be signed on May 25 in presence of five chief ministers of Indian states bordering Bangladesh. "But I can only say I have not been consulted so far. I don’t have any clue about the discussions. I cannot put a seal of approval on the treaty at the cost of my state's interest," Mamata said during the interview. She said she was upset with the Centre side-stepping her government on matters of Bengal. "The Centre is directly interacting with district magistrates, keeping the state in the dark. Is this what the state deserves? I went to Delhi and to Dhaka on few occasions and my government gave full support on GST (the new sales tax regime). But why is the Centre bypassing the state government? ", Mamata said. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is visiting Delhi between 7-10 April and many agreements between the two countries are likely to be signed at that time. But Teesta river water sharing agreement may not be one of them as it is still uncertain, officials in Delhi and Dhaka have hinted. There have also been reports that the Indian president Pranab Mukherjee, who is hosting Sheikh Hasina during her stay in Delhi, may host chief ministers of five Indian states bordering Bangladesh to resolve outstanding bilateral issues, including Teesta. Some reports have also suggested that if these efforts don’t work, Delhi may go ahead with the Teesta treaty on its own because Modi and his advisors see it as important to 'fulfil India's sovereign commitment to a friendly neighbour like Bangladesh'. Mamata's claims could not be verified in Delhi, but if they were true, it should give heft to those reports which suggest that Modi would go ahead with the long-hanging Teesta treaty, even if Mamata continues to oppose it.  The Congress and the Left parties will have to back Modi on the issue because it was a Congress government which initiated the process with Left support.  But the tenor of Mamata's interview suggests she is under considerable pressure from Delhi to fall in line on the Teesta issue. If her claims were true, it would mean the Teesta accord would not be signed during Sheikh Hasina's Delhi visit, but there might be a clear declaration on signing the agreement in near future. During the interview, Mamata appeared combative against the BJP, threatening to target the saffron groups who, she alleged, were trying to disturb West Bengal's communal amity. "If they target Bengal, we will target the whole of India," she threatened during the interview.  ....

Published at: 2017-03-24 00:00:04

Industries established in Bangladesh's export-processing zones (EPZs) now enjoy free import of all capital machinery and spares, subject to submission of bank guarantee. The customs wing of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) issued a statutory regulatory order (SRO), dated March 20, 2017, offering the duty-exemption for the industries located in the EPZs across the country. However, the NBR tagged some conditions to the duty-free-import facility. Officials said the EPZ industries were always exempt from payment of customs duty, regulatory duty, supplementary duty and Value Added Tax (VAT) at import stage but the waiver was dropped from the finance bill 2015. Later, the customs wing issued a special order for the EPZ industries so that they can release imported machinery and parts without duty-taxes. However, the exporters had to give bank guarantee equivalent to the duty-taxes to release duty-free machinery from customs. Officials said Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) had requested the NBR to address the issue as it was giving a negative signal to the investors. Talking to the FE, Nazma Binte Alamgir, General Manager (public relations) of BEPZA, said the SRO would make the investment process smooth in EPZs. "As the exemption of duty-taxes was not mentioned in the SRO, the investors had to face hassle when customs officers concerned were transferred," she said.    With the issuance of the latest SRO, the EPZ industries will not have to give bank guarantee to get their duty-free machinery and parts released. As per the conditions set in the SRO, the EPZ entrepreneurs will have to complete import of machinery and spares within one year of the submission of bill of entry of the first-chalan import. In case of machinery for high-tech and large-scale industries, the NBR can extend the time up to three years on the basis of application by the importers. EPZ industries will have to submit import permit from BEPZA for importing machinery and parts. They will not be permitted to use the duty-free machinery for other purposes apart from their own industries. In case of use of duty-free machinery on other purposes or handover, the customs authority would impose penalty as per law. A BEPZA-authorized official will conduct physical inspections to ensure proper installation of the machinery and parts in right industries. A report on release of imports of last six months, signed by EPZ director general (DG), has to be submitted to the commissioner of customs. The SRO carries a prescribed format of undertaking and certification form for the EPZ industries. Such industries have to give an undertaking at the time of release of duty-free products.  After getting the report, the customs authority would return the undertaking otherwise all of the duty-taxes applicable to the imported machinery would be realized from the industries concerned.     doulot_akter@yahoo.com....

Published at: 2017-03-23 00:00:04

Bangladesh would not be able to fully eliminate poverty by 2030 even with a 9.0 per cent annual GDP growth, a leading regional economic think tank has said. Even in a high growth situation, the rate of extreme poverty would be no less than 4.0 per cent by the year 2030, South Asian Network for Economic Modelling (SANEM) said in its quarterly economic review released Wednesday.    In such a scenario, the country would not be able to meet one of the major global targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within the stipulated period, it added. "Our research suggests that even with a 9.0 per cent GDP growth, the rate of extreme poverty will be around 4 per cent by 2030," SANEM director Professor Dr. Selim Raihan told the reporters in the capital.   "At the same time, reducing the current poverty rate by half with a GDP growth of 9.0 per cent seems highly unlikely," he added. According to the SDGs, the extreme poverty needs to be eliminated by 2030 and the poverty rate has to be halved. The rate of extreme poverty in Bangladesh at present would be 12.9 per cent and the poverty rate 23.2 per cent while the country's average GDP growth rate over the last five years would be around 6.5 per cent. Providing a comparative scenario of the current baseline and the SDGs, SANEM researchers showed that Bangladesh has a long way to go in achieving many other goals like good health, quality education, affordable and clean energy, and reduced inequality.     To address the situation, the think tank has called for making the upcoming national budgets more consistent with the SDGs. "A SDG Monitoring section has to be introduced in the budget," Dr. Raihan recommended, focusing on the ways of making the budget more aligned with the SDGs. He pointed out that 65 per cent (on average) of the ministry-wise spending would be currently aligned with the SDGs and said the ministry budgets should be further aligned with the goals. "Each ministry has to prepare a SDG-budget." The SANEM director also proposed to increase the public expenditure on education as percentage of GDP from present 1.9 per cent to 3.0 per cent by 2020 and 4.0 per cent by 2025. "At the same time, public expenditure on health should also be increased from its current level of less than 1.0 per cent to 2.0 per cent by 2020, to 3.0 per cent by 2025 and to 4.0 per cent by 2030," he added. The SANEM also called for preparing a roadmap for developing 100 special economic zones (SEZs) by 2030 and suggested introducing a regular updating mechanism on the progress of the SEZs.      It also noted that while the share of private investment in GDP has remained static in the country over the years, its share in total investment has fallen. Even under a very optimistic scenario, it added, the investment-GDP ratio has to be increased annually by 0.98 per cent from the present rate of 0.28 per cent. It called for raising the ratio of infrastructure investment to GDP from the present 1.6 per cent to at least 5.0 per cent. SANEM also identified delays in implementation of the critical projects, institutional inefficiency, rent seeking and political uncertainty as major detriments to accelerating investment in the country. Focusing on the financial sector, it said that mere lowering of the interest rate would not be enough for expansion of the private sector credit due to having numerous other challenges to the business environment, which needs to be addressed. Underlining the need for increasing the country's tax-GDP ratio, the think tank stressed the need for strong political commitment to simplify the tax systems, strengthen the tax administration and broaden the tax base under a wider reform agenda.     mehdi.finexpress@gmail.com....

Published at: 2017-03-23 00:00:04

India's state-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has finally agreed to bear the entire cost of construction of the proposed 130-kilometre cross-country pipeline to export diesel to Bangladesh, said officials. In exchange, state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) would import diesel from the BPCL-owned Numaligarh refinery for 15 years at double the premium rate prevailing in the international market, a senior BPC official told the FE Wednesday. He said Bangladesh and India resolved the pending dispute at a joint meeting in India last week. A final deal on the issue is expected to be inked next month during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to India, said the official. The BPCL had earlier intended to provide the pipeline construction cost from Indian credit line instead of its own coffer, which was opposed by the BPC resulting in a delay of the project, said the official. The Indian state-owned BPCL would export around 1.0 million tonnes of 0.20 per cent sulfur diesel to Bangladesh for 15 years through this pipeline. The BPC and the BPCL also agreed on the premium rate at US$ 5.50 per barrel to Mean of Platts Arab Gulf (MoPAG) diesel assessment on cost and freight (CFR) basis meaning that the price would be above US$ 5.50 per barrel from international price of diesel. The cost of fuel transportation and the loss from evaporation are covered in the premium. Two state-run oil entities also had agreed to stall the initial plan of setting up a joint venture company to share the cost of building the oil-carrying pipeline. The pipeline, once constructed, would carry diesel to Bangladesh's northern region. Diesel demand is around 1.10 million tonnes in 16 northern districts in Bangladesh, the BPC official said. Initially, the pipeline is planned to carry around 300,000 tonnes of diesel to Bangladesh which would gradually be increased to 1.0 million tonnes. The pipeline would touch Panchagarh, Nilphamari and Dinajpur inside Bangladesh to reach Parbatipur oil storage tanks. Of the total 130 km, the length of pipeline inside Bangladesh would be 125 km and in India it would be around five km, said officials. Both the companies finalised pipeline route and tested the soil to quicken the installation of the pipeline. But the row over fixing of premium rate delayed the progress of building the first cross-country pipeline between the two neighbouring South Asian countries. The BPC and the BPCL inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to implement the project in October, 2015. Initially, the BPCL was asking for a premium rate of around $8.80 per barrel to MoPAG diesel assessments, while the BPC was seeking the premium at par with international market. Currently, the BPC has been importing diesel from international market at a premium rate of around $2.50 per barrel to the MoPAG diesel assessments on CFR basis. Although the premium rate is higher, India's diesel consignment would save the BPC's expenditure on account of transportation of diesel to Parbatipur from Chittagong port, said sources. Indian diesel would be consumed by clients in Parbatipur localities, said the official. The BPC currently imports around 3.5 million tonnes of diesel annually to meet local demand. Bangladesh earlier had imported diesel for a brief period and a small quantity of 3,500 tonnes from the BPCL in 2007. The BPC had also imported around 400,000 tonnes of diesel from the Indian Oil Company Ltd during 2005-06 period, BPC officials said.       Azizjst@yahoo.com....

Published at: 2017-03-23 00:00:04