Sukanta Halder

Sukanta Halder is the Staff Correspondent of The Daily Star.

One panjabi for two occasions

The rising price level in Bangladesh has left the middle and low-income segments in a severe cost of living crunch, with inflation hovering above 9 percent since March last year.

1d ago

Fruit imports surge as Ramadan pushes up demand

Traders opened LCs worth $247.26 million in July-January of the current fiscal year of 2023-24, up 25.81 percent year-on-year, central bank data showed.

1d ago

Bangladesh's biggest shopping festival begins as Eid nears

The number of shoppers has been increasing since Friday, said brands and retailers. But with about 18 days left until Eid, consumers are yet to start buying clothing items in large quantities, they said.

4d ago

Four insurers show-caused for Tk 264 crore unsettled claims

The four are: Sunflower Life Insurance, Progressive Life Insurance Company, Sunlife Insurance Company and Homeland Life Insurance Company

1w ago

Why do high prices persist despite govt steps?

Consumers were not spared even during the fasting month of Ramadan, a time to show self-restraint, even though there have been a lot of promises and drives on the part of the government. Therefore, while devotees perform their religious duty, the escalated prices of essentials have continued to give them hard times.

1w ago

Fabric sales still slow ahead of Eid

Textile makers in Bangladesh are witnessing slow sales ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr due to factors including a drop in demand for women's salwar-kameez amidst a high living cost and a lack of interest among the affluent class to donate clothes as Zakat to avoid hassle.

1w ago

Secrets of an informal commodity exchange

The narrow streets of Old Dhaka’s Moulvibazar hum with activity: commodity trading. On mobile phones, wholesalers fervently follow prices on trading floors in Chicago and London to bet on the local prices of sugar and edible oil. In and around tea stalls in this gloomy corner of Dhaka, even idle chats are centred around the price movement on the London Commodity Exchange, the Chicago Board of Trade, and the Bursa Malaysia.

1w ago

Does SO system impact prices of essentials?

Some think that the existing supply order (SO) system is one of the reasons for the spike in the prices of essential goods such as sugar and edible oil simply because prices increase each time the document changes hands.

1w ago
March 10, 2024
March 10, 2024

26 lakh insurance policies discontinued in 14 years

More than 26 lakh insurance policies have lapsed in Bangladesh in the last 14 years owing to a raft of factors including the worsening of financial health of clients, a lack of awareness among them, and agents’ tendency not to explain product features properly while selling them.

March 7, 2024
March 7, 2024

Sugar prices edge up as traders tighten supply

Sugar prices have gone up at both the wholesale and retail levels amid hoarding by traders on speculation of reduced supply after the fire incident at S Alam Refinery, one of the largest raw sugar importers and refiners in Bangladesh.

March 6, 2024
March 6, 2024

Bailey Road fire ruins appetite for dining out

The Mughal Empire restaurant in Mohammadpur of Dhaka wore a quiet look at 7:30pm Monday, normally a peak time. With only four people at one corner eating biryani, it is a stark contrast to the usual gathering of 25-30 people.

March 3, 2024
March 3, 2024

Insurance claim settlement rises in 2023

The claim settlement rate in the insurance sector of Bangladesh has risen by more than four percentage points within the span of a single year although the ratio has remained far below the global average.

March 1, 2024
March 1, 2024

Insurance premium growth slows

Insurance premium growth decelerated in 2023 as people’s purchasing power eroded amid higher inflationary pressure, despite the sector’s immense potential in a country that has one of the lowest penetration rates in the world.

March 1, 2024
March 1, 2024

Opening doors to a bright future for insurance

Bangladesh is set to officially launch Bancassurance today, an arrangement between banks and insurance companies to sell insurance products.

February 29, 2024
February 29, 2024

Investment instruments that Bangladeshi savers consider safe

Around 53 percent of the respondents of a survey in Bangladesh said they prefer making investment in deposit pension scheme (DPS) to set aside funds for rainy days.

February 28, 2024
February 28, 2024

What most Bangladeshis consider a safe investment?

North South University conducted a survey with the support of MetLife Bangladesh

February 24, 2024
February 24, 2024

Retail giants rush to Mirpur to cash in on growth spurt

Retail giants and realtors are increasingly flocking to Mirpur and its surrounding areas to tap the opportunities being offered by the growing swathe of the capital.

February 24, 2024
February 24, 2024

Mirpur: From a backwater to an economic hotspot

Mirpur was best known as a garment manufacturing hub, a crime zone with rough roads, dirty alleyways, rundown buses, a capital of slums called home by apparel workers and a poor township marked by nondescript houses.

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