Zina Tasreen

Inflation hits 11-year high

If there is one indicator that epitomises the government’s mismanagement of the economy in recent times, it is inflation -- which raced to an 11-year high of 9.94 percent in May.

4d ago

A budget divorced from reality

Self-contradictory is what best describes Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal’s fifth budget, and the last of the Awami League-led government’s current term.

1w ago

Bracing for budget of self-preservation

In 2019, when AHM Mustafa Kamal took charge as the finance minister, the Bangladesh economy was taxing for take-off for its long-haul flight to the developed country club.

1w ago

Time to hit the reset button

This year was always supposed to be a celebration of Bangladesh’s economic progress with the opening of Padma bridge and Dhaka metro rail and 100 percent electrification.

What is Bangladesh's current forex reserve?

Ever since Sri Lanka and Pakistan’s economic turmoil, Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves has become a part of public discourse. So much so that despite having an official figure from the central bank every week, people are speculating.

Inflation at 9-year high

Inflation raced to a nine-year high of 7.56 percent in June, in a development that lays bare the extent of the cost of living crisis gripping the low-income and middle-class people in Bangladesh thanks to a war taking place some 5,800 kilometres away in Ukraine.

Not for respite, but for restraints

When reassurance was needed, he exuded panic.

Budget 2022-23: Bet on poor, future

What is the purpose of the national budget? In essence, it is to allocate scarce resources.

Bringing back black money: Will amnesty work at all?

Wishful thinking -- is what best describes the maiden tax amnesty campaign the government is planning to lure money back home next fiscal year.

Bank borrowing may hamper recovery

When thinking outside the box was needed, the government opted for the tried-and-tested method.

Hopeless revenue target: No major tax hike planned

Wishy-washy -- is what best describes the government’s stance on scaling up its narrow revenue base, which is posing to become the Achilles’ heel to Bangladesh’s growth aspirations.

Record subsidy, but will it be enough?

Strange times are these in which we live when record subsidy allocation may still come short of what is needed.

Forex reserves under strain: Govt defers employees' foreign tours, less important projects

The government finally raised its guard against the dwindling dollar reserves, putting its employees’ foreign tours on hold and deferring projects that require much imports.

Economy firing on all cylinders

There are bright sparks in all corners of the economy, according to the provisional GDP figures for fiscal 2021-22, which do not show a hint of a pandemic hangover when others are still plodding along.

Tribute to Muhith: Farewell to architect of our economy’s golden era

When Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina defiantly announced in 2012 that the Padma bridge would be built after the World Bank pulled out of the project, her gumption was not irrational.

Offshore Smart City: Can a parliamentary committee recommend a project to PM without due diligence?

Can a parliamentary standing committee recommend a project directly to the prime minister without any due diligence? The law explicitly does not permit it.

Bangladesh's $200m loan to Sri Lanka hangs in balance

When Bangladesh agreed to provide $250 million to Sri Lanka last year, little did it think that it would become a side character in the horror show that is unfolding in the island nation.

News Analysis: Why is the govt indulging Evaly so much?

What does one do when one sees wrongdoing taking place in front of one’s very eyes? For most, the natural response would be to stop it in its tracks.

A Snapshot of life: Tested positive, negative and the trouble

Grey area. The place between black and white -- and that is where life happens. This begs the question: shouldn’t the government’s communication be clear and concise for events that might fall in the grey area?

Bangladesh’s Promising Bourse: Cash-flush Americans can now invest easily

A hidden gem is what British banking giant HSBC dubbed Bangladesh's bourse earlier last month.

Moment to fix the SME sector

Often touted as the backbone of an economy, Bangladesh has never wholeheartedly nurtured the cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises sector like the governments around the world, particularly those of China, India, the UK, the US.

Corporate Tax Hike for MFS Players: Throttling industry growth for nothing

Don’t kill the goose that lays the golden eggs -- suggests the famous Greek storyteller Aesop. And looking at Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal’s proposed tax measures for the mobile financial services operators for the incoming fiscal year, one cannot help but recall the famous fable.

BTRC’S new broadband tariff: Would it bring cheap internet? Unlikely

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission’s move on Sunday to fix the broadband prices brings to mind an oft-used quote by celebrated French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: A goal without a plan is nothing but a wish.

A budget that fails to save lives and livelihood

He set off to save lives and livelihoods in his third budget as the finance minister and his second amid the global coronavirus pandemic, and along the way, went astray.

The cool head steering Unilever Bangladesh through the tempest

We are sailing through the most extraordinary times in living memory, with every facet of what we knew as normal life upended. So, one would expect the man heading the Bangladesh arm of a multinational behemoth like Unilever to be fidgety.

A budget not of its time

Any finance minister delivering a national budget wants, ideally, to project three qualities: calm, authority and very slight dullness.

Budget of self-preservation

It seems the universe keeps conspiring against Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal. When it is his moment to shine, some misfortune strikes. Last year, it was dengue, and this year, it is the raging coronavirus that has left him at the centre of what could possibly be Bangladesh’s most acute economic -- and human -- crisis yet.

A V-shaped economic recovery is still within reach. But the general public must play its part.

Optimism is a disease, the polemical British-Indian novelist Salman Rushdie once said, and talking with Manmohan Parkash, the country director of the Asian Development Bank, one can’t help but catch that disease.

Docking bad loans has now become critical

Age is the price of wisdom, it is often said. And an audience with the immediate past finance minister, AMA Muhith, calls to mind that saying.

‘We are a nation in a hurry’

Halfway through an interview at the Planning Commission, Planning Minister MA Mannan is asked about the logic behind the inordinate number of projects that are in implementation at any given moment.

‘It’s not possible to do everything overnight’

The man with the plan, is the impression one walks away with after an audience with Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal. Later, one is invariably met with the question: was he being a little too optimistic and naive?

Bangla Bond has huge demand

Gamechanger -- is what best describes the debut of Bangla Bond, a taka-denominated debt instrument, on the London Stock Exchange on November 11 for Bangladesh.

Bangla Bond Launched: Acid test for Bangladesh growth story

Much has been said about the tremendous growth momentum of the Bangladesh economy. It was amongst the fastest growing nations in the world in the past decade, as per data from the state-run Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics -- and the trend is expected to continue into the near future, too.

Bangladesh snags its highest ranking in 6yrs

All great things start from small beginnings, it is often said. And Bangladesh’s eight-place leap forward in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business 2020 index can be viewed in this light.

Accountability the answer to real estate sector’s woes

In 2011, with great hope, Monwara Shameem had handed over her 8.25 decimals of land in Mohakhali DOHS to a reputed developer to construct a six-storied apartment building.

Never too young to get on property ladder

The template of nuclear family, in which the dad went to work and the mum stayed at home, is fast on its way out.

Banking in dire straits: Will needed to fix ills

People do not lack strength; they lack will, the French poet and novelist Victor Hugo once said. The words perfectly describe the government’s attitude thus far towards fixing the banking sector.

Decline in savings downs investment

Each month, Ayesha Amin, a housewife, aims to put Tk 5,000 of the money her husband hands over to her for the running of the house, in her savings account.

Long on promises, short on specifics

All eyes were on fever-stricken Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal as he stepped into parliament to unveil his maiden national budget yesterday.

Time to work on basics

The Bangladesh economy is taxing for take-off -- for its long-haul flight to the developed country club, with couple of stopovers in between.

Wiser is winner

Credit card: two words the mention of which turn many into full-blown cynics. While it is undeniable that anyone who has a credit card risks running up too much debt -- a milestone that might take several years and lots of sacrifice to get rid of -- if used wisely the benefits can outweigh the downsides.