South Korean companies operating in Bangladesh want to play a bigger role to ensure sustainable economic development in the country alongside good corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices, their representatives said on Sunday.

Bangladesh needs a favourable ecosystem to give a much-needed boost to the cottage, micro, small and medium enterprise (CMSME) sector with a view to creating adequate jobs and propelling the growth of the country, speakers said yesterday.

Livelihoods of about 1.8 crore people involved in the fisheries and aquaculture sector in Bangladesh have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, researchers found.

The garment makers' platform today urged Switzerland to extend duty-free access to Bangladeshi apparels for 10 years under the Everything but Arms scheme to ensure smooth transition of Bangladesh to a developing country

Garment makers today demanded creating an effective business-friendly environment and improving the ease of doing business to attract more investment in the country, especially in non-cotton or manmade fibre (MMF) based textiles.

Bangladesh is now playing a part in Qatar’s initiative of turning deserts into greenery, thanks to local firm which is exporting saplings.

Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (Toab) today demanded reopening of tourist spots at half capacity and in compliance with health safety measures to save several lakh people involved in the sector, saying it incurred losses equalling Tk 20,000 crore in the last year due to the pandemic.

Telecom operators yesterday placed a slew of demands before the government, including slashing corporate tax from 40 per cent and 45 per cent to 25 per cent and 32.5 per cent for listed and non-listed entities respectively.

Export earnings doubled year-on-year to $3.11 billion in May this year thanks to a rebound in garment shipment.

A container loaded with imported goods got damaged when a fire broke out inside a yard of Chattogram port today morning.

Myanmar’s deepening political crisis and India’s grave coronavirus situation are prompting international retailers and brands to divert work orders to Bangladesh because of its stability and milder-than-expected impacts of the second wave of the infections.

Some 1.06 crore of mobile phone users left Dhaka until May 15 after the exodus began on May 4 despite strict restriction on movement to curb the spread of Covid-19 infections, according to data of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).

The customs houses will remain open to facilitate export and import activities during Eid holidays.

The government today asked the garment factory owners to clear the payments of workers’ salaries, bonuses and other dues by tomorrow so that the workers can enjoy the Eid-ul-Fitr.

Mobile financial service providers are taking an additional Tk 1.5 from the clients by charging Tk 20 instead of Tk 18.50 as cash-out fee for every Tk 1,000, telecom experts said today.

Bangladesh needs to pay attention to explore new export destinations, including untapped markets in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Latin America and African regions, according to speakers at a webinar yesterday.

The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) has urged the importers and other stakeholders to continue taking deliveries of import cargoes during Eid holidays as part of effort to avoid any possible congestion at the port.

Earnings from merchandise exports surged as much as six times year-on-year to $3.13 billion in April thanks to a rebound in apparel shipment buoyed by the reopening of the economies in the US and Europe.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has launched a drive to crack down on the telecom value-added service providers that stealthily activate service on the phones of customers without their consent.

At least 20 of the 30 staffers employed by Khan Palace, a residential hotel in Kuakata beach town of Patuakhali district, have been put on administrative leave due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.