Desh General Insurance Limited has posted a 439% year-on-year growth in net profit after tax in the first half of 2026.

According to the company's unaudited financial statements for the January-June period, its net profit rose to Tk1.94 crore, with earnings per share (EPS) of Tk0.49, from Tk0.35 crore and EPS of Tk0.09 in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The insurer's first-half profit also surpassed its total annual profit for 2025. The company posted a net profit of Tk64 lakh, with EPS of Tk0.16, for the full year 2025.

The company's board has recommended a 2% cash dividend for shareholders, subject to approval at its annual general meeting (AGM), scheduled to be held on 9 September.

In the second quarter, from April to June, its EPS surged by 775% to Tk0.35, up from Tk0.04 in Q2 of 2025, its statements showed.

The net operating cash flow per share stood at Tk0.21 for the half-year, which was negative at Tk0.14 for the same time of 2025.

Its net asset value per share at the end of June stood at Tk11.84, slightly up from Tk11.35 as of December 2025.

On Thursday last, Desh General Insurance shares closed at Tk34.70 each at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), down 1.70% from the previous fiscal year.

As of July, out of its total shares, sponsor-directors held a 48.98% stake in the company, while institutional investors held 7.41% stake, and the general public held a 43.61% stake, as per data from the DSE.

Meghna Group of Industries (MGI), one of the country’s largest industrial conglomerates, has entered the sanitaryware market, seeking to tap growing demand amid increased construction activity.

The group, which has been manufacturing construction materials, namely cement, for more than two decades, expanded into sanitary products five years after launching its ceramic products business in 2021 as part of its efforts to diversify its product portfolio.

“We want to offer customers a complete range of construction material solutions to meet their needs. That’s why, alongside tiles, sanitaryware is part of our portfolio expansion,” MGI Chairman Mostafa Kamal told The Daily Star recently.

The conglomerate, which also operates in the consumer goods and energy sectors, said it has invested around Tk 300 crore in its sanitary products business. Its factory has a production capacity of around 60,000 pieces a month and employs more than 600 people.

MGI mainly manufactures basins and commodes, which together account for nearly 80 percent of the sanitaryware market, valued at around Tk 2,000 crore. The market is growing by roughly 8 to 10 percent annually, according to industry operators.

Located in Ashariar Char in Narayanganj, the factory currently has the capacity to produce 2,000 washbasins and commodes a day.

The group said it uses 100 percent imported raw materials, sourced from selected countries, to maintain international product standards. The materials are currently imported from Thailand, Malaysia, Egypt, India, Germany and China.

According to fiscal 2024-25 data from the Bangladesh Ceramic Manufacturers and Exporters Association, domestic products account for about 65 percent of the sanitaryware market, while imported products make up the remaining 35 percent.

“Customers today are placing greater importance on quality and reliability, alongside product variety. To meet this demand, we are giving special emphasis to the sanitaryware sector,” said Tanjima Mostafa, a director of MGI.

“Through a combination of quality ceramic products, modern designs, and operational efficiency, we want to strengthen our position in this sector by delivering Fresh Sanitaryware to our customers,” she said.

Founded in 1976, MGI operates more than 57 industrial units and employs over 65,000 people, according to a press release.

For the first time in nearly a decade, India recently decided to allow imports of duty-free raw sugar until October in order to contain surging prices and ensure adequate availability in the domestic market.

The government argued that duty-free imports of sugar have been allowed as a "precautionary" measure to guard against a possible further rise in prices in view of the coming festival season, when demand would go up considerably.

Sugar prices in India, the world's largest consumer of the sweetener, increased in a month from Rs 48.18 per kg on 20 July to Rs 55.70 per kg on 20 August, the government acknowledged.

The government has rejected criticism that the increase in sugar prices is due to diversion of sugar for ethanol production.

In fact, the share of sugar diverted for ethanol has declined from around 12% in 2022-23 to around 9% in 2025-26. Moreover, nearly three-fourths of the ethanol produced in the country now comes from grains, particularly maize, said the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution on Friday.

India normally produces around 320-340 lakh tonnes of sugar annually, against domestic consumption of around 280-290 lakh tonnes. When there is surplus production, excess stocks block the funds of sugar mills and can delay payments to sugarcane farmers, it pointed out.

Diversion of excess sugar towards ethanol has helped address this structural problem and improved the financial health of sugar mills, maintained the Ministry.

As on 20 August 2026, 97% of sugarcane dues for the 2025-26 sugar season had already been paid to farmers, it said, adding that the improved financial position of sugar mills had reduced their dependence on government subsidies.

While around Rs 14,600 crore of subsidy was provided to the sugar industry between 2014 and 2021, no such subsidy has been announced since 2021-22.

The Ministry said the increase in sugar prices was due to a combination of factors, including lower-than-expected domestic production, increased demand ahead of the festive season, weather-related damage to the sugarcane crop, tightening global sugar supplies and speculation and hoarding by some sections of the industry.

India's sugar production during the current season is expected to be around 306 lakh tonnes, compared with the initial estimate of around 343 lakh tonnes by key sugarcane-growing states, according to official figures.

Production has been affected by disease in sugarcane as well as waterlogging caused by excess rainfall.

But despite the lower-than-estimated production, adequate sugar stocks are available in the country to meet domestic demand until the new crushing season begins in October.

The government also points out that international sugar prices have risen sharply from $474 per tonne on 30 June to $552 per tonne on 20 August, an increase of over 16% in less than two months.

Speculation and hoarding by some sugar mills and traders have also contributed to the recent price increase. Several steps have therefore been taken, including the imposition of a stock limit of 400 tonnes on sugar dealers across the country from 1 August to 30 November.

States and sugar mills have been advised to begin crushing from 15 October, and this is expected to raise October sugar production from the usual 3 lakh tonnes to more than 10 lakh tonnes, the Ministry says.

Bangladesh Bank's special loan scheme 'Udyog' to facilitate new-generation entrepreneurs with collateral-free financing is set to be rolled out within this month, opening up a new avenue of commercial lending.

Sources at the central bank said as part of the plan to lend the young generation low-cost funds, the banking regulator would initially launch the scheme for all upazilas in eight districts of the country's eight divisions from later this month before its countrywide implementation from January next.

The BB comes up with the special lending scheme to uphold aspirations of the young generation, who led the July-August mass uprising in 2024 that toppled Sheikh Hasina's governing regime for building a new Bangladesh where there will be no discrimination in access to jobs, funds and other basic facilities

Seeking anonymity, a BB official said they planned to start the lending package having tenure of three years in all upazilas in eight districts under eight divisions from later this August, an eventful month when Bangladesh saw a massive mass uprising two years ago.

"We called this initial implementation of the scheme activation phase but its countrywide replication will start probably from January next," the official said.

The Tk 10-billion lending package will have two portions - loans involving Tk 5.0 billion and grants equivalent to the loan package.

The central banker said the banking regulator would not form any special fund to finance the young entrepreneurs having maximum age limit of 28 years. The loans portion comes from the existing refinancing schemes while the grants money will be initiated with the banks' unused CSR funds and BB's own funds.

Talking about the process from loan application to the stage of approval, another BB official said entrepreneurs having maximum age limit of 28 years can apply for availing the funds and commercial banks will shortlist those on their own through making necessary crosschecks.

Then the shortlisted entrepreneurs will be invited to a daylong session in the upazila concerned to make their presentation about the structure of their business with a plan before a special committee to get their loan approved, he said.

"The special committee will have members from commercial banks, the central bank and renowned entrepreneurs. There will be no one from PEP (politically exposed person) category," he said.

About security of the collateral-free funds, the central banker said each entrepreneur can get loans of up to Tk 1.0 million and an equivalent amount of money will be given as grants.

For example, he said, an entrepreneur is receiving a Tk 1.0-million loan. If he/she fails to pay back the loan in the stipulated time, the grants money equivalent to the defaulted portion will be added up to the loan amount.

"If the entrepreneur pays back the loan amount in time, he/she does not think about the grants. Otherwise, the borrowers will have to pay for both loans and grants on default and will face legal actions," he said.

According to the lending package, 10 entrepreneurs from each upazila will be selected for the special loan scheme.

The US imposed 50 percent tariffs on some Canadian goods on Saturday after the two longstanding allies failed to reach a trade deal, with each side accusing the other of derailing days of talks.

The tariffs that came into effect just after midnight (0400 GMT) on some $20 billion of Canadian goods - things like wooden ice hockey sticks that are rarely used anymore - are far from an economic game-changer for the largest US trading partner after Mexico.

That represents just over 5 percent of Canada’s exports to the US.

But the new tariffs mark an increase in tensions between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney, and will likely make broader talks to renew the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement more difficult. Carney said he had suspended trade negotiations and Canada would retaliate “dollar for dollar” on the new tariffs.

“I have decided to suspend trade negotiations with the US and have directed Canada’s negotiators to return to Ottawa,” Carney said in a statement.

“They (negotiators) have worked hard, in good faith, to defend the interests of Canadians throughout these negotiations up until the very last minute,” he said.

“However, last-minute changes in the US proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal.”

Carney, the only person to ever run the central banks of two major economies, was elected last year on promises to stand up to Trump, and remains broadly popular. Polls show most Canadians oppose making any concessions to Trump.

Hours earlier, the two sides had seemed close to an agreement that sources said would have lowered tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos and potentially brought American alcohol back to Canadian liquor stores.

“Tonight, Canada declined to finalize the trade deal under the terms agreed earlier this week,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said during a White House briefing.

“This is a missed opportunity for Canada to partner with the United States, which is the fastest-growing economy in the G7,” Greer said.

A senior Trump administration official said the US offer would have put Canada in the best tariff position of any major exporter to the US, but that Canada had sought additional concessions, especially on steel, aluminum, autos and softwood lumber.

No additional talks are scheduled as the US implements the new duties, the official said.

Trump last month threatened to impose a raft of duties on a range of Canadian imports including wine, furniture, dairy products, cement, clothing, fishing rods, hockey equipment.

The tariffs, which do not qualify for preferential treatment under the US-Mexico-Canada free-trade agreement, open up some already vulnerable sectors to potential severe damage that could lead to job losses and business closures, trade experts have said.

The decision by the US administration followed three days of talks in Washington between Canada’s minister for trade with the US, Dominic LeBlanc, and Greer.

The new duties add to existing US tariffs on steel, lumber and autos which have taken major hit in the last 18 months, although the malaise has been largely contained within these sectors.

Market operators said the ongoing energy crisis, regulatory uncertainty and heightened geopolitical tensions continued to weigh on investor sentiment and risk appetite.

A leading stockbroker said fresh challenges to the country's macroeconomic outlook arising from the energy crisis were discouraging investors from committing new funds to equities.

The Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global fuel shipments, remains virtually closed, while energy prices have started rising again after easing earlier.

Investors are particularly worried that persistently high energy costs could fuel inflationary pressure in the coming quarter and weigh on corporate earnings.

"These concerns prompted many investors to stay on the sidelines," the stockbroker said.

The market began the week on a cautious note as investors awaited the final margin-loan regulations. Selling pressure intensified in subsequent sessions as uncertainty persisted.

At the same time, the unresolved national gas crisis raised concerns over corporate earnings, particularly for gas-dependent industries, further weakening investors' risk appetite.

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) eventually gazetted the revised Margin Rules, 2025 on Tuesday, introducing changes aimed at making margin financing more flexible while strengthening regulatory oversight.

Under the revised rules, only 'A' and 'B' category shares with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of up to 40 will be eligible for margin loans. The rules also relaxed the thresholds for margin calls and forced sales.

The broader market struggled for momentum throughout the week, closing lower in four of the five trading sessions. Although a late-week rebound in the final session trimmed some losses, market operators noted that buying interest remained highly selective.

The benchmark DSEX index settled the week 98 points, or 1.66 per cent, lower at 5,786 points, after gaining 23 points in the previous week.

The decline came despite renewed buying interest in a number of selective stocks towards the end of the week, indicating that investors remained highly selective rather than returning to the market with broad-based confidence.

EBL Securities said the stock market witnessed acute selling pressure during the week as investors remained cautious amid regulatory developments and persistent domestic uncertainties, which weighed heavily on overall risk appetite.

Despite the long-awaited clarification on margin regulations, market momentum failed to recover as persistent rumours of some stringent measures induced further caution among investors, the stockbroker said.

The DS30 Index, which tracks the country's blue-chip stocks, plunged 30 points to 2,162, while the Shariah-based DSES Index dropped 21 points to 1,156.

Falls in the prices of several large-cap stocks, including BRAC Bank, Sharp Industries, Dominage Steel, Islami Bank and LafargeHolcim, accounted for more than 28 points of the benchmark index's weekly decline.

Trading activity also remained subdued, with total turnover falling to Tk 45.3 billion from Tk 49.9 billion in the previous week.

Consequently, average daily turnover declined more than 9 per cent to Tk 9.06 billion from Tk 9.97 billion in the preceding week.

The decline in average turnover indicated that investors remained selective and preferred to stay cautious amid uncertainties surrounding the market outlook.

The textile sector accounted for the largest share of the week's total turnover at 21.2 per cent, followed by general insurance at 17.9 per cent and engineering at 9.6 per cent.

Market breadth remained strongly negative, with 314 issues declining against only 52 advancing, while 18 remained unchanged on the DSE.

IPDC Finance emerged as the most-traded stock of the week, with shares worth Tk 1.4 billion changing hands, followed by Dominage Steel, Beximco, Malek Spinning Mills and Sharp Industries.

Most sectors ended lower during the week. Non-bank financial institutions suffered the highest loss of 2.4 per cent, followed by engineering, power, telecommunications, banking and pharmaceuticals.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also ended the week sharply lower. Its All Share Price Index (CASPI) plunged 312 points to close at 15,491, while the Selective Categories Index (CSCX) lost 197 points to 9,431.

Meanwhile, the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) published a list of 138 securities eligible for margin loans under the revised rules. Market insiders said the revised rules appeared more market-friendly and helped ease the uncertainty that had weighed on investor sentiment in recent sessions.

Against this backdrop, DSEX, the benchmark index of the DSE, gained 32 points, or 0.55 per cent, to reach 5,801 at 11:00 am, when the report was filed.

The DS30 index, comprising blue-chip stocks, advanced 6 points to 2,168, while the Shariah-based DSES index rose 6 points to 1,156.

Trading activity, however, remained slow, with turnover on the premier bourse reaching Tk 1.68 billion during the first hour of trading.

Market breadth was strongly positive, with 300 issues advancing against only 36 declining, while 45 remained unchanged, reflecting broad-based buying interest.

Techno Drugs emerged as the most-traded issue, with shares worth Tk 113 million changing hands during the first hour.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) also opened higher. Its All Share Price Index (CASPI) gained 34 points to 15,528, while the CSE Selective Categories Index (CSCX) rose 22 points to 9,467 at 11:00 am.

At the Dhaka Stock Exchange, shareholder directors are elected by a small-broker-dominated base — a structural flaw that has become a roadblock to enforcing global best practices and good governance.City & Local Guides

According to DSE data, 59 of the exchange's 292 active brokerage firms are institutional — subsidiaries of banks and non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) — while the rest have converted from sole proprietorships into private limited companies.

The top 40 brokers by turnover belong to this institutional group and together account for more than 70 per cent of daily market turnover in FY26, said DSE sources. Yet they hold no seats on the DSE board, since they remain a numerical minority when it comes to electing board candidates.

"The syndicate of formerly sole-proprietorship firms supports candidates who can pursue their interests on the board of the Dhaka bourse," said a senior executive of an institutional brokerage firm, wishing not to be named.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and corporate governance of institutional firms differ from those of the formerly sole-proprietorship firms. So, the inclusion of their representatives on the board of the premier bourse would enhance discipline in the secondary market, alongside adding innovation to product diversification.

As per the demutualisation scheme, the DSE board comprises 12 members. Of them, six are independent, four are representatives of shareholding companies, one comes from a strategic partner, and the exchange's managing director serves as the twelfth member.

Shareholder directors serve the interests of the majority who have elected them, while independent directors, according to market insiders, are equally ineffective in enforcing rules and discipline, because they mostly join the board for honorarium and to elevate their corporate status. Some even lack practical knowledge about the market.

The Central Counterparty Bangladesh Limited (CCBL), a separate clearing company, is a prime example of this resistance from DSE shareholder directors. The company is yet to begin operations six years after its formation.

The DSE, which holds a 45 per cent stake in the CCBL, has not proceeded to register the company, and other stakeholders have consequently shown indifference. The CCBL must get registered with the BSEC before launching operations.

According to sources at the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), CCBL's proposed board structure, which would include two representatives — both independent directors — from the DSE, was not acceptable to the DSE's shareholder directors.

The establishment of a clearing company is urgently needed to speed up settlement and to enable the introduction of new derivatives. The main function of the CCBL would be to clear and settle transactions executed on the exchanges' platforms without any failure.

The company will be able to trace investors' funds kept in their bank accounts. Hence, it will be able to implement restrictions on purchases in margin accounts.

On the other hand, if the CCBL is established, Dhaka bourse's TREC (trading right entitlement certificate) holders will no longer be able to avail of the free limit in trading. Brokers are currently allowed to conduct trades up to a free limit set at Tk 100 million, without depositing any margin.

A majority of brokers also have not yet met capital adequacy requirements. As per the risk-based capital adequacy rules, the minimum regulatory capital for brokers varies from Tk 50 million to Tk 150 million, depending on their operational landscape.

The exchange's shareholder directors have remained consistent in their position that small brokers are not capable of meeting capital adequacy requirements.

Capital adequacy for brokers is necessary to absorb operational and market losses, prevent broker defaults during rapid trade settlements, and protect general investors' funds.

Saiful Islam, president of the DSE Brokers Association, Bangladesh (DBA), said the representatives of the top five or even the top 10 brokers, in terms of transactions they execute, did not bother to participate in elections to come to the exchange's board.

"It's not possible for professional brokers to lobby to win elections. That's why we remain busy with our business," said Mr Islam, also a director of BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage.

He, however, stressed the importance of including professional brokers on the DSE board.

Wishing to remain anonymous, the chief executive officer (CEO) of a leading brokerage firm said the finance ministry and the regulatory body had often influenced the election of shareholder directors to the DSE board.

When asked, the managing director of Midway Securities, Md. Ashequr Rahman, said directors' ideas and knowledge were important for the development of the stock exchange and the market, but they could not overcome their tendency to work for the sake of boosting their own portfolios.

While talking to the FE, a senior executive of the DSE emphasised the need for training DSE board directors.

Before sitting on the board of the central bank, directors need to attend training programmes. "The DSE directors should also be trained before they take charge, and the securities regulator has a responsibility there," he said, adding that at least two representatives from top institutional brokers should be included in the board.

The DSE executive wanted to keep his identity undisclosed since he was not authorised to talk to the media.

Runner Automobiles PLC is moving ahead with its partnership with Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD Auto Industry Co, approving a series of measures to launch the import and distribution of BYD vehicles in Bangladesh.

At a board meeting on 20 August, the company approved the next course of action under its Master Supply and Manufacturing Agreement (MSMA) with BYD, according to a price-sensitive statement.

Under the agreement, Runner will sign a Technical Licence Agreement (TLA) with BYD and import and distribute BYD vehicles in completely built-up (CBU) condition.

The company said the initiative is aimed at establishing the necessary distribution network and preparing for the proposed project.

As part of the plan, Runner also intends to raise Tk250 crore through the issuance of preference shares, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.

The board's decision marks a significant step in Runner's expansion beyond its traditional motorcycle business into the passenger vehicle segment, particularly amid growing demand for electric and technologically advanced vehicles in Bangladesh.

BYD is one of China's leading clean energy firms, known for EVs, batteries, and renewable solutions. Founded in 1994, it has grown into a global EV powerhouse, competing with companies like Tesla. BYD produces cars, buses, and trucks, while also manufacturing advanced lithium batteries.

The company is expanding rapidly across Asia, Europe, and Latin America, playing a key role in the global transition to sustainable transportation.

Industry insiders say Runner has been preparing for such a venture. In May 2025, the company acquired land in Sreepur, Magura, and near its existing facility in Bhaluka, Mymensingh, with plans to establish a vehicle manufacturing plant in collaboration with a foreign partner.

Runner already has experience in automotive production, having invested around Tk300 crore to manufacture Bajaj three-wheelers. It also markets a range of international brands, including Eicher trucks and buses, KTM motorcycles, and Vespa scooters, alongside its own two-wheeler line-up.

Tk250cr preference shares

To support its expansion plans, Runner Automobiles has also approved the issuance of Tk250 crore of cumulative, non-participating preference shares with a 50% convertibility option. The preference share issue remains subject to approval from the relevant regulatory authorities and shareholders.

The board has also approved a proposal to double the company's authorised share capital to Tk400 crore from Tk200 crore.

The increase in authorised capital will allow the company greater flexibility to raise additional equity capital in the future as it expands its business.

Both proposals will be placed before shareholders at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM), scheduled for 8 October 2026 at 11:30am through a digital platform. The record date for the meeting is 13 September.

The increase in authorised capital requires approval from the EGM, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms and other relevant authorities. Runner did not disclose the investment required for the BYD project or provide details of the proposed terms of the preference shares.

Building BYD distribution network

Under the approved plan, Runner will import BYD vehicles as CBU units while establishing the required distribution and support network. The company is also preparing for the project through the technical licensing arrangement with BYD.

Industry observers see the partnership as an important development for Bangladesh's emerging electric vehicle market, where infrastructure, product availability and after-sales services remain key challenges.

Runner Automobiles is listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange in 2019 and has traditionally focused on motorcycles and automotive products. The BYD partnership could diversify its revenue base and strengthen its position in the country's evolving automobile market.

Furthermore, Runner reported an 18% surge in consolidated revenue, reaching Tk878 crore for the July-March period of FY26. The company returned to profitability with a consolidated net profit of Tk13.70 crore and earnings per share (EPS) of Tk0.50, rebounding from a loss in the corresponding period of the previous year. Previously, for FY25, Runner disbursed a 10% cash dividend to its shareholders after posting a net profit of Tk10.23 crore.

Gold climbed to a more than three-month high on Friday, on track for its third straight weekly gain, aided by a break above key technical levels as the US Treasury’s buyback support plan dragged on the dollar.

Spot gold climbed 2.4 percent to $4,623.94 per ounce by 1:41 p.m. EDT (1741 GMT), earlier touching $4,631.99 — its highest since May 15. US gold futures settled 2.4 percent higher at $4,680.60.

Prices have gained over 5 percent so far this week, including their biggest one-day rise since early February registered on Wednesday.

The metal is also trading above all key moving averages, having broken above the closely watched 200-day moving average of around $4,513, a move technical analysts typically view as bullish.

“A big factor, of course, is technical... next step is $4,700 if this momentum continues, but also I think it’s been very much driven by a drop in the US dollar,” said Bart Melek, global head of commodity strategy at TD Securities.

The dollar languished near its lowest level since mid-May as investors questioned whether the US Treasury’s efforts to calm the bond markets might end up undermining confidence in the currency.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday the government could expand Treasury buybacks further, a day after the department unveiled plans to double buybacks of longer-dated securities.

“Gold call option demand has risen sharply amid renewed demand for global macro-policy hedges, creating a mechanical price amplifier to both the upside and downside,” Goldman Sachs said in a note.

Goldman noted that weaker market conviction around US rate hikes following the Fed’s July pause and softer economic data have helped revive speculative interest in COMEX gold and demand for rate-sensitive gold ETFs, with rising and elevated call option demand likely amplifying the move.

On physical demand, the recent rally in prices deterred retail buyers in India, while demand in top consumer China held steady.

Poland’s central bank slowed gold buying to 7.8 tonnes in July, data showed on Friday.

The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has directed banks and other reporting agencies to immediately report details of accounts linked to any account they are ordered to freeze.

The directive was issued today (19 August) in a circular letter to the managing directors and chief executive officers of all reporting agencies in the country as part of efforts to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.

Under the directive, once a reporting agency receives an order from the BFIU to freeze an account, it must promptly provide the intelligence unit with the basis for the freeze and details of other accounts linked to the frozen account.

In other words, if an account belonging to a person or entity is frozen over suspicious transactions, money laundering or related offences, the agency cannot stop at freezing that account. It must also identify other accounts linked to the same person or entity and provide their details to the BFIU.

The BFIU said Rule 26(4) of the Money Laundering Prevention Rules, 2019, specifically requires reporting agencies to provide information on the basis of a freeze and other accounts linked to the frozen account when ordered by the intelligence unit.

The circular stated that the directive was issued under powers granted by Section 23(1)(d) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012, and Section 15(1)(d) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009.

The BFIU said the directive would strengthen the monitoring of other accounts held by the same person or entity after a suspicious account is frozen.

It is particularly intended to help identify and collect information on related accounts when money linked to money laundering or terrorist financing is transferred through or spread across multiple bank accounts, it added.

Bangladesh wants to expand its investment-to-GDP ratio by 6.57 percentage points within a year as it has set the aspiration in the newly approved five-year development strategy and framework, analysts say.

Economists have termed this "over-ambitious", saying the target is almost impossible to achieve.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman formally unveiled the cover of the "Five-Year Strategic Framework for Reform and Development-FYSFRD (July 2026 to June 2031)" alongside its complementary Strategic Action Matrix on Wednesday.

Several economic targets, including the investment-to-GDP ratio increase goal, were set there.

Moving decisively away from traditional and rigid bureaucratic planning models, the General Economics Division (GED) under the Planning Commission prepared the dynamic economic blueprint, designed to guide the nation "from fragility to prosperity".

According to the framework's indicator, the government wants to raise the investment-to-GDP ratio to 34.5 per cent within the current fiscal year.

The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data shows the ratio reduced to 27.93 per cent in FY26 from 28.54 per cent in FY25.

In addition, the government wants to grow the ratio to 40 per cent in FY31.

According to the target, the ratio would reach 35.6 per cent in FY28, 36.8 per cent in FY29, and 37.6 per cent in FY30.

Amid the ongoing austerity and low expenditure capacity of the government, the strategy paper has set a target to increase public investment by one percentage point to 5.6 per cent of GDP within this year from 4.6 per cent estimated in FY26.

It says, "Prudent macroeconomic policies, appropriate supply side measures, and political stability are expected to stabilise the macroeconomic imbalances and reduce vulnerabilities in the near term."

Consequently, real GDP growth is expected to rise from the recent 4.0 per cent to 6.5 per cent in FY27, while CPI inflation is expected to ease to 7.5 per cent, it also says.

Economic growth is projected to accelerate thereafter, reaching 8.5 per cent by the beginning of the next decade, while inflation is projected to decline to 5.0 per cent by FY31, adds the paper.

The GED claims the macroeconomic and sectoral growth projections are made using the dynamic CGE model.

The industry sector's contribution to growth has been steadily declining in recent years owing to the shocks and mismanagement described above, the paper says.

"This is projected to reverse in the acceleration phase of the strategy. Further, a stylised production function estimate finds that capital's contribution to economic growth has also become negative as private investment has ground to a halt because of economic disruptions."

As the economy stabilises and then accelerates, growth is projected to rely more on employment and total factor productivity than had been the case in the past, it adds.

Professor Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), tells the FE that he thinks the target is very ambitious and impossible to achieve.

"Bangladesh's business climate is traditionally very poor. Besides, the energy crisis has been added in recent months. So it is really difficult to achieve the target within a year."

Policy Exchange Bangladesh Chairman Dr Masrur Reaz says since the Bangladesh investment climate has not improved and lots of changes have been added in recent times, it is almost impossible to push the investment-to-GDP ratio up to 34.5 per cent.

The government should be realistic in its target and take immediate action to improve the business climate as well as tap more local and foreign investments, he adds.

According to the GED's five-year development strategy, the economic roadmap will be deployed across three strict, sequential operational phases.

The first two years will be treated as "Economic Recovery", where immediate policy prioritisation is directed at stabilising macroeconomic indicators, curbing inflationary pressures, resolving acute banking sector liquidity issues, and aggressively rebuilding depleted foreign exchange reserves.

In the third year, "Restoration & Transition" will be conducted, accelerating institutional banking reforms, modernising trade logistics, and jumpstarting private sector investments.

In the fourth and fifth years, the government would go for "Reconstruction & Acceleration", which will be the final phase and aimed at high-velocity, tech-led growth, absolute poverty reduction, and massive FDI penetration.

The Treasury's latest daily cash and debt balances statement showed total public debt outstanding at $40.047 trillion on ‌Tuesday, a total that includes Treasury securities held by the public of $32.266 trillion and intra-governmental debt holdings of $7.782 trillion.

The federal government's IOU has now more than doubled in less than a decade, from $19.95 trillion when President Donald Trump was sworn in for the first time in January 2017. Roughly one-third of that increase occurred during two years of frantic government borrowing to fund the Covid-19 pandemic responses undertaken by Trump and former President Joe Biden, while the fiscal policy choices of both presidents combined with long-running tax-and-spending imbalances account for the rest.

Budget watchdog groups have anticipated crossing the threshold ​for weeks and issued stark warnings that a full-blown debt crisis could erupt unless lawmakers confront an unsustainable fiscal outlook and raise taxes, cut spending or both.

"Forty trillion dollars of debt doesn’t exist solely on the government’s ledgers; ​it is felt throughout the economy and finds its way to the pocketbooks of people one way or another," said Maya MacGuineas, president of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible ⁠Federal Budget.

"The more we borrow, the more we exacerbate inflation, squeeze out other priorities in the budget, and leave ourselves vulnerable to emergencies at home and turmoil abroad," MacGuineas said in a statement just after the Treasury data was released.

She said the $40 ​trillion figure was reached less than five months after debt reached $39 trillion, and has quadrupled in less than 20 years after taking until 1981 to reach $1 trillion for the first time.

"It is staggering how predictable the fiscal decline of a global power ​can become," MacGuineas added.

Global US creditors may already be growing wary, with demand from foreign investors holding nearly one third of Treasuries declining over the past year.

Days after a $25-billion auction of 30-year Treasury bonds went off at the highest yield since 2021, yields on so-called long bonds on Tuesday hit their highest levels in nearly two decades as investors demanded greater compensation in the face of hefty US government bond issuance. Yields move inversely to bond prices.

On Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent took a bold step to push long bond yields back down, announcing a doubling of buyback sizes ​for 10- to 30-year Treasuries to at least $4 billion per operation.

Higher Treasury yields at the longer end tend to push up interest rates for mortgages, car and commercial loans. With the mountain of debt showing no signs of abating, Trump on Wednesday ​repeated his frequent demand for lower rates.

Asked at the White House whether Americans should worry about bond market volatility, Trump said: "I don't think so at all. I think we have a very powerful country, and we're powering through these ridiculous interest rates — they're ridiculous. Look, ‌when our country ⁠is strong, interest rates should go down."

PANDEMIC SPENDING, AND THEN SOME

The Treasury last week reported the fourth-highest monthly deficit in US history — $432 billion for July — as tariff refunds turned customs receipts negative for the third month in a row and outlays for Social Security and Medicare benefits for seniors continued to grow. The deficit for the first 10 months of fiscal 2026 has already exceeded the total gap for all of fiscal 2025 with two months to go in the current fiscal year.

Trump has largely ignored the dwindling number of fiscal hawks in his Republican Party, championing heavy spending across his two terms. Public debt rose by $7.8 trillion during Trump's first term, with more than half of it accumulating during the pandemic response over his last nine months in ​office.

Since Trump took office a second time in January 2025, the ​US debt load has increased by $3.8 trillion, for total ⁠growth of $11.6 trillion across his two terms so far.

Public debt increased by $8.4 trillion during Biden's term, also marked by heavy Covid-19 recovery spending, but driven as well by big-ticket outlays for infrastructure investment, clean energy subsidies and other priorities championed by his Democratic Party.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that the policy choices of Trump and Biden have increased the federal ​debt trajectory beyond what would have accumulated under the existing spending statutes when each took office.

For instance, Trump's landmark second-term legislative package — the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — will ​add another $4.7 trillion in debt, according ⁠to the Congressional Budget Office, the nonpartisan bookkeeper for federal lawmakers.

Trump has branded his second presidency as one focused on cost-cutting, marked by early federal agency job cuts ordered by the non-governmental Department of Government Efficiency. But much of his spending reductions have targeted so-called "discretionary" programmes, the smallest portion of the federal budget. The US spends roughly $7 trillion annually, and 60 per cent of it is earmarked for so-called "mandatory" programmes, including payments for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans' care, that generally grow to keep pace with living costs.

Another $1.1 trillion pays the interest ⁠on US borrowing, ​the cost of which rises as the debt pile grows and as interest rates climb. The 2025 fiscal-year budget marked the first time debt service ​costs exceeded Pentagon funding. In the first 10 months of the 2026 fiscal year, interest costs have eclipsed Medicare healthcare outlays to become the second-largest line item in the federal budget, behind the Social Security pension system.

The US is spending more to fund the retirement and healthcare costs of the "baby boom" ​generation, straining the trust funds behind Social Security and Medicare even as payroll and income tax revenues fall short of covering federal costs.

As Europe tightens its packaging rules, Vietnamese exporters are facing a new reality: what wraps a product may matter almost as much as what is inside. The European Union’s new requirements are forcing businesses to rethink packaging while opening the door to a more circular industry.

The EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) entered its general application phase on August 12, covering packaging placed on the EU market regardless of its material or country of origin.

For Vietnamese exporters, the rules mean that packaging can no longer simply be a protective layer around a product. Its design, recyclability, recycled content and chemical safety are increasingly be-coming part of the conditions for selling products in the bloc.

The impact could extend across Vietnam’s major export sectors, including food, seafood, coffee, cashew, textiles, footwear, electronics, cosmetics, wood and other consumer goods.

“The new regulation affects the entire production and export chain, from design for recycling and the use of recycled materials to traceability and the control of substances of concern,” said Nguyễn Thi, a lecturer at the Hà Nội University of Natural Resources and Environment.

The challenge comes as trade with the EU continues to expand. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnamese exports to the bloc exceeded US$56 billion in 2025, up 8.6 percent from a year earlier, while exports reached $25.78 billion in the first five months of 2026, up 13.3 percent year on year.

The PPWR introduces requirements covering food-contact packaging, sales packaging, grouped pack-aging and transport packaging.

From August 12, all packaging must comply with new limits on substances of concern, with particular attention to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in food-contact packaging.

This is particularly relevant to Vietnamese seafood exporters, which use food-contact packaging such as plastic trays, wrapping films and plastic bags. Companies will need to ensure that information on such content is available in the technical documentation for their packaging.

The PPWR establishes a phased transition, with technical requirements for recyclability and recycled content becoming progressively stricter over the coming years. From 2030, all packaging placed on the EU market will have to be designed to be recyclable.

Food-contact plastic packaging will have to contain at least 30 percent recycled plastic where PET is the main component and 10 percent for packaging made from other plastics such as polypropylene and polyethylene. The requirements will rise to 65 percent and 25 percent by 2040, respectively.

The PPWR also seeks to reduce unnecessary packaging. By 2030, manufacturers and importers will have to ensure that the weight and volume of packaging are reduced to the minimum necessary to perform its intended function. For grouped, transport and e-commerce packaging, the proportion of empty space will be limited to 50 percent.

Labelling requirements will also be introduced according to the PPWR’s implementation timetable, with harmonised information on packaging materials intended to help consumers sort waste.

The PPWR highlights a growing trend: to enter the EU market, goods will increasingly be judged not only by the product itself but by its entire life cycle, according to Thi.

The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement has given many Vietnamese products tariff advantages, but as tariffs fall, the bloc is steadily raising standards on environmental protection, emissions, traceability, the circular economy and supply chain responsibility.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has also said these green requirements are increasingly becoming an important condition for Vietnamese goods to maintain their foothold in the EU market as well as global markets.

Yet experts say the PPWR should not be viewed simply as another trade barrier but a wider shift in global trade in which environmental requirements are increasingly becoming conditions for market access.

Experts say that Vietnamese companies that invest early in recyclable packaging, recycled materials, traceability and circular production could gain an advantage not only in Europe but also in other devel-oped markets with similar environmental requirements.

Meeting these standards could create opportunities for businesses to expand into other markets, said Sita Zimpel, a project director at GIZ Vietnam, adding that this could turn compliance spending into longer-term investment in production efficiency and product differentiation.

The changes could also reshape Vietnam’s packaging industry, forcing it to move towards a more circu-lar model. Instead of producing packaging, using it and sending it to waste streams, companies would need to build stronger links among packaging manufacturers, waste collectors, recyclers and users of recycled materials.

Annie Trần, senior manager at Informa Markets Vietnam, said the packaging industry was at an im-portant transition point towards a more circular model as environmental requirements increasingly became mandatory conditions in international trade.

Businesses should regard changes in materials, standardised design, greater recycling and circular sup-ply chains as long-term development strategies rather than merely a way to comply with regulations, she said.

She stressed that this could create opportunities for investment in food-grade recycled plastics, recy-cling technology, testing and certification, waste sorting and collection, and new packaging materials.

However, Nguyễn Ngọc Sang, chairman of the Vietnam Packaging Association, said domestic packaging producers were of small and medium sizes with limited capacity for investment.

Policymaking should therefore provide an appropriate roadmap, particularly as Vietnam still lacks spe-cialised research centres for the packaging industry, he said.

One of the biggest challenges for Vietnamese companies is likely to be the supply of recycled material that meets EU standards.

According to Thi, Vietnam does not yet have a fully developed system of standards for food-grade re-cycled plastic, while domestic testing and certification capacity remains limited.

Food-grade recycled PET, or rPET, is particularly challenging because recycled material must meet stringent safety requirements before it can be used in packaging that comes into direct contact with food.

The problem starts with the quality of collected waste. Trần Đức, head of external affairs at Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam, said the quality of recovered plastic remained unstable because waste collection relies heavily on informal collectors.

For PET bottles, impurities can account for 40-70 percent of recovered material depending on the batch, making bottle-to-bottle recycling more difficult and increasing production costs compared with virgin plastic.

That created a potential mismatch between the EU’s growing demand for recycled materials and Vi-etnam’s ability to supply them at the required quality and cost, he said.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, packaging commonly used in seafood exports, including plastic bags, trays, boxes, cardboard cartons, plastic pallets and wrapping films, falls within the scope of the PPWR.

Companies will therefore need to review their packaging systems, prepare documentation demon-strating compliance and keep pace with technical guidance from the EU.

Vietnam is developing its own packaging regulatory framework through extended producer responsi-bility (EPR), recycling obligations, financial contributions for waste treatment and measures to reduce difficult-to-degrade plastic products.

Nguyễn Văn Phan from EPR Vietnam Office under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, said the framework would not only improve the implementation of EPR in Vietnam but also help business-es gradually meet increasingly stringent requirements in international markets, particularly the EU’s new rules on packaging and the circular economy.

Experts say faster development of standards for food-grade recycled plastic, testing capacity, waste collection and sorting infrastructure and a reliable market for recycled materials will be critical to help-ing Vietnamese companies adapt.

The broader challenge is whether Vietnam can build the industrial ecosystem needed to compete in a global economy where sustainability is becoming a condition of market access.

For exporters, early preparation will be equally important.

Companies would need to audit their existing packaging, identify materials and chemicals that may pose compliance risks, work with suppliers to develop recyclable alternatives and prepare technical documentation to ensure compliance, Thi said.

The government has taken up a Tk683 crore project to provide freelancing training to more than 51,000 unemployed and job-seeking youths in 13 metropolitan cities, aiming to create employment opportunities and foster new entrepreneurs.

The Department of Youth Development has prepared a Development Project Proposal "Creating Employment through Freelancing Training for Unemployed Youths in All Metropolitan Cities."

Under the proposed project, which has already been sent to the Planning Commission for approval and will run from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2031, young men and women will receive demand-driven freelancing training to help them earn income from both domestic and international markets.

According to the proposal, the initiative aims to reduce unemployment in metropolitan areas and increase young people's self-reliance by equipping them with the skills needed to work on international and local online marketplaces.

At least 60-70% of trainees are expected to engage in income-generating activities after completing the training.

The training will cover practical skills such as working on online marketplaces, creating professional profiles and portfolios, bidding for jobs, communicating with clients and managing assignments. The target is for trainees to start earning within three to six months of completing the course.

Participants will receive certificates, job linkages, mentorship and follow-up support to help them establish sustainable careers. The project aims to keep the dropout rate below 20%.

Where necessary, trainees will also receive technological assistance, including laptops or other equipment, enabling them to start working immediately after completing their training.

The project also plans to develop a strong network of freelancers in the long term, allowing experienced workers to support newcomers and helping create a sustainable digital employment ecosystem.

Low-income and marginalised youths and women will receive priority under the project, with a target of ensuring 30-40% female participation.

A functional freelancing model will first be developed in Dhaka city, which could later be replicated in other cities and districts.

Priyasindhu Talukder, director (Training) of the Department of Youth Development, said the domestic job market has limited opportunities, while freelancing gives young people access to the global market.

"Through online work, it is possible to get jobs from both domestic and foreign clients," he said.

The director said Bangladesh's relatively low cost of living gives its freelancers a competitive advantage, allowing them to offer services at competitive rates to international clients.

"For this reason, the government is giving special importance to freelancing training at the city corporation level," he said, adding that metropolitan areas host young people from almost every district of the country.

"Students and young people from different districts come to live in cities such as Dhaka, Chattogram and Rajshahi. So, providing training in these cities will make the initiative more effective," he added.

According to Talukder, freelancing training is not a new initiative of the government. The programme initially started in 16 districts, was gradually expanded to 48 districts and is now available in all 64 districts.

He said freelancing also allows Bangladeshi workers to work with foreign clients without needing a visa or passport, making the initiative particularly relevant.

Educational qualifications will not be the primary criterion for selection, he said. Basic computer knowledge and the ability to learn will be more important.

The proposed course will generally run for three months and include two levels, basic and advanced. Trainees who perform well will be promoted to the advanced level.

However, training alone will not guarantee success, Talukder said, stressing that participants must have interest, concentration and dedication to succeed.

The project document says Bangladesh is currently benefiting from a demographic dividend, with a large share of its population in the working-age group. But the opportunity is time-bound and may begin to decline between 2033 and 2040, according to experts.

It is therefore essential to turn the country's large youth population into skilled human resources before the demographic dividend fades, the document says.

According to the latest Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) Labour Force Survey, the country's unemployment rate is around 4.63%, with the number of unemployed people estimated at 2.7-2.74 million. A significant portion of the unemployed are young people.

Meanwhile, the global economy is rapidly moving towards digital employment. The global gig economy and freelancing market is estimated at around $455 billion and continues to expand, with strong demand for services such as graphic design, digital marketing, web development, content creation and data processing.

The 13 metropolitan cities covered by the project are Dhaka North, Dhaka South, Chattogram, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Khulna, Rajshahi, Bogura, Sylhet, Rangpur, Barishal, Cumilla and Mymensingh.

These cities are major centres of economic activity and employment, and the project seeks to leverage their concentration of young people to expand access to digital employment.

Bangladesh needs a medicine pricing system that keeps essential drugs affordable for patients while allowing local manufacturers to produce them profitably, experts and industry representatives said at a webinar yesterday.

They said the existing system has failed to keep pace with rising production costs, making some essential medicines commercially unviable and contributing to shortages. At the same time, patients are bearing most healthcare costs themselves.

The comments came at a webinar titled “Medicine Price: Arguments and Way Forward”, organised by the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC).

The discussion followed the government’s decision on August 3 to cancel the Essential Medicines List 2026 and Medicine Pricing Method 2026 prepared by the interim government. Until a new list is prepared, the government will follow the 1994 essential medicines list and pricing system.

The interim government had added 135 medicines to the essential list in January, taking the total to 295, following a taskforce recommendation. It also decided to fix prices for all essential medicines to make them more affordable.

After coming to power following the February polls, the BNP government formed a National Drug Advisory Council in June. The council was tasked with advising on the National Drug Policy, preparing a new essential drug list and updating it every two years, and developing the pharmaceutical sector to ensure the availability of essential medicines.

OUTDATED PRICES HURTING SUPPLY

Sayed Abdul Hamid, a professor at the Institute of Health Economics at the University of Dhaka, said the problem with Bangladesh’s essential medicine pricing system dates back decades.

In 1994, prices of 117 essential medicines were fixed using a cost-plus-markup formula covering raw materials, packaging, production, taxes, utilities and profit. But the prices were not regularly reviewed as production costs increased.

Some companies have since stopped producing certain essential medicines, while others continue to make them by using profits from other products to cover losses, he said.

Sayed called for an independent, data-driven authority to review prices regularly using reliable cost information.

Rumana Huque, a professor of economics at the University of Dhaka, said the stakes are high because Bangladeshis spend more than Tk 37,000 crore on medicines each year. Patients pay around Tk 35,000 crore of that amount directly, according to National Health Accounts data.

Government hospitals often run out of medicines within the first 10 to 20 days of a month, forcing patients to buy them from private pharmacies, she said. The problem is more serious in urban areas, where access to free medicines is limited.

Rumana also pointed to widespread self-medication and a lack of reliable data on import costs, manufacturing, distribution, wholesale and retail margins, and promotional expenses. Without such information, it is difficult to identify where costs and profits build up along the supply chain and regulate prices fairly, she said.

Kaiser Kabir, chief executive officer of Renata Limited, said strong competition and a relatively short supply chain have made Bangladesh’s medicine prices among the lowest in the world.

But that does not mean costly medicines are affordable for patients with chronic or serious illnesses.

A locally produced cancer medicine, for example, may cost around Tk 500 per tablet, compared with about Tk 30,000 for an imported version. Even the local price can be unaffordable for patients who need the medicine regularly, he said.

Instead of imposing blanket price controls, Kaiser suggested that the government directly procure expensive essential medicines and provide them free or at subsidised prices.

CALLS FOR TRANSPARENCY AND REFORM

Supreme Court advocate Jyotirmoy Barua questioned the transparency of the pricing system.

He said the government’s much-discussed pricing policy was never formally published, while the list of 117 medicines under the current framework has also not been gazetted.

The 1982 Drug Control Ordinance gave the government authority to set maximum medicine prices through gazette notifications. However, Jyotirmoy said the 2023 Drugs and Cosmetics Act appears to have limited that authority to medicines included in a government-published list.

He cited an example of a 50-tablet pack, without naming the medicine. A pack produced in August 2024 had a maximum retail price of Tk 600, while the same medicine produced a month later was priced at Tk 1,000.

“The issue is not about keeping prices frozen, but ensuring that every increase has a clear and accountable basis,” he said.

Mujshtuo Husain, an adviser at the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research, said cancelling the February gazette on essential medicine pricing was a step in the wrong direction.

He said the revised system was better than the 1994 framework because it allowed the essential medicine list to be expanded and prices to be adjusted gradually to market conditions over four years.

Any concerns about the formula could have been addressed through consultations with manufacturers, consumers and other stakeholders, he said.

M Mosaddek Hossain, senior vice-president of the Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceuticals Industries, said local manufacturers now meet around 98 percent of the country’s medicine demand, including medicines for cancer, tuberculosis, malaria and HIV/AIDS.

However, stagnant prices have made some essential products commercially unviable, he said, citing shortages of Monocard 10mg.

He called for a joint review of the pricing formula based on affordability, quality, availability and the long-term sustainability of the pharmaceutical industry.

Moderating the webinar, PPRC Executive Director Hossain Zillur Rahman said the lack of comprehensive health insurance means most healthcare costs are paid directly by patients.

He said policymakers need to address four issues together: reducing patients’ financial burden, keeping the domestic pharmaceutical industry viable, developing an appropriate pricing formula, and ensuring the government fulfils its responsibility to make healthcare affordable, particularly for poorer people.

Exceptionally low river levels in Europe hit hard by drought and record heat have plunged transporters into turmoil this summer, driving up costs that everyday consumers could end up bearing.

Major rivers on the planet’s fastest-warming continent, including the Rhine and Danube, have sustained water shortages that scientists directly link to climate change.

The situation is especially critical in Germany on the Rhine, the core of the European inland waterway transport network.

“The situation is unprecedented,” a spokesperson for Maersk, the Danish shipping giant, told AFP. “Today, most of the inland ports along the Rhine cannot be reached by barge anymore.”

Clecat, a European association that represents freight forwarders, agreed that the “most acute disruption has been on the Rhine”.

It said that at Kaub, a critical bottleneck for traffic on the river, the water gauge fell to around six centimetres (2.4 inches) on August 14, below the previous record low of 25 centimetres in 2018.

“The effects are being felt along the major industrial corridor from Rotterdam”, Clecat said, adding that “Conditions are also severe on parts of the Danube, particularly in Serbia, Hungary and Romania”.

One workaround for logistics operators is to move as much cargo off rivers as they can to trains or trucks.

“The aim is to... keep the distances travelled on the Rhine as short as possible,” transport company Contargo told AFP.

But the opportunities for rail and road transport are limited.

Jean-Laurent Kistler, development director at the French waterways authority (VNF) in Strasbourg, where the Rhine forms the border with Germany, estimated that transporting the load of a single barge required “100 to 200 trucks”.

But many products transported in bulk -- such as chemicals, hydrocarbons, construction materials or grain -- are not easily transferred to containers. VNF Strasbourg says the load carried by ships on the Rhine fell from an average of 1,500 tonnes to just 400 tonnes in August.

The Clecat association noted the low river levels had already resulted in “higher transport costs, delays, postponed shipments and reduced production flexibility”.

“The ships have to sail with lighter loads than usual to have less draught,” said Alexandre Charpentier, transport specialist at the consulting firm Roland Berger, referring to how deep a vessel sits in the water.

“With fixed costs remaining the same, this leads to very significant unit cost increases,” he said. Operators pass on the resulting costs by applying low-water surcharges, which they introduce progressively if river levels keep falling.

These costs have reached more than 1,000 euros ($1,170) in surcharges per container at the most strained points, such as Kaub or Cologne, according to Contargo’s rates.

“It can quickly double for container freight” and “be even more drastic for bulk cargo”, said Pierre Cossart, director of Sogestran Logistics.

COSTS PASSED ON?

According to Clecat, “whether higher logistics costs translate materially into consumer prices depends on the duration of the disruption, the commodity and companies’ ability to absorb or pass on costs”.

But it noted that “For many bulk commodities, transport is an important component of the delivered price, so sustained increases will ultimately be felt further down the supply chain.”

Charpentier said it was too early to forecast eventual price increases for consumers, but warned that the extra costs were difficult to absorb in full.

With drought episodes only expected to increase, operators are banking on better-suited vessels and greater intermodality, or the added use of trains and trucks.

But resilience also comes from water management, according to the VNF’s Kistler.

While France has built a series of reservoirs and diversion channels along its portion of the Rhine to manage the flows, on the German side the river runs freely and is highly dependent on rainfall.

“We went from 10 ships a day to 25 (on Wednesday), 14 of them loaded,” said Kistler, adding that it was “still far from the optimal load”.

Bangladesh plans to launch a US$2.0-billion fund in Hong Kong for equity investment in the country's businesses and projects to diversify financing and reduce reliance on conventional borrowing.
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Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury unveiled the plan on Saturday, explaining that the proposed Bangladesh-dedicated fund would provide equity rather than loans, meaning it would not create a direct debt obligation for the government.

"We are going to have a dedicated fund for Bangladesh in Hong Kong. It will be a $2.0 billion worth of Bangladesh-dedicated fund. This is equity and not a loan," he said at a seminar organised by Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) in Dhaka.

The seminar, titled 'Biannual Economic State in FY2026: Fiscal & Monetary Perspective and Private-Sector Expectations', brought together policymakers, economists, bankers and business leaders.

The proposed fund is part of a broader effort to widen Bangladesh's access to international capital as the government seeks to ease pressure on domestic-financing sources and create more room for private-sector borrowing.

Mr. Khosru said Bangladesh was also considering issuing dollar, panda and samurai bonds to tap different international capital markets.

"We want to go for dollar bonds. We will go for panda bonds and samurai bonds," he said.

The government has already reduced its reliance on bank borrowing to some extent, but the shift would take time, he told his business audience.

"We have already brought down bank borrowing somewhat. But, the process will take time. We are moving in that direction."

The finance minister said reviving Bangladesh's capital market is central to the government's strategy to develop alternative sources of finance.

He said the market has effectively stopped functioning as a reliable source of long-term capital for an extended period, limiting companies' ability to raise funds outside the banking system.

"As there was virtually no functioning capital market in Bangladesh for quite some time, we are trying to revive it as one of the alternative sources of financing."

The government has overhauled the regulatory leadership of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, appointing a chairman and four commissioners through what Mr. Khosru described as a transparent selection process.

He said investor confidence was beginning to return, although the market has not yet fully recovered.

"I won't say that the capital market has recovered completely, but confidence is coming back. The market is gaining ground and moving upward."

He said restoring investor confidence alone, however, would not be sufficient. Companies must also believe that the market is credible enough to raise capital through listings.

"Good companies will come for listing only when they have confidence in the market."

Mr. Khosru criticised the previous state of the market, saying that it had become akin to a "casino" in which ordinary investors could lose money while a small group of participants benefited.

The government was seeking to replace that culture with greater transparency, professionalism and institutional governance, he said.

Mr. Khosru said the government did not intend to increase the tax burden on existing taxpayers but wanted to expand the tax base.

"When we talk about increasing taxes, we are not talking about increasing taxes on those who are already paying. We are trying to expand the network."

Automation of tax administration would be important in achieving that goal. Reducing direct interaction between taxpayers and tax officials could improve transparency and limit opportunities for corruption, he said.

The minister also said the government was working to remove regulatory barriers and planned to establish a committee and dedicated website through which businesses could report obstacles to deregulation.

Customs and port procedures would be made more time-bound to reduce business costs and speed up import clearance.

"We are not leaving anything open-ended. Every decision of this government is time-bound," he said.

The government was also reviewing the work of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics to improve the credibility of economic data.

Mr. Khosru admitted that the government faced a difficult energy situation and that electricity and gas shortages could not be resolved immediately.

Negotiations were under way for two or more floating storage and regasification units, while efforts were also being made to increase gas reserves.

He noted the government had inherited energy reserves equivalent to only about 15-17 days but had increased them to roughly one month, with a longer-term target of three months.

"The energy crisis will improve slowly. It will improve, but slowly," he said.

The government has introduced measures for businesses affected by circumstances beyond their control, including rescheduling facilities, grace periods and exit option.

He also referred to a Tk600 -billion financing package for small and midsize enterprises, saying that lending would be based on eligibility rather than political influence.

"Those who fulfil the criteria will receive the loans. There will be no political influence in giving loans," he said.

The government also wants to bring artisans, cottage industries, sports, entertainment, theatre, music and other creative activities into the mainstream economy under its concept of "democratisation of the economy".

Support would include credits, skills development, design, branding and marketing, including access to global online marketplaces.

Mr. Khosru said raising the tax-to-GDP ratio is necessary to create fiscal space for welfare, infrastructure, business support and subsidies.

He also said the government had managed to turn around the economy despite inheriting difficult conditions.

"Bangladesh has been unfortunate that whenever the BNP comes to power, it inherits the country at a time when the economy is in a devastated condition," he said.

ICC Bangladesh President Mahbubur Rahman, who was special guest at the event, said inflation remained above the desired level and called for stronger private-sector confidence, competitiveness and a predictable investment environment.

Mr. Rahman said that as Bangladesh enters fiscal year 2027, the economy remains resilient despite the slower growth, persistent inflation, weak private investment, banking-sector stress and global uncertainty.

DCCI President Taskeen Ahmed, in his keynote presentation, said global economic growth in 2026 was projected at 3.1 per cent amid trade barriers, the Middle East crisis, supply-chain disruptions, higher energy prices and rising transport costs.

These pressures were weighing on investment, business and trade.

He highlighted budget measures, including digitising company registration to complete the process within 48 hours, extending bonded-warehouse facilities for the leather, footwear and home-textile sectors, providing duty-free benefits to 10 new sectors, expanding tax automation and speeding up customs procedures.

PPRC Executive Chairman and BRAC Chairman Hossain Zillur Rahman said the economy was at a critical juncture.

He proposed an "Economic Reform Acceleration Unit" to monitor implementation of economic reforms.

PRI Chairman Zaidi Sattar said Bangladesh faced a significant gap between policy formulation and implementation.

He also criticised restrictive import policies and high tariffs, saying they contributed to higher domestic prices and inflation.

He urges the government to formulate and implement strategies within the remaining timeframe before Bangladesh's graduation from least-developed-country status.

CPD distinguished Fellow Mustafizur Rahman said a "revolution" in tax collection was needed to finance the Annual Development Programme and questioned the likelihood of meeting the revenue target in the national budget.

He also called for monetary-policy reforms and greater caution in taking foreign loans and managing debt repayments.

BIDS Director-General Dr. A K Enamul Haque said prolonged high inflation was particularly concerning for a remittance-dependent economy amid global uncertainty.

He called for greater banking-sector liquidity and a more business-friendly environment.

Dr. Haque said that the inflation globally so far predicted that will not be contained on many grounds including supply -chain bottlenecks.

Transcom Group CEO Simeen Rahman said budget measures had yet to restore the desired momentum in private-sector activity, with small and medium-sized enterprises among the hardest hit.

She urges improvements in ports, customs and logistics.

Mutual Trust Bank Managing Director and CEO Syed Mahbubur Rahman called for closer coordination between monetary and fiscal policies, greater tax digitisation and investment in skilled workers.

DCCI President Taskeen Ahmed delivered the welcome remarks, former DCCI presidents including Abul Kasem Khan and Rizwan Rahman also spoke, among others.

DCCI senior vice-president Razeev H Chowdhury, vice-president Md Salem Sulaiman, board members and public- and private-sector representatives attended the seminar.

The ongoing energy crisis is no longer affecting just the power-intensive industries, but creating risk factors across all sectors, businesses said yesterday, calling for swift steps.

Gas shortages, high fuel costs and unreliable supplies are disrupting production and investment, they said at a seminar “Biannual Economic State in FY2026”, organised by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) at its auditorium in Dhaka.
Gas shortages are delaying industrial projects, raising manufacturing costs and creating risks for sectors ranging from pharmaceuticals and garments to ICT and small businesses, said DCCI President Taskeen Ahmed.

Presenting the keynote paper, he warned that the energy crunch is no longer confined to power-intensive industries.

Citing the Munshiganj Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Industrial Park as an example, he said gas supply constraints are continuing to delay production at the park despite plots having already been allocated to 27 companies.

His remarks continue a months-long pattern of escalating DCCI warnings on the energy crisis. Speaking to The Daily Star on 21 August, he estimated that Bangladesh’s energy crisis is costing the industrial sector up to Tk 2,387 crore a day in lost economic output as factories continue to face supply disruptions.

The DCCI, in the keynote paper, recommended ensuring gas connections or alternative energy sources, along with an operational central effluent treatment plant and other essential infrastructure, to make the industrial park fully functional.

Uninterrupted gas and electricity supplies to industrial zones are essential for reducing production costs and ensuring factories can meet increasingly demanding manufacturing timelines, it said.

The chamber also noted that CMSMEs are bearing the cost of dependence on fossil fuels, and recommended financing rooftop solar installations and energy-efficient machinery to reduce their exposure to rising fuel costs.

It also called on authorities to accelerate these efforts while attracting stronger domestic and international participation in the revised offshore bidding round. It also called for diversifying energy import sources to cushion the economy against external supply and price shocks.

Also speaking at the event, Transcom Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Simeen Rahman said uncertainty and disruptions in energy supply have become a major problem for industries across the board.

“We are seeing our production costs rise on a daily basis — costs that none of us had calculated in our annual operating plans. This is directly affecting our bottom line and making companies increasingly vulnerable,” she said.

Higher utility costs are also driving up production costs, while rising raw material prices and operating expenses are adding further pressure, she added.

The Transcom CEO noted that despite a business-friendly budget, private-sector growth faces high interest rates, costly borrowing, persistent inflation, weak confidence, rising non-performing loans and tighter bank lending, constraining investment, expansion and employment.

Consequently, Bangladesh’s global competitiveness is being eroded, she said.

Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said the issue of the energy sector is a huge problem for the government.

He said, “We are introducing so many policies, carrying out so many reforms, doing so much deregulation, and providing all the support needed to make the private sector-friendly.

“But we cannot solve the electricity and gas problem in one day. This is a problem that we have inherited. And solving the electricity and gas problem will take time.”

He said despite mobilising all the resources and making every possible effort, the government is failing to fully control this timeframe.

The government is looking at what could be done as a stopgap measure in the short term, as well as what could be done in the medium and long term.
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Earlier this month, the minister had said it would take at least two years to fully fix the power and gas shortages.

At yesterday’s seminar, he said the government is negotiating with multiple Floating Storage and Regasification Units (FSRUs) simultaneously.

However, he said securing FSRUs would not immediately solve the gas shortage, as the units must first be negotiated, brought to Bangladesh and installed, with several other steps involved in the process

“At the same time, we are also starting work on shore-based gas reserves. Similarly, for oil, we want to ensure a three-month reserve across the energy sector,” said the minister.

He stated that the government inherited dangerously low energy reserves, some below 15 days, but has raised them to one month and aims to reach three months.

“We are trying to do it in the fastest possible way. The energy crisis will improve slowly. It will improve, but it will improve slowly. And I know the damage this is causing to industry; that goes without saying,” he said.

“Because of the war in the Middle East, our fiscal space has reached a very difficult position. Because of the higher prices, particularly the high cost of fuel, we are already taking a hit of $5 billion,” he added.

Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairman at Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), said the country’s economy is at a critical juncture.

He noted that if the right decisions are taken at this stage, the economy could gain the desired momentum; otherwise, there is a risk of falling further behind.

He observed that harassment in various areas of the economy has evolved into a negative structural issue, preventing reform initiatives from delivering the desired results.

He stressed that the government must pay due attention to this issue and that reducing such harassment is essential for expanding the tax net.

Mahbubur Rahman, president of the International Chamber of Commerce Bangladesh, said in the current fiscal year, inflation has not yet declined to the desired level, while private-sector credit growth remains at its lowest level in many years.

Investment has remained stagnant and the industrial sector has been unable to operate at full capacity.

He said that high interest rates, rising production and import costs, exchange-rate volatility and uncertainty over energy supplies have significantly increased the cost of doing business.

Zaidi Sattar, chairman, Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh, said there is a significant gap between policy formulation and implementation in Bangladesh, resulting in the country failing to achieve the desired benefits.

He said that while Bangladesh maintains relatively liberal policies for export product and market diversification, its policies on imports remain restrictive, with high tariff rates contributing to higher domestic inflation and increased prices of goods.

He also called for the formulation and implementation of appropriate strategies within the available timeframe for Bangladesh’s LDC graduation.

Professor Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow at Centre for Policy Dialogue, said that a revolution in tax collection is essential for implementing the Annual Development Programme, while there is very little possibility of achieving the revenue collection target set in the national budget.

Bangladesh has sought US$ 5.3 billion in financing from the World Bank to build MRT Line-2, its proposed fifth metro rail line, as the government moves to secure external funding for the major transport project.
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The Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges (MoRT&B) has recently sent a preliminary development project proposal (PDPP) to the Planning Commission, seeking approval and confirmation of overseas financing for the project, officials said.

"We have started work to build Dhaka's fifth metro line, for which Tk 650 billion (US$ 5.3 billion) in investment will be required," said an official at the MoRT&B.

A preliminary development project proposal (PDPP) has been sent to the Planning Commission (PC) for approval and confirmation of overseas financing, he added.

"We have received the PDPP from the ministry. The proposal has been scrutinised. It will be sent to the Economic Relations Division (ERD) next week to obtain confirmation of external financing," said Kabir Ahmed, Chief of the PC, last week.

He said the proposed MRT-2 is a very important transport line as it will cover Old Dhaka, which is densely populated and a major commercial area.

The MRT Line-2, to be built between the capital's Gabtoli and Narayanganj, will require around Tk650 billion in funding, with the World Bank having already shown interest in financing the project, another MoRT&B official said.

The World Bank last year provided technical assistance to the government for conducting feasibility and detailed-design studies for the long-proposed MRT Line-2, he added.

The ministry official said the World Bank had recently met with them and made a presentation on financing the MRT-2 project. "We have requested the global lender to finance the $5.3 billion project," the ministry official said.

Another development partner, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), has also shown interest and met with officials in the middle of this month.

"Since the project will require nearly $5.3 billion in funding, we may even prefer a co-financing arrangement with the World Bank," he added.

An ERD official said the World Bank had already provided a grant of US$2.5 million to Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) for pre-construction studies on MRT Line-2, planned to run from Gabtoli to Narayanganj.

The proposed 35-kilometre line would pass through Gabtoli, Dhaka Udyan, Mohammadpur, Jhigatola, Science Laboratory, New Market, Azimpur, Palashi, Dhaka Medical College, Gulistan, Motijheel, Kamalapur, Manda, Dakhingaon, Dhamripara, Signboard, Bhuighar and Jalkuri before reaching Narayanganj.

A spur line branching off from Gulistan to Sadarghat is also being considered, although its feasibility has yet to be explored.

Meanwhile, the DMTCL is working to prepare the feasibility study and detailed design for the MRT-2 line.

ERD officials said this would be the World Bank's first involvement in Bangladesh's mass rapid transit (MRT) infrastructure development after a long hiatus since the Washington-based lender withdrew from funding development in the country's road and communications sector.

The lender suspended funding for the country's transport sector more than a decade ago, citing corruption and mismanagement by relevant government authorities.

Japan, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and South Korea are already involved in mass rapid transit projects in Bangladesh.

Officials said Wednesday that the World Bank had recently agreed to provide technical assistance to the government to conduct feasibility and detailed-design studies for the long-proposed MRT Line-2.

According to DMTCL estimates, construction of MRT Line-2 may cost around Tk650 billion, a figure that will be refined after completion of the feasibility study and detailed design.

The government formed DMTCL in July 2013 to build and operate metro rail services, and the company has since adopted a time-bound action plan to construct a 140-kilometre metro rail network comprising six lines across Dhaka by 2030, aiming to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution.

Currently, MRT Line-6, funded by Japan, is operational between Uttara and Motijheel, with an extension to Kamalapur expected to open by the end of 2026.

DMTCL is now working to build MRT-1, MRT-5 North and MRT-5 South with financial assistance from Japan and the ADB.