Walton’s Profit Increased by 79%

Bangladesh Bank (BB) has asked 13 banks, including BRAC Bank, Islami Bank Bangladesh, and Shahjalal Islami Bank, to explain by December 22 why they are offering unusually high US dollar rates to foreign exchange houses, with rates reaching Tk 127–128 against the official interbank rate of Tk 120.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) discovered that British American Tobacco (BAT) Bangladesh Limited evaded Tk 379 crore in value-added tax (VAT) over the past four fiscal years. An investigation by the NBR's Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU-VAT) revealed that BAT sold products at higher prices than reported without paying corresponding higher taxes.

Mitsui & Co., one of Japan's largest general trading companies, has acquired an 18.5% stake in Bangladesh's ACI Motors Limited for $22.75 million through its Singaporean subsidiary. The investment, received as foreign direct investment, aims to leverage Mitsui's global network to help ACI Motors expand internationally and diversify its product range to include rice processing equipment and electric and passenger vehicles.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines reported a net profit of Tk 2.82 billion for FY 2023-24, with total revenue of Tk 105.75 billion. The announcement followed Biman's Annual General Meeting, chaired by Board Chairman Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury.

State-owned Janata Bank has sought Tk10,000 crore in liquidity support from Bangladesh Bank to stabilise its cash flow amid rising withdrawal pressure and a worsening liquidity crisis. Janata Bank's Managing Director, Md Mazibur Rahman, stated that the five-year loan at 4% interest would improve its financial position.

Writing off bad debts behind negative equity is crucial to resolving a decade-long issue affecting market growth. Despite repeated time extensions, market intermediaries have failed to meet provisioning requirements against unrealized losses in margin accounts.