Energypac with JAC to lead automobile industry

In 2024, Bangladesh’s vehicle market shrank to its lowest in a decade amid soaring costs, strict foreign currency controls, and declining purchasing power. Only 308,000 vehicles were registered, a sharp drop from previous years.

Bangladesh has registered only 396 electric vehicles (EVs) since allowing registration in 2020, with most being motorcycles (243), followed by 94 hard jeeps, 54 private cars, three microbuses, and one delivery van and auto-rickshaw each.

Sales of heavy-duty trucks and covered vans rebounded in 2024, driven by pent-up demand and fleet replacement cycles, despite economic uncertainties. According to BRTA data, covered van registrations increased by 57% to 2,949 in 2024 from 1,874 in 2023, while truck registrations grew 16.5% to 2,671 from 2,292.

Standard Chartered Bangladesh and Ispahani Islamia Eye Institute & Hospital (IIEI&H) have partnered to establish 71 Eye Health Camps for adults and 1,667 Student Sight Testing Programmes (SSTP) for school children, according to UNB. This initiative will benefit 10,000 adults in Dhaka and 250,000 students across Naogaon, Jamalpur, Barishal, Borguna, and Moulvibazar.

Midland Bank PLC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with "Easy to Europe" and "TripZik Limited" at the bank’s head office. Under this agreement, both organizations will utilize Midland Bank’s advanced online Cash Management solution, Midland Cash Management (MCM), to streamline their daily business banking and cash management activities across the country.

Trust Bank PLC has signed a strategic agreement with bKash Limited to offer payroll banking services for bKash employees. The agreement was signed by Mahboob Hossain, senior executive vice-president of Trust Bank, and Mohammed Ferdous Yusuf, chief human resources officer of bKash, at the bank’s head office in Dhaka, according to a press release.