Govt’s Increasing Reliance on Banks to Finance Budget Deficit

MJL Bangladesh PLC, a prominent lubricant marketer, plans a Tk 350 crore ($32.5 million) investment in acquiring a new LPG tanker with an 11,000 cubic meters capacity. The board of directors, in a joint venture with East Coast Group and Jamuna Oil Ltd, approved the purchase, allocating an additional $1.50 million for various associated expenses.

Bangladesh's leather sector aims to boost exports through upgrading the central effluent treatment plant (CETP) in Dhaka's tannery industrial estate. Currently, only five out of approximately 200 tanneries have obtained Leather Working Group (LWG) certification, crucial for market access to Europe, the US, and select Asian countries.

The excess liquidity of five Shariah-based banks, allegedly affiliated with Chattogram's S Alam Group, reached a negative Tk 3,491 crore in September 2023, according to a Bangladesh Bank report. Islami Bank Bangladesh, Social Islami Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Global Islami Bank, and Union Bank reported negative excess liquidity figures.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has initiated a program to comprehend and invest in adaptation to heat stress impacts on women and girls in Asia and the Pacific. The technical assistance program will research how heat stress affects women, identifying policies, actions, and investments to mitigate impacts.

Bangladesh Bank is extending liquidity support to struggling commercial and Islamic banks, providing repo support to commercial banks and special liquidity assistance to Shariah-based Islamic banks. In November 2023, the central bank provided the highest liquidity support of Tk 23,941 crore on November 22.

Chattogram experienced a turnaround in November with a 7.11% surge in export container handling, reaching 57,560 TEUs, and a 3.59% increase in import containers, totaling 1,07,363 TEUs. This positive trend follows months of decline and signals a potential strong year-end performance for the port.