Business

Traffic pressure on the Jamuna Bridge and the Dhaka-Tangail Highway has increased significantly as people from Dhaka and surrounding industrial areas head to their hometowns in North Bengal ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. The Jamuna Bridge authority said that from 12:00 am Friday to 12:00 am Saturday (May 23), a total of 32,649 vehicles crossed the bridge. Among them, 16,753 vehicles travelled ...

Eid-ul-Azha is fast approaching, bringing with it a surge in festive economic activity. It is estimated that transactions worth nearly Tk 100,000 crore take place around the festival. However, while most sectors enjoy strong business momentum during Eid, the leather industry once again finds itself in a struggling and vulnerable position. Prices of leather products have increased significantly over the ...

Bangladesh Bank has announced a Tk60,000-crore stimulus package aimed at reviving closed and struggling factories to support production, exports, private sector growth, and employment amid ongoing economic challenges. Of the total package, Tk41,000 crore will be used for refinancing facilities to help reopen factories, while the central bank will provide Tk19,000 crore from its own fund, Governor Md Mostaqur Rahman ...

Human resource professionals, policymakers, academics and industry leaders on Friday stressed the need for greater investment in skilled human resources to support Bangladesh’s long-term economic growth and competitiveness. Eastern University, in collaboration with the Federation of Bangladesh Human Resource Organizations (FBHRO), organised a pre-budget roundtable discussion at the university’s Dhanmondi campus in the capital. Planning State Minister Zonayed Saki attended ...

Gold prices in the country have decreased ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. The price of 22-carat gold has been reduced by Tk2,158 per bhori, setting the new rate at Tk 235,963 per bhori. The new pricing decision was announced by the Bangladesh Jewellers Association in a statement issued on Saturday (23 May). The revised prices came into effect from 10:00 am on ...

UK public sector borrowing last month hit the highest total for April since the Covid pandemic in 2020, highlighting the challenges facing the government. Borrowing, the difference between spending and income from taxes, was £24.3bn last month, official figures showed, which was up £4.9bn from a year earlier and higher than expected. Separate data showed retail sales volumes fell in ...

Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters apologised for the upset caused to staff by his remarks about artificial intelligence replacing “lower value” human workers, but stopped short of retracting the comments on Friday. Bank bosses in recent weeks have been more forthright about the job cuts they expect to make as AI makes routine tasks more efficient, having previously avoided a ...

Saudi Arabia’s new national carrier, Riyadh Air, is set to launch daily direct Dhaka-Riyadh flights on August 1, intensifying competition in Bangladesh’s booming Saudi Arabia aviation market driven by expatriate and Umrah travel demand. The Saudi carrier’s entry is expected to reshape one of Bangladesh’s busiest international aviation markets, currently dominated by Biman Bangladesh Airlines, US-Bangla Airlines and Saudia. “We ...

Imports of high-tariff goods such as vehicles, electronics and cosmetics have fallen sharply in Bangladesh, dealing a major blow to revenue collection at Chattogram Custom House, the country’s largest revenue-generating customs station. As a result, the customs authority is heading towards another significant revenue shortfall in the 2025-26 fiscal year. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) set a revenue collection ...

After being reduced in three consecutive phases, gold prices have now increased in the domestic market. The price of 22-carat gold has been raised by Tk2,158 per bhori, setting the new rate at Tk238,121 per bhori. According to a press release issued by the Bangladesh Jeweller’s Association (BAJUS) on Thursday (21 May) morning, the new price of 22-carat gold has ...