Business

Bangladesh has added four more environmentally certified ready-made garment (RMG) factories to its growing list of green industrial facilities, taking the total number of LEED-certified factories in the sector to 284. Of these, 121 factories have achieved the prestigious Platinum rating, while 144 hold Gold certification. The country now also boasts 52 factories among the world’s top 100 highest-rated LEED-certified ...

The government is set to face mounting financial pressure in the 2026–27 fiscal year, with external debt repayments expected to rise significantly amid growing economic challenges. According to sources from the Finance Division, the government’s expenditure on foreign debt servicing could reach nearly $5 billion in FY2026–27, up from an estimated $4.80 billion by the end of the current 2025–26 ...

Airfares for Indian expats in the UAE and wider Gulf are likely to rise as fuel costs surge, with airlines warning of knock-on disruptions in the weeks ahead. Travellers could also face reduced flight frequencies if Indian carriers cut capacity, as well as less flexibility when booking during peak periods. India has held jet fuel prices steady for domestic flights ...

The price of soybean oil has been hiked by Tk4 per litre, effective from Wednesday. Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir announced the hike at a press conference held at the ministry in Dhaka. Following the adjustment, the price of bottled soybean oil has been set at Tk199 per litre, up from Tk195, while unpackaged soybean oil has been fixed at ...

The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday after a key policy meeting, likely the last chaired by central bank chief Jerome Powell, a frequent target of President Donald Trump’s ire. Policymakers will weigh the risks of surging energy prices and snarled supply chains due to the US-Israel war on Iran, with analysts widely ...

Gold prices in Bangladesh have been reduced by Tk2,216 per bhori, with the price of 22-carat gold now set at Tk244,711, according to the Bangladesh Jeweller’s Association (BAJUS). In a statement issued on Tuesday (28 April) morning, BAJUS said the new prices were fixed considering the overall market situation, particularly a decline in the price of pure gold (tejabi gold) ...

A new report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has highlighted that while Bangladesh has made notable progress in improving its investment climate, urgent structural reforms remain critical as the country prepares for its scheduled graduation from Least Developed Country (LDC) status in November 2026. The report evaluates the implementation of the 2013 Investment Policy Review ...

Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir on Monday stressed the importance of enhancing national capacity to keep pace with the global trading system and ensure strict adherence to World Trade Organization (WTO) notification obligations. “Notification is an essential element for complying with WTO rules, staying updated, and keeping pace with global progress,” Muktadir said. The Minister made these remarks while speaking ...

Representatives from the local business community and the United Nations (UN) focused on strengthening collaboration to mobilise and coordinate private sector contributions to humanitarian response in Bangladesh during a high-level meeting held at the UN House Bangladesh on Sunday. The meeting was held between Lisa Doughten, director of the Financing and Outreach Division (FOD) of the United Nations Office for ...

Bangladesh has faced a significant setback in revenue collection during the first nine months of the current 2025–26 fiscal year (July 2025–March 2026), with a shortfall of nearly Tk98,000 crore, according to the latest data released by the National Board of Revenue (NBR). The deficit already exceeds the entire shortfall of the previous fiscal year by Tk5,364 crore. In FY ...