Business

Retail sales of electric and hybrid vehicles in China witnessed a significant increase of 40.7% in 2024 compared to the previous year, as reported by a professional federation on Thursday. This remarkable growth underscores China’s dominance in a sector heavily supported by government initiatives. The China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) revealed that a record total of 10.899 million hybrid and ...

The pound has fallen to its lowest level in over a year, while UK borrowing costs hit their highest for 16 years. Economists have warned that the rising costs could lead to further tax increases or spending cuts as the government tries to meet its self-imposed rule not to borrow to fund day-to-day spending. In response to an urgent question ...

Asian markets struggled Thursday after a tepid lead from Wall Street, with investors growing increasingly worried about the outlook for inflation and US interest rates as Donald Trump’s second presidency looms. A report saying the president-elect was considering declaring a national economic emergency to provide legal cover to impose tariffs on all imported goods added to the sense of uncertainty ...

Bangladesh Restaurant Owners Association has urged to keep away from the decision to increase VAT rates in hotels and restaurants. They have also threatened to shut restaurants for an indefinite period if the decision is not withdrawn. The warning came from a press briefing held at a hotel in the capital on Thursday morning. Imran Hasan, secretary general of the ...

The government has set the income tax rate at 20 per cent on the manufacturers of freezers, refrigerators, motorcycles, air conditioners and compressors. A gazette notification was issued in this regard on Tuesday (January 7). It was signed by NBR chairman Abdur Rahman Khan. Currently, the companies pay a 10 per cent tax on their income. The government has been ...

Shoppers spent more in December compared with the year before but it wasn’t enough to make up for an overall lacklustre year for retailers, new figures suggest. Doing particularly well over Christmas were gifts including beauty advent calendars, jewellery and AI-enabled tech, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said. December’s growth of 3.2% was boosted by a big weekend of Black ...

A four-day international trade shows on garment accessories, packaging machinery, and allied products will begin at the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) in the capital on January 8. The trade shows include the 22nd edition of ‘Garment Technology Bangladesh 2025 (GTB 2025), also known as International Tradeshow on Apparel Machinery and Allied Products, and the 14th edition of International Tradeshow ...

Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide US$1 billion to Bangladesh annually in concessional financing over the next five years. ADB Country Director Hoe Yun Jeong came up with the assurance when he met Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan at the Forest Department in Dhaka on Sunday, reports BSS. During the meeting, they discussed ADB’s commitment to ...

Microsoft president Brad Smith on Friday said the company is on track to pump about $80 billion into artificial intelligence (AI) this fiscal year. Smith contended AI is poised to transform all aspects of life, and it is imperative that the United States be the global leader when it comes to the technology, he wrote in an online post. “In ...

Bangladesh Poultry Association (BPA) will sell eggs, poultry, and other agricultural products at fair prices at 100 locations in Dhaka ahead of Ramadan. BPA President Suman Hawlader announced the initiative at a press conference held at the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) on Saturday. He said as part of a smart market management system for Ramadan, they will start selling eggs, ...