DT e-Paper 21-02-17

DT
10
Business
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2017
CAPITAL MARKET SNAPSHOT: MONDAY
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Garment exporters seek duty-free
access to US, Brazil markets
• Ibrahim Hossain Ovi
As the US and Brazil need not to
pay any duty on cotton exports to
Bangladesh for its clothing industry,
they also should offer duty-free
access of Bangladeshi finished
clothing products to their markets,
said manufacturers.
Bangladeshi RMG products currently
do not have duty-free access to
these markets, even though the two
countries enjoy duty-free access in
Bangladesh for their cotton exports.
Moreover, the US suspended
their Generalised System of Preferences
(GSP) facilities for Bangladesh
on June 27, 2013.
In a letter sent to the US ambassador
to Bangladesh on February
16, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers
and Exporters Association
Grameenphone
submits Tk30cr
bank guarantee
to BTRC
• Ishtiaq Husain
Mobile phone operator Grameenphone
has submitted a bank guarantee
of Tk30 crore to Bangladesh
Telecommunication Regulatory
Commission.
Supreme Court Lawyer Barrister
Sayed Mahsib Hossain said the guarantee
was submitted as per the High
Court order made on 9 February.
The money was submitted on
Sunday 19. BTRC will now deposit
the bank guarantee to the Registrar
of the High Court Division.
Earlier, Grameenphone also
filed a writ petition at the High
Court Division against the imposition
of Tk30 crore fine.
BTRC fined Grameenphone
Tk30 crore last year for providing
“Go Broadband” services illegally,
violating Telecommunication Act
2001.
Sayed Talat Kamal, head of
External Communications of
Grameenphone, said: “Since the
matter is currently under adjudication
we cannot comment any further
on the issue.”
Go Broadband is a coordinated
Wi-MAX service provider by Agni
Systems Limited and ADN Telecom
Limited in partnership with
Grameenphone Ltd. They are supposed
to provide Wi-Max services
only. •
(BGMEA) President Siddiqur Rahman
asked to have duty-free access
to the US for Bangladeshi RMG
products made from the cotton
that is exported from the US.
A similar proposal was sent to the
Brazilian government via the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs on Sunday.
“Bangladesh has long been importing
cotton from the US to make
apparel for export... We firmly believe
that cotton import from the US
will grow significantly if the apparel
products made of the US cotton receive
favorable treatment in terms of
tariff in accessing the US market,” the
BGMEA president said in the letter.
Bangladesh is the second largest
cotton importer in the world; the
country imported 6.1 million bales
of cotton last year. There are 430
textile mills in Bangladesh with
Stress on easing cost
of doing business
• Tribune Business Desk
Noted economist Debapriya Bhattacharya
emphasised the need to reduce cost of
doing business so Bangladesh can achieve
competitiveness in global market.
He was speaking at a function titled
“World Economic Forum 2017 (Responsive
and Responsible Leadership) – Post
Summit ‘Food for Thought’ for Bangladesh”
in Dhaka yesterday.
University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh
(ULAB) School of Business organised the
event at the university auditorium.
ULAB Vice-Chancellor Prof Imran Rahman
was also present. ULAB teachers, officials
and students attended the function.
Debapriya, also a distinguished fellow
of the think tank Centre for Policy Dialogue,
said the consumer behaviour and
trends are rapidly changing with diverse
tastes and demands.
Consumers are now more aware of the
origins of products and concerned about
goods and service being environmentally
friendly, business must strive to be more
competitive.
He said: “As Saarc is in atrophy, we have
moved for sub-regional cooperation like
BBIN, BCIM and Bimstec. Connectivity is
more important in the global world. Considering
it, Bangladesh has focused on it.”
Criticising the current global leadership
he said only “responsible leadership
can address the global crisis.”
He said: “If we couldn’t bring any reform
in market, marginalisation will continue,
not only in Bangladesh, but in developed
countries also, widening the gap
further between rich and poor.”
But Debapriya emphasised that the
emergence of a multipolar world can’t
become an excuse for indecision and inaction,
“which is why it is imperative that
leaders respond collectively with credible
actions to improve the state of the world.”
The World Economic Forum listed
down five key challenges for business and
technology leaders in 2017, like coming to
grips with the fourth industrial revolution,
building multi-stakeholder global-governance
system, restoring global economic
growth, reforming market capitalism and
addressing pervasive crisis in identity.
Presenting significance of Davos he
said it places economic and business excellence
on the same platform, disregarding
the country of origin.
Thus the Annual Meeting at Davos has
been responsible for initiating high-level
networking and new partnerships across
the world.
Terming Davos meeting “The Money
Oscars Meeting,” the economist said the
WEF meeting 2017 was special in many
accounts as the richest people getting together
to discuss inequality in the world.
The purpose of the meeting was to
have a discussion on Global Management
Practices, to bring together key players in
from the business, academia, arts and political
realms.
In Global Economic Outlook in 2016, the
International Monetary Fund stated that
global growth was sub par at 3.1% in 2016,
with slight increase to 3.4% next year. •
11.50 million spindle capacity.
Siddiqur said if the US government
extended duty-free market
access for Bangladeshi RMG products
made from cotton produced in
the US, it would create a win-win
situation for the bilateral trade between
two countries.
The US is the single largest export
destination for Bangladeshi products,
especially apparel. According
to BGMEA data, in July-December
of 2016-17 fiscal year, Bangladesh
earned $2.56 billion, a 9.11% decline
from the $2.81 billion earnings during
the same period in 2015-16.
However, in the 2015-16 fiscal
year, export to the US saw a 6.36%
growth, amounting to $5.62 billion,
compared to the $5.28 billion earnings
in 2014-15 fiscal year.
Brazil has high potential for Bangladeshi
apparel products, but the import
duty is high, ranging from 30%
to 35%, said the BGMEA letter sent to
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Bangladesh needs to find a way
to secure duty-free access to the
Brazilian market and the Brazilian
government should consider providing
duty-free access for Bangladeshi
apparel products made from
the cotton that Bangladesh imports
from Brazil, the letter said.
This arrangement would prove
profitable for both Bangladesh and
Brazil in terms of trade, the BGMEA
argued.
In July-December of 2016-17 fiscal
year, Bangladesh earned $41m
from garment exports to Brazil compared
to $75m in the same period a
year earlier. In FY2015-16, total RMG
exports to Brazil reached $120m. •
German growth
to pick up in first
quarter
• AFP, Frankfurt
Germany will see growth pick up in
the first quarter of 2017, powered
by industry and consumer spending,
the country’s central bank said
yesterday.
“Powerful momentum can be
expected from industrial activity
above all,” the Bundesbank wrote
in its monthly report for February.
An unexpected jump in industrial
orders in December points to
increased exports, while firms will
need to invest more in production
equipment to meet the fresh demand,
the report said.
“German car manufacturers
stand out” with the key industry
taking on “considerably more” orders
at home, from eurozone neighbours
and from non-euro countries,
the central bankers wrote. •