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Tag: Bangladesh

  • Biman Signs Deals to Buy 35 Aircraft from Boeing and Airbus

    Biman Signs Deals to Buy 35 Aircraft from Boeing and Airbus

    Biman Bangladesh Airlines has signed agreements to buy 35 aircraft, splitting orders between 25 Boeing and 10 Airbus jets to expand beyond its existing fleet of 19 planes.

    The procurement accelerated even as former Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Afroza Khanam urged an integrated revenue assessment on April 22, just eight days before Biman agreed to purchase 14 Boeing jets.

    Biman added 11 more Boeing aircraft on September 23 and signed for 10 Airbus planes on October 7, while facing unpaid claims exceeding Tk 7,000 crore from CAAB and Padma Oil.

    Outstanding Dues and Sovereign Risk

    The rapid acquisition pipeline contrasts sharply with Biman’s accumulated domestic balance-sheet arrears. The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) holds Tk 5,842.91 crore in outstanding dues and surcharges against the airline as of August, while state-owned Padma Oil reported an additional Tk 1,232.71 crore in unpaid jet fuel bills.

    State authorities intend for Biman to finance the purchases through operating cash flow with the government acting as guarantor. Default on those obligations would shift payment liabilities directly to public finances, an exposure compounded by the absence of published route-by-route viability audits.

    “The real burden will be in the end borne by the taxpayers of the country,” said Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, citing the absence of financial disclosures and procurement clarity.

    Fleet Strategy and Consultant Reviews

    Fleet planning took place after commercial commitments were already executed. Biman issued a tender on October 25 seeking external consultants to evaluate fleet integration, route profitability, aircraft retirements, and funding structures, setting a submission deadline of November 6.

    The procedural sequence reversed standard airline procurement. Former Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Afroza Khanam had directed the airline on April 22 to compile an integrated operating plan based on route revenues before acquiring aircraft, eight days before Biman signed its first binding contract for 14 Boeing planes. On November 1, Bangladesh’s parliamentary standing committee requested full documentation on the procurement process and historical commercial assessments.

    Biman stated that commercial evaluations followed internal rules and governance approvals. The carrier maintained that bringing in third-party advisers would support long-term operational planning rather than compensate for internal technical gaps, though it declined to confirm whether a comprehensive network plan covering all 35 jets existed prior to signing.

    Airport Monopoly Terms at Dhaka

    Airport operating restrictions negotiated in parallel with the fleet expansion will alter the aviation market across the capital. A draft operating agreement with a Japanese consortium managing Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport includes a 15-year restriction on competing commercial airport operations within a 100-kilometre radius.

    Civil Aviation Minister M Rashiduzzaman Millat confirmed that the government accepted the 100-kilometre zoning condition, maintaining that an additional commercial facility near the capital is unnecessary. The restriction locks regional traffic into a single hub even as CAAB projects passenger traffic at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport will reach 33 million travelers annually by 2045, exceeding its planned terminal handling capacity of 24 million passengers.

    The consultant evaluating Biman’s fleet integration, route economics, and financing structures is scheduled to submit its final assessment on February 15, 2027.

  • Only 35 Percent of Gazipur Garment Factories Open on Friday

    Only 35 Percent of Gazipur Garment Factories Open on Friday

    Garment manufacturers in Gazipur operated only 35 percent of their production facilities on Friday as widespread factory shutdowns sent assembly line workers home across Bangladesh’s core apparel belt.

    Amjad Hossain, superintendent of Gazipur Industrial Police, confirmed the operating rate at 10:00am, leaving roughly two-thirds of the district’s export factories idle along key transport arteries including the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway.

    Workers emptied out of the Taragachh industrial zone early in the morning after plant managers declared two-day closures. Ananta Garments suspended work at its Taragachh site, directing staff to leave the compound. Matrix Sweater in the Hajipukur area similarly halted operations for two days, citing local tensions.

    Uneven Operations Across the Cluster

    Disruptions remained selective rather than total across the manufacturing cluster. Parkstar Apparels and Parksin Bangladesh kept lines running in Barabari and Gachha, logging standard morning shift arrivals without incident.

    Freight corridors showed little physical obstruction despite the stoppages. Traffic Inspector Tarikul Islam reported clear vehicle movement through the Chandana Chourasta interchange, with commercial freight lanes operating normally throughout the morning.

    Sourcing Risks for International Buyers

    Sourcing directors across Europe and North America face immediate production bottlenecks when Gazipur pauses. The industrial hub accounts for a major share of Bangladesh’s readymade garment exports, serving global mass-market fashion brands that run tight inventory turns.

    When plants declare sudden multi-day shutdowns, delivery schedules for spring collections slip, forcing suppliers to absorb air freight penalties or renegotiate shipment windows. Sourcing desks at global fashion retailers are already monitoring South Asian capacity after months of volatile operating conditions in Dhaka’s satellite hubs.

    Production Continuity in Question

    Factory floors in Gazipur have experienced repeated friction between management and labour over working conditions, wage settlements, and local safety. Industrial police superintendent Amjad Hossain noted that Saturday coincides with a scheduled government holiday, giving operators a natural operational pause.

    A decision on whether garment factories would remain closed on Saturday would be announced this afternoon.

  • Factory Fires Hit Apparel Suppliers in Cambodia and Bangladesh

    Factory Fires Hit Apparel Suppliers in Cambodia and Bangladesh

    A fire ripped through a fabric storage facility at YTC Corporation’s garment factory in Cambodia’s Kampong Speu province, destroying the building and 150 sewing machines. The site shipped apparel to multinational retailers including Gap Inc as recently as January.

    Emergency crews deployed 10 fire engines, 107 personnel and 61 truckloads of water over five hours to stop the flames from spreading across the industrial compound. No injuries were reported, though the primary storage building was lost.

    Disruption Hits Cambodian Apparel Hub

    The facility in Kampong Speu forms part of Cambodia’s export network for womenswear and children’s garments. Fabric stock and primary assembly hardware suffered heavy damage before municipal teams contained the blaze.

    Worker safety is the ministry’s top priority. Senior ministry officials, together with representatives of the provincial labor department and the National Social Security Fund, arrived at the scene immediately and coordinated with local authorities to facilitate workers’ evacuation from the factory and their safe return home, Sun Mesa, spokesman for the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, told local media. Police have not determined the cause of the ignition.

    Warehouse Fires in Gazipur

    Industrial disruptions extended to South Asia over the same weekend. In Bangladesh, fires struck two export operations in the manufacturing hub of Gazipur.

    Flames gutted a carton storage facility belonging to Supreme Stitch Limited, also operating as Supreme Garments. The blaze spread to a yarn warehouse owned by DBL Garments before nine firefighting units controlled the incident after three hours. The fire caused structural collapses in tin-shed units, though managers reported zero worker casualties.

    Supply Chain Volatility for Global Buyers

    The incidents hit suppliers at a time when apparel brands demand faster turnarounds and tighter audit compliance across Southeast and South Asia. For brands sourcing basic apparel across Phnom Penh and Dhaka, unexpected facility shutdowns trigger shipment delays and force immediate production reallocations.

    Replacement costs for machinery and lost textile inputs fall directly on local contract manufacturers already managing margin pressure. Factory operators face heightened scrutiny from regional safety inspectors and international audit teams assessing fire safety equipment and evacuation standards.

    Labor and Environmental Headwinds

    Operating conditions across Asian garment corridors face concurrent regulatory and environmental strains. In India, police in East Delhi arrested nine factory owners after freeing 19 minors working extended shifts in unlicensed garment and jewelry workshops in Gandhi Nagar.

    Climate pressures compound these workplace compliance challenges. International Labour Organization projections show heat stress risks stripping 145,000 full-time jobs in Sri Lanka even under a low-emissions pathway, and up to 6,100 positions in the Maldives under severe warming scenarios. In Kampong Speu, municipal investigators continue their inspection of the YTC Corporation site to clear debris and assess whether structural damage extends to adjacent production lines.

  • Bangladesh Fruit Import Duties Reached Nearly Tk 6,000 Crore in FY26

    Bangladesh Fruit Import Duties Reached Nearly Tk 6,000 Crore in FY26

    Bangladesh collected nearly Tk 6,000 crore in import duties on fresh fruits in fiscal year 2025-26, doubling customs revenue over five years even as private shipments fell 29 per cent.

    Importers brought in 5.7 lakh tonnes of produce such as apples, oranges, grapes, and mandarins during FY26, down from 8 lakh tonnes in FY21, according to an assessment by the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission.

    Tax rates explain the divergence. Total import taxes on fresh fruit climbed from 89.32 per cent in FY21 to 121.78 per cent in the current fiscal year 2026-27. Customs duties, regulatory levies, and supplementary taxes pushed retail prices beyond the reach of low-income shoppers. In Dhaka, apples that sold between Tk 250 and Tk 340 a kilogram two years ago now fetch between Tk 300 and Tk 400. Several years ago, shoppers paid less than Tk 300 per kilogram.

    Currency Slump and Cash Margins Hit Grocers

    Currency depreciation compounded the tax shock. The Bangladeshi taka weakened 43 per cent against the greenback, sliding from an average of Tk 84.80 per US dollar in FY21 to Tk 121.50 in FY26. Importers had to absorb that exchange rate hit alongside a 100 per cent cash margin requirement on letters of credit introduced during the 2023 foreign exchange crunch. Bangladesh Bank recently withdrew that cash margin rule as foreign exchange reserves stabilized, yet retail prices have not retreated.

    Food retailers in urban markets added their own buffers. The commission found that retail grocers widened their percentage markups faster than wholesale distributors, passing all foreign exchange risk directly to consumer baskets. Higher prices have crimped dietary options during peak dengue treatment periods, when hospital demand for vitamin C-rich citrus spikes.

    A Tax on Crops Farmers Do Not Grow

    Horticultural protection does not justify the import levy. Bangladesh maintains zero commercial domestic production of apples, oranges, mandarins, grapes, pears, or pomegranates. Every piece of these fruits consumed in the country arrives through ports.

    By treating baseline table fruits as luxury merchandise, tax policy creates severe consumer distortions without shielding a single local orchard. The tariff commission confirmed that Bangladesh now imposes the highest fresh fruit import duties in South Asia, while Nepal levies the lowest.

    The Tariff Rollback Model

    The commission formally recommended that the commerce ministry drop both supplementary duties and regulatory duties on non-native fruit imports. Lowering the overall tax incidence back to 89 per cent would reverse volume declines without sacrificing public coffers, according to agency projections. The commission estimated the National Board of Revenue could harvest more than Tk 6,500 crore if import volumes rebounded to 8.20 lakh tonnes under lower tariff rates.

    Consumers Association of Bangladesh President AHM Shafiquzzaman backed the reduction, arguing that public health demands affordable produce.

    “Across the world, prices of the fruits appear to be the highest in Bangladesh. But as fruit is part of public health, people should have options to decide whether they would consume locally produced fruits or imported ones. The authority should consider collecting other options to collect revenue,” he added.

    What Lies Ahead for Importers

    The earlier step that started this squeeze was the National Board of Revenue’s tariff hike in fiscal year 2021-22, designed to brake foreign exchange outflows. That emergency barrier outlived its immediate purpose, leaving fruit importers with stranded balance sheets and suppressed order books.

    The commerce ministry now faces a formal decision on whether to accept the commission’s tariff cut proposal and submit a revised rate sheet to the National Board of Revenue ahead of the mid-year budget adjustments.

  • Aarong Plants over 100,000 Trees Across 42 Districts from Bag Sales

    Aarong Plants over 100,000 Trees Across 42 Districts from Bag Sales

    Aarong has planted more than 100,000 trees across 42 districts in Bangladesh, funding the initiative entirely through retail proceeds generated from its store bag campaign.

    The lifestyle retailer reduced customer paper bag consumption by more than 4.68 million units between September 2025 and March 2026 compared to the same period a year earlier.

    Paper bag sales during the seven-month period generated Tk 2.9 crore across the brand’s store network. Aarong channeled the entire sum into direct environmental planting and rural community support, working with parent organization BRAC and environmental group Mission Green Bangladesh.

    Cashback incentives and store-level mechanics

    The reduction in packaging volume stems directly from Aarong’s Bring Your Own Bag initiative. Customers who carry their own shopping bags to checkout receive a Tk 15 cashback rebate against their purchase.

    Shoppers who opt to take single-use paper bags pay for them at the till, creating the ring-fenced fund used for nationwide ecological work. The company estimated that avoiding 4.68 million paper bags over the period spared approximately 6,000 trees from industrial pulping.

    “Bring Your Own Bag began with a simple change in habit: carrying and reusing what we already have,” said Tamara Hasan Abed, managing director of BRAC Enterprises.

    Household distribution and urban mini-forests

    The capital expenditure from bag charges was split into two separate forestry models. The larger share backed direct distribution to rural low-income families through BRAC’s Ultra-Poor Graduation programme.

    Under that programme, Aarong funded 95,382 saplings comprising fruit, timber, and medicinal varieties. Teams distributed the stock across 210 upazilas in 42 districts, delivering planting bundles to 40,001 individual households to generate supplemental household income and fruit production.

    The secondary allocation focused on dense urban vegetation. Partnering with Mission Green Bangladesh, the retailer financed Miyawaki-style micro-forests, which use tightly packed native plant species to accelerate biological canopy growth on small urban parcels. Aarong staged a public planting drive with shoppers and media representatives at its Rupganj Miyawaki forest site.

    Retail implications across South Asian store fleets

    Packaging levies in emerging South Asian retail markets frequently face stiff consumer friction, especially inside apparel and department stores where premium shopping bags double as status signifiers. Most chains that charge for carriers retain the cash within operational store overheads or margin defense.

    Aarong’s decision to combine a hard rebate of Tk 15 with full revenue surrender alters that dynamic. By publishing exact unit drops and assigning retail takings to traceable planting, the business removes customer suspicion that packaging charges are disguised margin extraction.

    For competing South Asian apparel operators, the programme sets an uncomfortable precedent on disclosure. When a market leader proves that bag consumption dropped by 4.68 million units within seven months while funding 100,000 saplings, retail landlords and municipal waste regulators gain a clear benchmark to demand mandatory bag fees from other department stores.

    Tracing the supply chain transition

    The bag initiative links into broader supply-chain pivots at Aarong, which operates as the commercial social enterprise wing of BRAC. Sourcing textiles, home decor, and jewellery from tens of thousands of independent village craftspeople, the enterprise links everyday shopping habits with broader community and environmental support.

    Moving customer behaviour from complimentary packaging to reusable totes mirrors earlier efforts by regional grocery players to curb checkout plastics. Aarong is now attempting the same shift inside department store fashion and lifestyle retail.

    The company continues to run the Tk 15 bag rebate at all Aarong cash registers, with local operations tracking whether bag opt-out rates hold as checkout volumes rise into seasonal peak trade.

  • Midland Bank Backs BYD Auto Loans up to Tk 80 Lakh

    Midland Bank Backs BYD Auto Loans up to Tk 80 Lakh

    Midland Bank PLC signed an agreement recently with CG Runner BD Ltd to finance customer purchases of BYD vehicles in Bangladesh, offering loans ranging from Tk 4 lakh to Tk 80 lakh.

    Managing director Imtiaz U Ahmed of Midland Bank and managing director Amid Sakif Khan of authorised distributor CG Runner BD completed the deal during a signing ceremony in Dhaka.

    Under the facility, the lender finances up to 80 percent of a vehicle’s value with flexible repayment tenures reaching six years, delivering competitive interest rates to buyers.

    Loan Terms and Processing Speed

    Under the memorandum of understanding signed with authorized distributor CG Runner BD Ltd, the bank commits to turnaround times within three working days after receiving paperwork. Approval remains tied to the commercial lender’s internal credit assessments.

    Midland Bank managing director Imtiaz U Ahmed and CG Runner BD managing director Amid Sakif Khan signed the deal in Dhaka. Institutional banking head Mohd Javed Tarek Khan, operations head Muhammed Noorunnabi, unit head Muhammad Majidul Haq Patwary and retail coordinator Mohammed Rashadul Anwar attended for the bank. Chief financial officer Md Ferdowsur Rahman and business development head Methun Bhattacharjee joined for the distributor.

    Commercial EV Distribution in Dhaka

    Commercial banks in South Asia rarely extended high-tenure consumer credit to new automotive brands without substantial down payments. By underwriting up to 80 percent of asset values, Midland Bank absorbs the residual value risk that typically slows down electric vehicle retail adoption in emerging markets.

    Dhaka’s passenger car segment relies heavily on imported reconditioned combustion vehicles. Dealerships selling factory-new battery electric models need institutional debt lines to match the installment structures that grey-market fleet importers routinely provide through non-bank financial institutions.

    Expanding South Asian Electric Mobility

    BYD has pushed aggressively across developing Asian territories through local franchise agreements, selecting commercial partners capable of handling both assembly licenses and retail floor plans. CG Runner serves as the brand’s primary channel to bring battery electric sedans and compact SUVs into Bangladesh’s urban centres.

    The agreement focuses strictly on retail financing for passenger buyers rather than commercial fleet operators or public transport bodies.

    Next Steps for Borrower Uptake

    Midland Bank now rolls the retail loan package through its branch network across the capital and regional commercial hubs. The immediate measure of demand will be loan booking volume as CG Runner delivers its upcoming batch of imported BYD units to showroom floors.

  • UCB Chairman-Linked Firms to Buy Tk 103 Crore Bank Stake

    UCB Chairman-Linked Firms to Buy Tk 103 Crore Bank Stake

    Two industrial entities connected to United Commercial Bank PLC Chairman Sharif Zahir filed notice this week to acquire Tk 103.04 crore worth of the lender’s shares in Dhaka. The planned transaction follows regulatory approval allowing a single sponsor family to hold larger equity blocks.

    Ananta Denim Technology intends to buy 8.2 crore ordinary shares of the bank, while Z & Z Intimates plans to purchase 3 crore shares. Both buyers disclosed their intentions through the Dhaka Stock Exchange platform after central bank authorities widened ownership thresholds.

    Bangladesh Bank issued an exemption on Tuesday permitting an individual investor or family group to hold as much as 30 per cent of UCB’s paid-up capital. Under standard banking regulations, single investors face a 10 per cent cap.

    Central Bank Lifts Investor Ceilings

    The central bank relaxed the rules specifically to attract fresh capital into the institution following the dissolution of its previous board after political shifts in August 2024. Regulators are using equity waivers to stabilize balance sheets across commercial lenders whose legacy loan portfolios suffered from historical governance breakdowns.

    Trading Volume and Capital Outlays

    Shares of UCB climbed 9.52 per cent to finish at Tk 9.20 on the Dhaka bourse following the announcement. Based on the previous closing price, Ananta Denim Technology will deploy Tk 75.44 crore to complete its purchase, while Z & Z Intimates will spend Tk 27.60 crore.

    The apparel manufacturing firms tied to Zahir are absorbing equity directly from the secondary market. By purchasing listed units, the sponsor affiliates cement voting control while injecting market liquidity into a stock that traded near multi-year lows during broad financial sector restructuring.

    Balance Sheet Repair Across Private Lenders

    Private lenders across South Asia frequently rely on dominant industrial sponsors to recapitalize distressed asset books when sovereign backstops remain constrained. Bangladeshi manufacturing conglomerates, particularly export-driven apparel manufacturers, maintain operating cash flows capable of funding local equity injections that foreign private equity funds routinely bypass.

    Concentrating ownership risks returning the bank to single-family use, the very structure that forced regulatory crackdowns across the domestic sector earlier this year. For corporate depositors and commercial supply chain operators, however, a fortified balance sheet reduces funding uncertainty and stabilizes working-capital credit lines across apparel export networks.

    Subordinated Debt and Rights Issuance

    The sponsor purchases fit into a wider capital mobilization campaign launched by UCB’s reconstituted leadership. The institution is preparing a Tk 775 crore rights share issue to raise core equity from existing stockholders.

    Regulators are also reviewing the bank’s plan to issue a Tk 800 crore subordinated bond. That debt instrument ranks below general deposits and other liabilities, counting as secondary capital under central bank prudential frameworks.

    The lender must clear final approvals from capital market regulators for both the Tk 775 crore rights offering and the subordinated debt package before book-building commences.

  • Bangladesh Plans Rail Shift to Cut Export Logistics Costs

    Bangladesh Plans Rail Shift to Cut Export Logistics Costs

    Bangladesh Railway plans to overhaul its freight operations to lift rail cargo market share from barely 3 per cent to 20 per cent, targeting direct track connections into industrial supply chains.

    The shift aims to reroute bulk consumer freight and apparel exports away from congested national highways into dedicated rail corridors linking Chattogram Port with Dhaka manufacturing hubs.

    Under the Logistics Policy 2025, transport planners want rail to carry a fifth of all commercial freight across the country. To map that buildout, state operators launched the Tk 930 million Green Railway Transport Project Preparation Facility Project, backed by World Bank financing. The study evaluates track lines running from Faujdarhat to the Chattogram Goods Port Yard, alongside future connections into the planned Bay Terminal and the Mirsharai Economic Zone.

    Overhauling Chattogram Port Rail Access

    Chattogram Port handles roughly 90 per cent of Bangladesh’s international merchandise trade, yet rail links across its terminal footprint remain uneven. Older installations including the General Cargo Berth and Chittagong Container Terminal have direct tracks, while newer sites like the Patenga Container Terminal and New Mooring Container Terminal lack equivalent integration.

    That disconnect leaves cargo trains idling while diesel trucks haul containerised freight across jammed access roads. Track gauge fragmentation complicates the network further. Large segments of the eastern railway run on narrow metre-gauge tracks, requiring costly transshipment before rolling stock can connect with broad-gauge lines servicing northern and western trade lanes.

    The feasibility project assesses the rolling stock and yard hardware required to eliminate those delays. Planners are auditing requirements for dedicated freight locomotives, container wagons, shunting yards and loading tracks, alongside modernised maintenance depots in Chattogram.

    Building Inland Terminals Near Dhaka

    Upstream logistics hinges on getting containers quickly into garment manufacturing belts around the capital. The proposed Dhirasram Inland Container Depot in Gazipur serves as the primary inland node designed to clear maritime boxes away from maritime quays.

    Shippers running supply chains between Dhaka and coastal docks currently face unpredictable transit schedules. Road transport delivers flexibility on local spurs, but highway bottlenecks add substantial inventory holding costs for consumer brands, textile mills and bulk distributors. Shifting cargo to scheduled freight trains cuts fuel burn while lowering per-ton haulage expenses on longer runs.

    Railway freight targets extend beyond export apparel boxes. State authorities want long-term freight agreements covering petroleum products, fertiliser, grain imports and construction materials, securing reliable baseline volume through predictable tariff contracts.

    Logistics Realities for Regional Shippers

    For factory operators, retail importers and cargo forwarders, rail is viable only if end-to-end transit times beat road haulage. Shifting cargo off roads requires modern handling machinery, quick digital customs clearance and dependable departure times at inland dry ports.

    Commercial transport planners argue that engineering projects must incorporate freight forwarders and port operators before track laying begins. Without matching first-mile handling and competitive terminal fees, inland container depots risk operating below capacity while trucks continue to command container flows.

    Regional trade corridors present additional operational capacity. Bangladesh Railway forms part of the Trans-Asian Railway framework, offering rail freight routes into India, Nepal and Bhutan. Unlocking those border routes requires harmonised customs systems and unified track standards to eliminate cross-border shunting delays.

    Technical evaluations for the World Bank funded port link project are expected to complete their studies by the end of 2027.

  • BRAC Bank to Issue Tk 1,000 Crore Green Bond

    BRAC Bank to Issue Tk 1,000 Crore Green Bond

    BRAC Bank announced at a press conference in Dhaka today that it will issue a Tk 1,000 crore green bond to channel long-term debt into industrial energy-efficiency and renewable projects.

    The three-year debt instrument carries a face value of Tk 10 lakh per unit and targets a yield of 7.5 percent, priced at roughly Tk 8.05 lakh at issuance under annual compounding.

    Led by Managing Director and CEO Tareq Refat Ullah Khan, the private lender is launching the first debt offering in Bangladesh aligned with the central bank’s green bond policy.

    Structure of the Zero-Coupon Paper

    The issue will be senior, unsecured, non-convertible, fully redeemable and zero-coupon. Rather than disbursing periodic interest, the bank will sell the paper at a discount and redeem it at par upon maturity.

    Corporate institutions, individual investors, and qualifying corporate provident and gratuity funds can subscribe to the tranche. The paper adheres to Bangladesh Bank’s green bond financing guidelines alongside the International Capital Market Association’s Green Bond Principles, backed by a second-party opinion from S&P Global Ratings.

    Proceeds will target factory energy retrofits, rooftop solar arrays, and certified green commercial properties. The lender expects the deployment to align with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals covering clean energy, industry innovation, sustainable cities, and climate action.

    Factory Energy Demands Drive Tenor Mismatch

    Export-oriented manufacturing plants and textile suppliers across Bangladesh face steep domestic power tariffs alongside buyer pressure to decarbonise supply chains. Factory owners frequently seek multi-year capital expenditure loans to replace aging machinery with automated, low-emission lines.

    Commercial banks usually finance those long-term outlays with short-term customer deposits, creating chronic liquidity strains on balance sheets. Locking in three-year fixed capital through non-convertible debt gives the lender a matched pool of cash, though the three-year duration remains relatively short for heavy industrial upgrades.

    This green bond marks an important milestone in BRAC Bank’s sustainable finance journey and represents a meaningful step towards deepening Bangladesh’s capital market, said Tareq Refat Ullah Khan, managing director and chief executive officer of BRAC Bank.

    The zero-coupon structure provides a distinct advantage through domestic tax exemptions supported by the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission. Because taxable income from standard coupon payouts is avoided, institutions holding the debt can preserve effective yields in a high-inflation environment.

    Shallow Corporate Debt Market Faces Test

    Domestic capital markets in Bangladesh remain overwhelmingly concentrated in government treasury bills, leaving private corporate paper thin and illiquid. Most local companies rely on direct bilateral bank loans rather than secondary debt markets to fund operational expansions.

    If institutional pension managers clear the Tk 1,000 crore book cleanly, other commercial lenders will likely package similar trade-finance and manufacturing loans into fixed-income paper. If orders fall short, mid-tier lenders will find themselves locked out of local capital markets and forced back into competitive deposit gathering.

    Lender Expands Sustainable Portfolio

    Sustainable finance currently makes up more than 60 percent of BRAC Bank’s total lending book. The private lender previously issued a dedicated social bond to fund rural micro-enterprises and small suppliers.

    The bank has secured a spot among the central bank’s top-rated sustainable financial institutions for five straight years and holds the leading position among local lenders in Bloomberg’s ESG Rating. Annual audits will track the disbursement of funds to verify that borrowers apply capital strictly to certified sustainable projects.

    Distribution desks are now taking formal indications of interest ahead of official allotment dates, with secondary trading liquidity serving as the real test of institutional appetite.

  • Beko Expands Singer Bangladesh Operations as Bilateral Trade Eyes $2 Billion

    Beko Expands Singer Bangladesh Operations as Bilateral Trade Eyes $2 Billion

    Beko and parent group Koç Holding sent top leadership to inspect manufacturing plants and retail sites across Bangladesh, anchoring expansion plans around a $2 billion bilateral trade target.

    The push follows bilateral trade between Türkiye and Bangladesh touching approximately $1.36 billion in 2025.

    Executive Delegation in Narayanganj

    Polat Şen, president of the consumer durables group at Koç Holding, toured Beko’s manufacturing facility in Narayanganj alongside Zafer Üstüner, chief commercial officer for Asia, Russia and South Africa at Beko and chief executive of Arçelik Hitachi. Nihat Bayız, chief production and technology officer at Beko, joined the group to review technical operations.

    Singer Bangladesh managing director and chief executive MHM Fairoz hosted the delegation across the production plant, Singer | Beko concept stores, and the company’s newly relocated corporate headquarters. The fresh corporate base adopts Beko’s standardized workplace format.

    Retail Footprint and Factory Upgrades

    The operational overhaul spans direct production capacity and front-facing shop floors. Singer Bangladesh opened concept stores designed to merge consumer appliances with digital retail experiences, replacing older, single-line retail formats that dominated suburban trade.

    Local manufacturing in Narayanganj provides Beko with direct assembly lines inside the country, avoiding stiff import duties on fully built consumer durables. Producing locally lets the group price refrigerators, washing machines and televisions against regional competitors while insulating supply chains from freight bottlenecks.

    Market Competition and Commercial Risks

    RetailNews Asia views the appliance build-out as a calculated attempt to break domestic market leaders’ tight grip on Bangladeshi households. Domestic competitors maintain an extensive dealer network and integrated supply chain across secondary cities, giving them cost advantages that foreign brands struggle to meet without domestic fabrication.

    Suppliers and floor operators face margin pressures as consumer spending in South Asia adjusts to currency fluctuations and shifting energy tariffs. Beko’s commitment assumes middle-income appliance demand will outrun inflation risks, though financing terms for high-ticket white goods remain sensitive to local interest rates.

    Industrial Trajectory and Trade Targets

    Koç Holding operates Singer Bangladesh through its consumer durables flagship to secure a distribution base with deep brand recall. The subsequent deployment of modern concept shops and the Narayanganj factory build on capital allocation designed to convert Singer from an assembler of imported kits into an integrated appliance maker.

    Government trade planners are steering trade flows toward the $2 billion threshold, leaning on industrial equipment, electronics and textiles to clear the remaining trade gap. Factory output volumes from Narayanganj and the pace of concept store rollouts across major districts determine whether Singer Bangladesh holds off domestic champions through the next fiscal cycle.

  • AmCham Pledges $5 Billion as Bangladesh Seeks US Healthcare Tie-Up

    AmCham Pledges $5 Billion as Bangladesh Seeks US Healthcare Tie-Up

    Bangladesh is courting US medical device makers for local assembly and technology transfer, backed by a national healthcare budget of roughly Tk 70,000 crore. The push aims to draw multinational manufacturers deeper into domestic supply chains rather than relying purely on direct imports.

    State Minister for Health and Family Welfare MA Muhit presented the proposal during an industry roundtable in Dhaka organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh in October 2026. AmCham President Syed Mohammad Kamal highlighted over $5 billion in existing investments and pledged to facilitate another $5 billion over the next five years.

    What Dhaka Wants from US Tech Providers

    Government officials want overseas suppliers to set up local assembly plants, train Bangladeshi engineers, and support equipment across its entire lifecycle. The initiative targets technical institutions including Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and the University of Dhaka to build domestic servicing capacity.

    Dhaka is also preparing a national digital monitoring dashboard and e-health system to track how state hospitals use medical machinery. Muhit told company executives that procurement must shift toward transparent contracts and structured after-sales support.

    Regulatory Roadblocks for Device Makers

    Multinational executives at the meeting pressed the government to remove persistent administrative bottlenecks at the Directorate General of Drug Administration. Lengthy approval cycles and import frictions continue to delay shipments of critical hospital equipment and replacement parts.

    AmCham submitted five specific policy demands to streamline market access. The business group called for separate DGDA guidelines for medical hardware, clear registration deadlines with parallel dossier reviews, and predictable maximum retail price formulas aligned with markup rules and the 7.5 percent value-added tax.

    Supply Chain and Tax Reforms

    Device suppliers face high import tariffs on spare components and burdensome customs procedures when sending damaged machinery abroad for maintenance. Industry leaders want tax rationalisation and simpler rules for re-exporting equipment for overseas repairs.

    Country heads from GE HealthCare, Medtronic, and Becton Dickinson attended the discussions alongside US Embassy commercial counsellor Paul Frost and DGDA director general Md Alamgir Hossain. For foreign vendors, local assembly offers protection against currency swings and import restrictions, but high tariffs on sub-assemblies still erode operating margins.

    The Next Regulatory Step

    Dhaka previously lowered select healthcare duties to ease hospital costs, yet device classification rules remain tied to general pharmaceutical standards. That shared framework creates administrative backlogs because diagnostic hardware requires different safety certifications than consumer drugs.

    AmCham is now organising a joint technical workshop with the DGDA and Western medical device manufacturers to draft an international-standard regulatory framework for hospital technology.

  • Beximco Plans British and Chinese Deal to Reopen Shuttered Bangladesh Garment Plants

    Beximco Plans British and Chinese Deal to Reopen Shuttered Bangladesh Garment Plants

    Beximco Group is seeking government approval for a foreign leasing deal to reopen its shuttered apparel plants in Gazipur, backed by British and Chinese investors.

    The five-year agreement brings British investment firm Charter HCP and Chinese operator Besting into the industrial park. Factory restarts are targeted for April 2027.

    How the factory leasing structure works

    Under the proposed plan, foreign backers will run Prefix Fashions, a specialized garment unit inside Beximco Industrial Park. Production will focus on outer garments, with export jackets accounting for roughly 90 percent of output. The first phase will restore approximately 2,500 manufacturing jobs.

    Revival Global, the asset manager for the investor group, designed a mechanism to ringfence cash flows and shield operations from Beximco’s domestic liabilities. Export proceeds will flow directly into bank accounts held by secured creditors. This prevents Beximco management from touching operational funds before paying debt obligations and working capital expenses, according to company executives.

    Phased expansion across Gazipur industrial park

    Prefix Fashions is the initial test case for a broader revival strategy. If operations and finances hold up, the consortium plans to reopen the remaining 15 shuttered apparel units in stages.

    A full rollout could rehire more than 30,000 garment workers across the complex. Beximco previously ranked among the largest private sector employers in Bangladesh. It operated vertically integrated facilities spanning spinning, weaving, denim washing and garment assembly before operations stopped.

    Supply chain shifts across South Asia

    Regional apparel sourcing faces severe turbulence. International fashion brands have spent recent months shifting purchase orders across South Asia to avoid production bottlenecks and delivery delays.

    Neighboring production hubs face their own bottlenecks. In India’s knitwear center of Tiruppur, roughly 460 dyeing facilities halted operations in October to protest raw material shortages and dye price spikes of up to 100 percent. The closures disrupted fabric supplies for export houses. Large-scale capacity in Bangladesh offers global buyers a hedge against regional limits, but confidence hinges on whether foreign management can insulate factory floors from political disruption.

    The collapse following political upheaval

    Beximco’s factory network shut down after the political collapse of the Awami League administration in Dhaka. The arrest of Beximco co-founder Salman F. Rahman, private industry adviser to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, froze bank credit lines. That cut off working capital across the conglomerate’s textile, pharmaceutical and ceramics divisions.

    Plant closures in Gazipur displaced roughly 40,000 garment workers, triggering protests over unpaid wages and leaving multi-million-dollar export contracts unfulfilled. Local lenders took possession of assets. Foreign partnership leases remain the only viable route to restart production without direct government bailouts.

    Government regulators and creditor banks are reviewing the lease documentation for Prefix Fashions. State approval will determine whether maintenance teams can enter the Gazipur facility ahead of the planned April 2027 commercial restart.

  • Standard Chartered to Sell Bangladesh Wealth and Retail Business After 120 Years

    Standard Chartered to Sell Bangladesh Wealth and Retail Business After 120 Years

    Standard Chartered announced plans in October 2026 to explore the sale of its wealth and retail banking business in Bangladesh. The move marks a planned exit from consumer operations in a market the British multinational lender has served for 120 years.

    The bank confirmed that the transition of the wealth and retail banking portfolio is anticipated to take approximately 18 to 24 months, subject to regulatory approvals.

    Enamul Huque, chief executive officer of Standard Chartered Bangladesh, said operations will continue as usual during the process as the bank sharpens its focus on corporate and investment banking, international trade, cross-border capital flows, and infrastructure financing.

    Local Lenders Circle the Consumer Portfolio

    Domestic commercial banks in Dhaka have opened preliminary talks to buy the foreign lender’s retail assets and depositor book. Senior executives at Pubali Bank, Mutual Trust Bank, BRAC Bank, and City Bank confirmed their interest in bidding. Standard Chartered holds some of the highest-yielding credit card and premium affluent accounts in the country. That makes the book attractive to local banks seeking higher personal banking margins without building branches from scratch.

    Buying foreign retail assets gives domestic institutions immediate access to high-net-worth depositors who use international banking services. Customer retention is the primary risk once the multinational branding disappears. Affluent retail depositors in Dhaka frequently maintain Standard Chartered accounts specifically for travel privileges, foreign currency allowances, and global recognition. Domestic balance sheets struggle to match those perks.

    Corporate Banking and Trade Shift

    The Dhaka exit fits a broader regional pullback from mass-market consumer banking across emerging Asia. Global lenders face heavy compliance costs, local interest-rate caps, and fierce domestic competition. These pressures squeeze branch margins. Shedding consumer branches lets international banks cut local property overhead while keeping profitable corporate treasury and trade finance mandates with multinational apparel exporters and conglomerates.

    Standard Chartered wants to protect its corporate presence in Bangladesh, where it handles large shares of export trade and foreign direct investment. Corporate operations require fewer workers and less branch infrastructure than retail deposit networks. That frees capital for higher-margin commercial credit.

    Wealth Capital Reallocated to Cross-Border Hubs

    Group strategy, reaffirmed in full-year 2025 financial reporting and a May 2026 investor presentation, prioritised cross-border affluent clients and concentrated booking centres. Rather than funding local retail networks in smaller markets, the bank redirected wealth resources to central booking hubs in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Dubai.

    Evidence of that centralised approach came when the bank expanded its Variable Capital Company fund structure in Singapore. Assets under management there passed $2.6 billion across 10 sub-funds by mid-2026. Consolidating wealth management in offshore hubs lets the lender serve high-net-worth South Asian clients through international advisory platforms while dropping onshore retail liabilities.

    Regulatory Review and Transition Timeline

    Staff redeployment and account transfers will sit at the centre of sale talks over the next two years. Standard Chartered confirmed that the welfare of local retail staff will be a key condition in discussions with buyers. The bank runs branches and automated teller networks across Dhaka, Chattogram, and other major commercial centres.

    Formal bids from local commercial banks will follow preliminary due diligence. The final deal structure requires binding agreements and regulatory approvals from Bangladesh Bank before portfolios change hands within the 24-month window.

  • Payra Port Adds 5 Cargo-Handling Machines at First Terminal

    Payra Port Adds 5 Cargo-Handling Machines at First Terminal

    Payra Port has added five modern cargo- and container-handling machines to the fleet of its first terminal in Kalapara, Patuakhali.

    Rear Admiral Syed Saiful Islam, chairman of the Payra Port Authority, said the new cranes bring the 650-metre multipurpose berth to full operational capacity while speeding up cargo handling and reducing ship turnaround times.

    The equipment arrived around 9 am today aboard the mother vessel Fan Zhou-6, marking the resumption of direct mother-vessel operations at the terminal jetty after nearly two years. Manufactured in China by Nanjing Port and Harbour Machinery Co and Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group, the shipment includes two 80-tonne ship-to-shore cranes, two 40-tonne rubber-tyred gantry cranes, and one 80-tonne mobile harbour crane.

    Equipment Specifications and Yard Roles

    Operations divide between vessel discharge and container yard management. Two ship-to-shore units will lift containers directly off arriving vessels. Rubber-tyred gantry cranes will transfer boxes to haulage trailers and manage yard stacking, according to Azizur Rahman, deputy director of the port’s traffic department.

    Bulk cargo and flexible lifting tasks will run through the 80-tonne mobile harbour crane. Port authorities designed this mix to eliminate discharge bottlenecks and reduce vessel laytime across the multipurpose berth.

    Chinese Machinery Shipment

    The delivery vessel completed a 19-day sea transit from Pingtan Port in China, departing on September 18 before docking directly at the terminal jetty. Captain SM Sharifur Rahman, harbour master at Payra Port, confirmed the 170-metre vessel arrived with an operating draft of approximately six metres.

    Direct berthing by a mother vessel of this length bypasses outer-anchorage lightering. That step often adds handling fees and transhipment delays for importers moving project cargo into Bangladesh.

    Multipurpose Berth and Vehicle Yard

    New crane installations complement landside storage infrastructure built to handle roll-on, roll-off operations and finished consumer goods. Rear Admiral Syed Saiful Islam, chairman of the Payra Port Authority, said a dedicated yard for imported vehicles is ready for service alongside the berth.

    Adding vehicle processing capacity allows the southern port to compete for finished automotive imports that traditionally enter Bangladesh through congested terminals at Chattogram and Mongla.

    Rabnabad Channel Dredging Targets

    Terminal efficiency now depends on maintaining water depth along the Rabnabad Channel. While smaller mother vessels can navigate the six-metre draft, deeper-draft container ships require consistent maintenance dredging to access the jetty without tidal restrictions.

    “Maintaining navigability will allow larger mother vessels to berth directly at the jetty,” he said.

    Direct calls at the terminal were previously limited to bulk mineral shipments. The port hosted the MV Zain on May 15, 2024, carrying 50,500 tonnes of stone, followed by the MV Da Hong-16 on November 1, 2024, with 48,511 tonnes of stone.

    Trial operations for the ship-to-shore cranes are now being scheduled as dredging programmes continue along the approach fairway.

  • Bangladesh Plans Global Bond Debut to Overhaul Capital Market

    Bangladesh Plans Global Bond Debut to Overhaul Capital Market

    Bangladesh plans to issue offshore sovereign bonds in New York, Tokyo, and Beijing. The debt program aims to deepen the domestic capital market while cutting corporate reliance on high-interest bank loans.

    Officials target annual financing needs of 50 billion dollars. The goal is to build a 1 trillion dollar economy by 2034 without relying on condition-heavy multilateral bailouts.

    Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury announced the plan during World Investor Week in Dhaka, hosted by the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission at the Krishibid Institution. The government is preparing dollar-denominated paper for New York, Panda bonds in China, Samurai bonds in Japan, and local currency instruments.

    Shifting from Bank Loans to Market Debt

    Commercial enterprises and state corporations have spent decades funding long-term projects with short-term commercial bank loans. That practice strained balance sheets at domestic lenders. It also starved local equity and debt markets of liquidity.

    Trading floors and market intermediaries failed to build depth over the past decade. That gap left capital markets detached from the wider economy. Regulators including Bangladesh Bank, the National Board of Revenue, and the securities commission worked in silos without joint oversight.

    Regular monthly meetings are now mandatory across all financial regulators to align fiscal policy with market oversight. The government is also halting state-funded capital allocations for commercial projects at state-owned enterprises. Public corporations must now raise funds directly from open debt and equity markets.

    Foreign Debt and Regulatory Overhaul

    Selling international paper in New York, Beijing, and Tokyo mirrors strategies used across South and Southeast Asia to set external credit benchmarks. Active sovereign yield curves in major currencies will let private conglomerates issue corporate debt abroad at competitive yields.

    Global investors and multinational groups have tracked the market closely. Structural weaknesses and price volatility previously held back institutional inflows. Officials now expect market systems to shift within twelve months as self-regulation replaces piecemeal enforcement.

    “We are going to the market to raise money. We are going to float dollar bonds in New York, and we will go for Panda bonds, Samurai bonds and local currency bonds. Bangladesh’s financial architecture is changing.”

    Mobilising Domestic Long-Term Capital

    Domestic non-bank institutional capital remains limited across the financial sector. Weak insurance penetration starves local bond and equity desks of long-term institutional buyers.

    Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority Chairman Mir Nadia Nivin noted that expanding life insurance coverage is vital for channelling capital into local bonds, equities, and infrastructure. Life insurers supply the patient funds needed to absorb long-dated debt without rattling secondary market prices.

    Exchange listing rules are also undergoing a clean-up. By tightening governance, regulators want to root out speculative trading that previously kept established consumer, industrial, and technology brands away from the Dhaka Stock Exchange.

    Targeting the Trillion-Dollar Horizon

    Dhaka previously leaned on development loans from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank to finance public works. High local borrowing costs and restrictive multilateral terms prompted the ministry to pivot toward open-market liquidity.

    Establishing sovereign curves abroad and a corporate bond market at home is crucial to fund logistics and retail networks. Large investments, such as a 550 million dollar terminal project at Laldia, need flexible market instruments instead of rigid bilateral credit lines.

    Market reforms will roll out across the next twelve months as regulators ready the debut international debt sales and build out listing pipelines for domestic and foreign firms.