Ahsan Habib

It will take no less than a year from hereon for normalcy to return to businesses that have been devastated in the past four months following the novel coronavirus outbreak, said SM Ashraful Alam, managing director of Walton Hi-tech Industries.

Keya Cosmetics becomes a textbook case of how a high-flying company falls from grace in fits and starts.

SS Steel, a newly listed company, plans to acquire Saleh Steel Industries with the view to staking a larger claim on the Tk 55,000 crore-industry, in yet another indication of the impending recovery of the Bangladesh economy from the fallout of the global coronavirus pandemic.

The expected happened. Banks’ profits were supposed to take a massive hit in the second quarter of 2020, and that took place.

Stock investors yesterday welcomed the expansionary monetary policy unveiled by the central bank, hoping it would rejuvenate the battered economy and persuade institutional investors to pour money into the capital market.

Footwear giant Bata Shoe has incurred losses for the first time in Bangladesh as it missed the country’s main shopping season after people’s income was wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic.

Reckitt Benckiser Bangladesh witnessed robust growth in sales and profits in the pandemic-ravaged first half of 2020 on the back of higher sales of hygiene products.

The real estate sector and its subsectors are struggling to maintain their growth due to the economic slowdown induced by the coronavirus pandemic, exemplified by a slump in earnings by most of the listed companies connected to construction.

British American Tobacco’s profit grew a whopping 69 per cent in the second quarter of 2020 on the back of lower operating costs whereas most companies bled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The government’s decision to use the surplus funds of state-run companies, including listed ones, is eroding investor confidence as the move will reduce profits of the companies, according to market analysts.

Eastern Bank’s profits grew at a handsome rate in 2019 thanks to a higher recovery from written-off and classified loans, new client acquisition and deeper penetration both in retail and SME segments despite it being a challenging year for almost every financial institution.

While others have been slowly but surely drawing in new clients, one insurer has been showcasing a dismal performance to such an extent that its gross premium in 2018 reached half of what it was five years back.

The board of directors of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) has reported irregularities in posting and paying employees at the bourse that have ultimately increased costs amid decreased output.

Pharmaceutical companies in Bangladesh witnessed a slump in profits during the third quarter (January-March) of fiscal 2019-20 following reduced sales of prescription medicine amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Companies must innovate, manage expenditure meticulously and ensure the safety of employees to survive in the post-pandemic era, said a top executive of Berger Paints Bangladesh.

Pharmaceuticals turned out to be the most attractive sector in the stock market yesterday thanks to the continuation of the industry’s solid business amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) is taking strict measures to maintain minimum shareholding among directors of listed companies in a bid to revive the country’s stock index.

Stock investors of CVO Petrochemical Refinery have been in a flap as the company has announced to close operations for at least three months due to a shortage of condensate, a gas by-product used as a key raw material by refineries.

The government is being deprived of hundreds of crores of taka every year in dividend income from listed state-run companies as no shares are issued against the government’s investment in those companies.

Most banks’ operating profits declined 20 to 30 per cent in the first half of 2020 because of the paralysed economy but the fall did not reflect properly in their stock prices owing to the floor price.