Jagaran Chakma

In Bangladesh, the peak season for the tourism and hospitality sector begins in September and continues until March. And the upcoming long weekend is going to provide an initial boost to the sector, with operators in major holiday destinations coming up with various offers.

Mohammad Plastic Industry Limited, a concern of Chattogram-based N Mohammad Group, has deferred its Tk 500 crore expansion plans by around two and a half years citing construction materials and the US dollar turning costlier. 

Modern Syntex Limited, a concern of TK Group, is likely to begin commercial operations of one of the largest man-made fibre plants in Bangladesh next month at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar in Chattogram.

A dispute between ship-breakers and steel re-rolling mills over the hike in price of scrap steel has led to an impasse in the production of steel goods for the past seven days.

The Plastic Industry Development Policy 2023 has set a target to increase the plastics and packaging industry market from around $4 billion now to $10 billion by 2028.

Pharmaceutical exports from Bangladesh grew nearly 15 percent year-on-year in the first two months of the current fiscal year as drug-makers secured international tenders, according to industry people. 

Japanese trading company ITOCHU Corporation is set to enter the Bangladesh market by offering bags of its OUTDOOR PRODUCTS brand through YELLOW, a fashion and lifestyle brand of Beximco Group.

Like Japanese and Chinese companies operating in Bangladesh, domestic firms as well as those from other countries are not happy with the overall business climate in the country, said a number of entrepreneurs, heads of chambers and experts. 

The construction materials industry of Bangladesh has registered massive growth over the past decade as some mega projects are providing ample opportunity for capacity building and ensuring world-class products, according to industry insiders.

The growth of the country’s packaging industry is in a slow lane due to the persisting economic uncertainty and the impacts of the price hike of the US dollar, gas and electricity, according to industry people. 

Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida) from next month will start checking up on the progress made by 17 factories in implementing a correction action plan (CAP) on ensuring safe work environments. 

Bangladesh’s major cement manufacturers are increasingly shifting to eco-friendly production processes with a view to cutting energy consumption and pollution and ensuring the sustainability of their business in a world that is getting more worried about industries’ carbon footprint.   

The market for corrugated iron (CI) sheets is expanding in Bangladesh thanks to the availability of more durable and coloured versions of the product, according to industry insiders.

Although Bangladesh is laying the groundwork for gradually adopting electric vehicles (EVs), sales are yet to gain pace because of higher prices, further inflated by an elevated level of import duty and the cost of registration, according to market players.

The market for polyurethane foam is growing in Bangladesh as the material is being increasingly used for making upholstered furniture as well as packaging and insulation, according to industry insiders.

July’s development spending was the highest in four years on the back of enthusiastic fund utilisation by the local government division -- whose expenditure hit a record high for the first month of a fiscal year.

One of the development projects undertaken on Chinese loans has been completed while eight others are being implemented in full swing following a prolonged hiatus for the pandemic, said relevant officials and Economic Relations Division (ERD). 

Business leaders and experts have lauded one of the four packages of a universal pension scheme (UPS) meant for employees of private companies, saying it would enhance post-retirement financial security and benefit employers too. 

Big pharmaceutical companies in Bangladesh are gradually taking hold of the country’s growing market for herbal medicines as people are opting for higher quality natural remedies with recognisable brand value.

Overall sales of flats declined nearly 17 per cent in the last fiscal year of 2022-23 owing to economic uncertainties and a rise in prices of raw materials, according to realtors.