Jagaran Chakma

The pharmaceutical market of Bangladesh is expected to surpass $6 billion by 2025 with an absolute growth of 114 per cent from its 2019 levels, according to a report from a Dublin-based market insight and analysis firm, Research and Markets.

A decision by the energy ministry to stop providing new gas connections to the industries outside economic zones and industrial parks from April next year has drawn the ire of industrialists.

Bangladesh, a laggard in the production of raw materials for the $3 billion pharmaceuticals industry, has made a four-fold jump in the manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) in the last decade to meet growing demand.

Development spending rose to a four-month high of Tk 10,151 crore in October as the government has accelerated expenditure to revive the economy reeling under the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

Samorita Hospital, the lone listed healthcare provider, yesterday reported a sharp drop in profit for the last fiscal year, reflecting the sluggish business in the country’s private healthcare sector as most treatment-seekers opted to stay away from hospitals.

Nitol Motors’ plan to roll out locally assembled electric vehicles (EVs) has faced a setback as a fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, which is forcing the company to take two and a half years in additional time before making the cars available in Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has proposed reducing the motorcycle registration fee for two slabs to 4.9 per cent and 8.4 per cent respectively to make the popular two-wheelers cheaper for users.

Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Ltd (HPL) is going to invest about Tk 220 crore ($25.68 million) to establish large-scale active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and formulation facilities to meet their growing demand in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh could sign an agreement with India within a short time to begin construction of the India Special Economic Zone (ISEZ), where billions of dollars of investment are expected to pour in from the neighbouring country.

Meghna Group of Industries (MGI) is investing Tk 400 crore to set up a ceramics factory at the Meghna Economic Zone in Narayanganj as the conglomerate looks to establish its footprint in the country’s burgeoning sector.

Bangladesh’s first dedicated bitumen plant established by Bashundhara Group at a cost of around $143.7 million is all set to begin commercial production at the end of this month to meet the domestic demand for asphalt.

Japanese firm Ship Healthcare Holdings in partnership with Bangladesh’s Aichi Medical Group will set up a 1,000-bed dedicated cancer hospital and research centre in Dhaka at a cost of Tk 2,000 crore.

The government is keen on implementing the Dhaka East-West Elevated Expressway project with support from China instead of Malaysia under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills (BSRM) will invest Tk 50 crore to set up a cashew nut processing plant at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN), a move that will boost the local economy and encourage farmers.

Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza) has apparently gone back on its words to recently impose utility service charges, topped off with VAT, alongside a conservancy charge on investors.

Foreign nationals working legally and illegally in the local, foreign and multinational companies in Bangladesh send home billions of dollars every year, but there is no reliable data that can capture the true extent of the outbound remittance.

The Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN) seems to be taking shape day by day as investors have started developing the physical infrastructure of the 30,000-acre economic zone.

Development spending rose 16 per cent year-on-year to Tk 8,950 crore in September in a reassuring development for the government desperately trying to give a leg-up to the economy reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.

Unitex Group plans to invest about Tk 650 crore to set up manufacturing plants for chemicals, steel and paint at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN) in Chattogram.

The government has sought financial support of $500 million from Japan for the procurement of Covid-19 vaccine.