Sukanta Halder

Businesspeople in Bangladesh are becoming interested in sabotage and terrorism insurance following incidents of arson, looting and vandalism at several industrial establishments across the country, according to various insurers.

Vandalism and arson attacks on factories since earlier this month have created deep concerns among entrepreneurs and plunged thousands of employees who work in these firms into uncertainty.

Rice prices are rising in spite of an ample amount being produced in the just concluded fiscal year, causing hardship for low and fixed-income people who are already struggling to make ends meet amid persistently high inflation.

At least Tk 127 crore owed by e-commerce companies to customers as refunds has been stuck in payment gateways since 2021, according to the commerce ministry documents.

Jewellers in Bangladesh have hiked the price of gold ornaments to a historic high in line with rising pure gold prices and growth in the global market, according to industry people.

Political unrest in Bangladesh since the start of July has been severely affecting India’s inbound tourism industry, according to local outbound tour operators.

NRB Islamic Life Insurance has been mired in irregularities within just three years of its inception. The insurer has spent far more than the permissible limits for management expenses and showed extravagance in car purchases since being formed in 2021.

The country, especially the rural areas, is experiencing frequent power cuts over the last couple of days due to insufficient electricity production from coal-based power plants, alongside the prolonged delay in increasing LNG regasification facilities.

Prices of several daily essentials, including rice, soybean oil, and sugar, have surged in the capital’s kitchen markets, causing hardships for the city residents, particularly the lower and middle-income ones.

Public funds will be used to pay for repairs to Dhaka Metro Rail stations in the capital’s Kazipara and Mirpur-10 areas as the popular mass rapid transit system is uninsured.

Just a day after a mass uprising toppled Sheikh Hasina’s government on August 5, a group of people, introducing themselves as activists of a major political party, visited an outlet of a leading footwear maker in Rangpur and demanded Tk 5 lakh in return for allowing the showroom to operate.

Public funds will be used to pay for repairs to Dhaka Metro Rail stations in the capital’s Kazipara and Mirpur-10 areas as the popular mass rapid transit system is uninsured

Some 200 officials of Sonali Life Insurance Company, whose former chairman and family members were earlier found to have embezzled at least Tk 187.84 crore, staged a demonstration today bringing corruption allegations against the insurance regulator’s chairman and demanding his resignation

Businesses in Bangladesh, especially those that mostly deal with cash transactions, yesterday said they are contending with a liquidity crunch as the country’s central bank has placed a limit on daily cash withdrawals from banks.

Businesses hope the situation may get better from next week

Fearing looting and vandalism amidst the political crisis that culminated in Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s resignation following 15 years at the helm of an iron-fisted regime, many shops and malls in the country were closed yesterday, causing huge losses for businesses.

The risk of violence amidst a political crisis that culminated in the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday disrupted supply chains of essential food commodities, hitting consumers, traders and farmers.

The owners of retail outlets in Bangladesh fear they could incur massive losses due to the ongoing unrest stemming from a student movement seeking the resignation of the government.

Accommodation costs in Bangladesh have risen further amid persistently high inflation during the April-June period this year, placing an additional burden on many of the country’s middle and lower-income people.

The tour operators in Bangladesh suffered financial losses due to cancellation of pre-scheduled tours by foreign tourists who sought to avoid travelling in fear of violence and unrest centring the quota reform movement.