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DSEX 5683.46 6.20 Gold (Ounce) $1277.00 Dollar 80.00 (Buy) 81.00 (Sell) REPO Rate (10/4/2017) 3.27%

CSCX 10675.07 9.32 Oil (Barrel) $53.52 Euro 84.43 (Buy) 88.65 (Sell) REPO Rate (09/4/2017) 3.11%

Source: DSE and CSE Source: yahoo finance Source: One Bank Limited Source: Bangladesh Bank (WAV)

National News ............................................................................................................................................................................ 2

Bangladesh yet to benefit from second submarine cable .............................................................................................................. 2

New head of marketing for GPH Ispat ............................................................................................................................................ 3

Tanners fear cancellation of Tk 1,100 cr export orders .................................................................................................................. 3

Temporary staff run insurance regulator ....................................................................................................................................... 4

Poultry and Feed associations place demands before finance minister ........................................................................................ 5

Banks' growing NPLs, excess liquidity fuel concerns ...................................................................................................................... 6

Banks step up efforts to cut cost of funds ...................................................................................................................................... 7

Banks need a central database of collateral ................................................................................................................................... 8

Mobile banking main reason for remittance fall: BB probe ........................................................................................................... 9

Slower big projects lower fund demand ...................................................................................................................................... 10

Exports to UK will not be hampered for Brexi .............................................................................................................................. 10

Exporters see no hope of India lifting jute anti-dumping duty..................................................................................................... 11

Bangladesh should explore markets in Malaysia.......................................................................................................................... 12

Body to realise Tk 316b VAT arrears from Petrobangla ............................................................................................................... 13

ADP implementation 45% in July-March ...................................................................................................................................... 14

ECNEC Okays Tk 33b infrastructure projects ................................................................................................................................ 15

EPZ, EZ cos must repatriate earnings to B’desh within 4 months ................................................................................................ 15

Experts plead for wider BIMSTEC connectivity............................................................................................................................. 15

IFC to bankrol hotels in Bangladesh, Nepal .................................................................................................................................. 17

International News ................................................................................................................................................................... 17

IMF, WTO, OECD vow to defend free trade against protectionism ............................................................................................. 17

Saudis, oil majors discuss gas investments ahead of giant IPO .................................................................................................... 18

Yellen warns Fed's independence under threat ........................................................................................................................... 19

India March inflation seen edging up closer to RBI's mid-term target ......................................................................................... 20

UK inflation holds steady in March............................................................................................................................................... 20

Gold gains as geopolitical worries spur safe-haven bids .............................................................................................................. 21

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National News

Bangladesh yet to benefit from second submarine cable The ICT sector is being deprived of the benefits of the country's second undersea cable, as its inland link is still not

ready for commercial use.

Bangladesh got connected with the South East Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 5 (SEA-ME-WE 5) cable at the landing

station in Kuakata on February 21; the government had a target to inaugurate it by mid March.

All the 18 other consortium members, except Bangladesh, have been enjoying the services for the last two months or

so.

Until the cable is connected, Bangla-desh is unable to reduce its dependency on bandwidth imports from India either,

said industry insiders.

Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Ltd (BSCCL) was one of the founding members of the undersea cable.

An inland link has been installed but before an alternative cable is installed, BSCCL cannot go for a commercial launch,

said officials.

“We can't say exactly when we will be able to start our services through this cable,” said Monwar Hossain, managing

director of BSCCL.

The work on the alternative link is underway, and it is scheduled to be completed in the last week of this month, said

Hossain.

There will be a coordination meeting on April 25; a probable time can be declared then, he added.

Earlier on March 2, during a visit to the landing station, State Minister for Telecom Tarana Halim told journalists that

commercial operations of the cable would begin in the first half of March.

However, when asked on Monday, she declined to comment on the matter. Tarana attended a meeting on this issue

last week and asked authorities to submit a report on it.

As per the telecom act, BSCCL cannot establish any connectivity link and that is why it is depending on state-owned

Bangladesh Telecommunications Com-pany Ltd (BTCL) for it.

For the last two years, BTCL has been working on it but failed to complete the connectivity from Kuakata to Dhaka.

BTCL communication team declined to comment.

After being connected with the cable, the country will get an additional 1,400 gigabits per second (Gbps) of bandwidth,

which will reduce bandwidth imports from India.

Bangladesh is now using 170 Gbps bandwidth of its first submarine cable, and importing another 240 Gbps from India.

“If we get services from the second cable at competitive prices, we will not use imported bandwidth,” said Imdadul

Haque, general secretary of Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB).

He requested the government to reduce the price disparity between imported and local bandwidth. Currently, one

Mbps of local bandwidth costs about Tk 700, which is around Tk 500 for imported bandwidth.

To address the issue, BSCCL has started a process to reduce the price of its bandwidth by around 20 percent, said

Hossain, its MD.

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The second submarine cable project costs Bangladesh Tk 660.64 crore; BSCCL took a loan of $44 million from the

Islamic Development Bank.

Repayment in instalments will begin in October 2017. “Had we been connected earlier, it would have helped us in

repayment,” Hossain added.

Bangladesh got its first submarine cable connection -- SEA-ME-WE-4 -- in 2006.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/bangladesh-yet-benefit-second-submarine-cable-1389937

New head of marketing for GPH Ispat Galib Mohammad has recently been appointed as the head of marketing and sales for GPH Ispat Ltd.

Prior to joining GPH Ispat, Mohammad worked for Anwar Group as head of marketing and communication for its

building material division. He also worked for Crown Cement, an associate concern of GPH Ispat, as deputy general

manager for research, planning, brand and business development, GPH Ispat said in a statement yesterday.

He is an ex-cadet of Jhenidah Cadet College and holds an MBA from the Institute of Business Administration of Dhaka

University.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/new-head-marketing-gph-ispat-1389916

Tanners fear cancellation of Tk 1,100 cr export orders Under pressure following the shutdown of their factories in the city's Hazaribagh area, tannery owners fear that their

export orders of some Tk 1,100 crore will be cancelled.

"According to our initial estimate, the export orders of some Tk 1,100 crore may be cancelled," said general secretary

of Bangladesh Tanners' Association (BTA) Shakawat Ullah on Tuesday.

He, however, said they started conducting a survey to get the final estimate over the possible cancellation of export

orders. "Hopefully, we'll get it [final estimate] within the next three-four days."

In compliance with a High Court order, the Department of Environment (DoE) on Saturday last disconnected utility

services -- electricity, gas and water -- to some 224 tanneries at Hazaribagh as they missed several deadlines to relocate

their factories to the 200-acre Savar Tannery Estate.

The closure of the factories will cast a dire impact on nearly US$ 1.5 billion-leader sector as the owners of many

tanneries, particularly the small ones, are still uncertain when their tanneries will be shifted to Savar, according to the

industry insiders.

BTA statistics show that the future of 27 tanneries looks bleak as they have not got any plot at Savar.

Arab Tannery, Noakhali Tannery, Manik & Sohag Brothers Tannery Ltd, Luna Tannery, Exim Leather, Cromvage

Tannery, Ideal Leather Complex, Hamco Leather Ltd, Dia Leather Complex, Kaiser Leather Complex, Lamesa Leather,

Kashem Tannery and Mohammadia Leather Complex are among the 27 tanneries.

About the relocation process, the BTA general secretary said it will be possible for some 80-90 tanneries to shift their

factories to Savar within the next one month, but the fate of others is uncertain as many of them are dependent on

export earnings to shift their factories.

"But, the operation of their factories now remains suspended, which will hamper their relocation process further."

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So far, nearly 40 tanneries have been shifted their wet-blue leather sections to Savar as per the BTA statistics.

The tanneries could not yet install their crust and finished leather sections at Savar estate as the gas connection is still

not available there, the owners said.

Owner of Noakhali Tannery and Manik & Sohag Brothers Tannery Ltd Md Mukbul Ahammad said the operation of his

two tanneries is still unclear as he got no plot at Savar against the two factories.

He claimed that Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC) in July 2006 approved two plots against

his two units, but did not allocate finally, though some outsiders having no tannery factory got plots at the Savar estate

due to underhand dealings.

With the shutdown, Mukbul said, his tannery machinery, worth Tk 5-7 crore, will get destroyed, while his at least 20

workers have already lost their jobs.

Shamsuddin and Zahir Uddin, workers of Noakhali Tannery, said they may lose jobs as the tannery was shutdown and

there is no possibility to shift the factory to another place.

While visiting Luna Tannery that did not get plot at Savar, this correspondent found huge piles of wet-blue leather on

Tuesday. Some commercial exporters (who are not owners of any tannery but process leather renting factories) were

worried with the piles of wet-blue.

Mosharraf Hossain, a commercial exporter, said he has 30,000sq feet wet-blue leather worth about Tk 30 lakh at Luna

Tannery, but he does not know the fate of the leather.

Jahangir Rahman Milon, owner of International Tannery, and Jamal Ahmed, owner of Metro Tannery, said the

country's leather sector will lose its international market due to the suspension of operation of the factories.

"Once the foreign buyers move to other countries, it'll be tough to bring back to Bangladesh," Jamal said.

Milon said dumping yard at the Savar estate has not been constructed yet. "Neither a single factory has got gas

connection," said a worrying Milon.

The BTA general secretary said there are 205 tannery owners, 450 commercial exporters of leather and 35,000 workers

engaged in Hazaribagh tannery sector.

Earlier on Monday, the owners and workers of Hazaribagh tanneries staged demonstration in the city demanding

utility connections to their industrial units at the Savar Tannery Estate within 15 days in compliance with the apex

court order.

The government set up the Savar Tannery Estate to relocate the tanneries from Hazaribagh considering health and

environmental hazards. It has allotted 155 plots at Savar among tanners and provided them Tk 250 crore as

compensation for shifting their industrial units.

Some 21,000 cubic metres of untreated toxic waste are released every day from the Hazaribagh tanneries into the

Buriganga River, posing a serious risk to human and animal health.

Source: http://www.daily-sun.com/post/218983/Tanners-fear-cancellation-of-Tk-1100-cr-export-orders

Temporary staff run insurance regulator The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA), which regulates the country's 77 insurers, is being run

with only 63 employees -- and all of them are temporary staff members.

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Though the government has approved an organogram for the IDRA in 2016 -- six years after the law was passed in

March 2010 -- the organisation is yet to hire anyone in the absence of required rules and regulations.

“We are in the final stage of formulating the rules and regulations,” said Gokul Chand Das, chairman, current charge,

of the IDRA.

The finance ministry is yet to decide on the fate of the existing employees, he said, adding that all of them are working

on a temporary basis.

Though the IDRA has recommended absorbing all the current employees into the new organogram, the finance

ministry is opposed to the idea on the ground that the public administration rules do not support it.

The uncertainty about their future has left all the existing employees jittery.

“We are under great anxiety as many of us have crossed the 30-year age limit for government jobs,” said a frustrated

official of the IDRA requesting not to be named. He joined the organisation in 2011.

Another official said he had no idea that they would not be absorbed into the new organogram once approved by the

government.

Of the 63 existing employees, 37 are officers and the rest are lower level staff members.

They were all employed by the IDRA in 2011 and 2012 as temporary employees. They are only getting salaries. There

is no provident and gratuity funds for them, unlike other government employees.

“We are doing our best to regulate the insurance industry, which was widely unregulated. Now we see that our jobs

are up in the air,” said another official.

The IDRA's daily activities are also being hampered as only two members, including the chairman in-charge, are there

against five positions.

“It is really difficult for us to regulate and develop the complex insurance industry with this manpower,” Das said.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/temporary-staff-run-insurance-regulator-1389940

Poultry and Feed associations place demands before finance minister The Feed Industries Association of Bangladesh (FIAB) and Bangladesh Poultry Industries Coordination Committee

(BPICC) have placed five point demands ahead of the budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year.

Association leaders placed the demands in front of Finance Minister AMA Muhith at a program titled “Food-nutrition

security, women empowerment and creating employment in poultry industry-budget thought”.

FIAB President and BPICC Convener Moshiur Rahman placed the demands of the poultry industry to Finance Minister

Muhith.

Shamsul Arefin Khaled, president of the Bangladesh branch of World Poultry Science Association, presented the

demands on behalf of their association. FBCCI President Abdul Matlub Ahmed, National Board of Revenue member

Parvez Iqbal, Lutfor Rahman, Founder and Managing Director of Kazi Farms Kazi Zahedul Hasan and Minister of

Fisheries and Livestock Muhammed Sayedul Hoque spoke at the program.

The demands are: withdrawal of income tax from poultry food elements imports, exemption of 10% customs tax on

import of soya-bean meal, inclusion of Distillers Dried Grain with Solubles (DDGS) in SRO as a vegetable protein, urgent

addressing of complexity and H.S. Code related issues on imported goods, and withdrawal of indirect tax on raw

materials importers and suppliers.

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Promising to consider the poultry industry associations’ demands, the finance minister urged them to produce double

the quantity of chicken and eggs within three years.

FIAB and BPICC said doubling production by the stipulated time would not be an issue if the government fulfilled their

demands.

Meanwhile, Founder and Managing Director of Kazi Farms Kazi Zahedul Hasan said they are providing safe chicken and

eggs using the latest international technology and equipment.

“A few dishonest businessmen are using tannery waste to make poultry feed secretly. But we don’t want to use it.

Police will find nothing if they raid the factories that produce poultry feed this way,” said Zahedul.

Source: http://www.dhakatribune.com/business/commerce/2017/04/12/poultry-demands-finance-minister/

Banks' growing NPLs, excess liquidity fuel concerns The rising non-performing loans (NPLs) and excess liquidity have become major areas of concern for the country's

banking sector.

Besides, the number of large loans is also on the rise while the amount of credit received by small and medium

enterprises has declined.

The revelations were made on Tuesday by speakers at a workshop on 'review of credit activities in 2016'. The workshop

was organised by the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) at its auditorium in the city.

Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank (BB) Abu Hena Mohd. Razee Hasan was present on the occasion as the chief

guest.

BIBM Director Dr. Prashanta Kumar Banerjee presented the keynote paper at the workshop with BIBM Director

General Dr. Toufic Ahmad Choudhury in the chair.

The workshop was told the NPLs in the banking system stood at 10.10 per cent of the aggregate amount of loans until

June 2016 compared to 8.8 per cent as of June 2015.

Terming the pace at both NPLs and excess liquidity were growing a cause of concern for the banking sector, Mr. Razee

said the central bank already took some steps to minimise the risks of banks.

Speaking on the occasion, BIBM supernumerary and former managing director of Pubali Bank Helal Ahmed Chowdhury

said since recovery of default loans is a time-consuming process, the option of alternative dispute resolution (ADR)

can help address the problem.

He also suggested establishment of a data bank like CIB (credit information bureau) of Bangladesh Bank for getting

information on properties to be mortgaged for sanctioning bank loans.

In his speech, another BIBM supernumerary, Md. Yasin Ali, said that the NPLs in the state-owned banks accounts for

about 40 per cent of the total while it is only 1.0 per cent in foreign banks operating in Bangladesh, a big difference.

In his keynote paper, Dr. Prashanta suggested enhancement of credit flow to rural areas side by side with the urban

areas.

Source: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/04/12/66617/Banks'-growing-NPLs,-excess-liquidity-fuel-

concerns

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Banks step up efforts to cut cost of funds Private Banks have now turned their focus on bringing down their cost of funds to get a

competitive edge over peers in the saturated market, bankers said.

Of the 39 private banks, most have taken different measures to increase the contribution from

non-term deposits like current and savings account (CASA) to their deposits.

A CASA, which combines savings and checking accounts into one, operates like a normal bank

account in which funds may be utilised at any time.

Because of the flexibility, a CASA has a lower interest rate than a term deposit as the bank does

not have a guarantee all the funds are available to loan for a specific period of time.

Typically, interest is accrued on monthly average balance and applied at each quarter-end on such accounts. And the

interest rate tends to be between 2 percent and 4 percent.

A higher CASA ratio indicates a lower cost of funds. If a large part of a bank's deposits comes from these funds, it

means that the bank is getting those funds at a lower cost. In India, it is used as one of the metrics to assess profitability.

Bangladesh Bank data shows fixed deposits, which are costlier than other types of deposit products, have been

declining over time.

The share of fixed deposits stood at 48.84 percent in the July-September period of last year, in contrast to 51.82

percent a year earlier. Fixed deposits accounted for over 70 percent of the banks' total funds four years ago.

“CASA has become my passion,” said Anis A Khan, managing director of Mutual Trust Bank, which has been doing well

in attracting this low-cost fund in last several years.

A few years ago, MTB's CASA ratio was 20 percent. Now, it is 38 percent. MTB's CASA ratio has been growing at double

digits in every year since 2008 except for 2012 when the bank went through restructuring to set up alternate delivery

channels like cash machines, internet and SMS banking, credit cards, 24-hour call centre.

“That investment is now helping the bank grow its CASA ratio heavily,” Khan said, adding that the launch of 20 agent

banking centres over the last 8 months will also contribute to the growth of CASA ratio in future.

The issue of managing the cost of funds has come to the fore in recent years, especially after the growing competition

among banks to grab good borrowers, said Ehsan Khasru, former managing director of Prime Bank and an adviser of

Premier Bank.

Jamuna Bank, which is a third generation private bank, has also emphasised on boosting its CASA ratio. The bank's

CASA ratio edged up to 20 percent in 2016 from 18 percent a year earlier.

“There is no option other than managing the cost of funds to remain competitive in the market,” said Shafiqul Alam,

managing director of Jamuna Bank.

Alternative delivery channels and reputation help a bank get low-cost deposits, he said.

At Pubali Bank, the largest private bank in terms of branch network, high-cost deposits accounted for 35 percent of

the funds in 2016, down from 40 percent a year earlier, said Abdul Halim Chowdhury, its managing director.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/banks-step-efforts-cut-cost-funds-1389958

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Banks need a central database of collateral The banking sector needs a central database of collateral as there is a tendency among borrowers to take multiple

loans against a single asset, in a violation of rules.

A collateral profile of clients is not maintained, which leads to higher default loans, speakers said at a discussion styled

'Credit Operations of Banks' yesterday at the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management in Dhaka.

A Management Information System (MIS) for collateral profiles is being maintained by only 40 percent of state owned

commercial banks and 59 percent private commercial banks, according to a paper presented at the workshop.

Only the foreign commercial banks fully maintain a collateral profile, according to the paper -- Credit Operations of

Banks 2016 -- presented by Prashanta Kumar Banerjee, professor and director of BIBM.

A unified collateral database will easily show the mortgaged assets before giving loans, said Helal Ahmed Chowdhury,

a veteran banker and supernumerary professor of BIBM.

The government can develop the database through the land registry office as all the registry offices have been

digitized, said Chowdhury, also an independent director of Islami Bank.

Banks take a non-encumbrance certificate from the government before taking land mortgage as collateral, he added.

If a data bank of all the lands in the country is maintained, similar to Credit Information Bureau database of the central

bank, then it will remove the tendency of taking loans against the same assets, he said.

Banks do not properly maintain a collateral profile, said Mohammed Nurul Amin, managing director of Meghna Bank.

Doing so will reduce the default risk, he added.

The highest percentage of loans in the banking sector is secured by real estate, which leaves these loans partly

unsecured due to price volatility of such assets, according to the report.

The survey found that 59.27 percent of advances of all banks were secured by real estate in 2016, which was 58.30

percent in 2015.

The use of real estate as collateral was always popular as the value of this asset is high, the report stated.

The proportion of unsecured advances of all banks in 2016 was 1.01 percent, which was 0.92 percent in 2015.

In 2016, private commercial banks gave the highest segment of loans against real estate at 63.66 percent; foreign

banks gave the most loans against machinery and fixed assets at 25.28 percent.

The choice of security is also important for banks to mitigate the risks associated with loans, the report said.

The report stated that real estate is considered as the sensitive security that may suffer from price volatility, leaving

loans partly unsecured and may lead to strategic default.

According to the review report, banks mostly preferred rescheduling, restructuring and negotiation to recover loans

instead of going to the court due to dalliance.

The most applied measure for recovery, except for going to the court, was loan rescheduling and restructuring by

96.67 percent banks in 2016.

Chowdhury suggested that banks resolve the disputes through Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) and arbitration

instead of the courts to avoid procrastination.

Abu Hena Mohd Razee Hassan, deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, attended the programme as chief guest and

Toufic Ahmad Choudhury, director general of BIBM, chaired the session.

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Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/banks-need-central-database-collateral-1389943

Mobile banking main reason for remittance fall: BB probe Bangladesh Bank (BB) investigation teams have identified informal channels, including mobile banking, as the major

reasons for downward trend in country’s remittance inflow.

‘Non-Residence Bangladeshis (NRBs) are using informal channels for sending their money home due to various

reasons, including easy procedures and no procedural cost,’ a BB official told the news agency on Tuesday.

‘I think, mobile banking alone is 50 per cent responsible for the remittance falling trend,’ he added.

Mentioning the anti-money laundering activities in different countries as a reason to choose the informal channels, he

said illegal workers cannot send their money through the formal channel.

As the falling trend of the inflow of remittances is becoming a matter of concern for the country, two teams of experts

of BB went to Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Malaysia in March to find out the reasons behind the declining trend of

remittances.

BB economic adviser M Akhtaruzzaman led a three-member team and general manager of BB governor’s secretariat

M Habibur Rahman led another three-member team.

The BB official said the two teams have already finalised their reports, which would be submitted to the governor

soon.

Talking about the reports, the official said, low oil price is one of the reasons of the declining trend of remittance

inflow.

‘The earnings of NRBs are lower than before as the economic conditions of the countries concerned are not very good,’

he added.

He said the falling currency rate against dollar and low oil prices have also hit the incomes of the workers in the Middle

Eastern countries where most of the Bangladeshi migrants work.

The BB official said, different recommendations will be made in the reports to check the informal channels.

He said BB, the Bangladesh embassies in different remittance hub countries and the home ministry can take some

steps, including strengthening monitoring on mobile banking, through law enforcement agencies to check the informal

channels.

He said banks should not go for long holidays during festivals as NRBs send huge remittance at those times.

According to BB, Bangladesh received $1,660.16 million in remittances from Saudi Arabia, $823.20 million from

Malaysia and $227.57 million from Singapore for the first nine months of FY17.

But inward remittance maintained a sluggish trend from the very beginning of FY17 and the country received a total

of $9,194.51 million in the first nine months of FY17 though the amount was $11,059.68 million during the same period

of FY16.

In March 2017, the country received $1,077.44 million while the amount was $1,285.59 million in March 2016.

Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/13321/mobile-banking-main-reason-for-remittance-fall-bb-probe

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Slower big projects lower fund demand Slower implementation of all mega-projects in bridge-building sector, including Padma Bridge, has squeezed fund

demand by 22 per cent in the upcoming fiscal.

Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) has placed such an abridged demand for allocations in the budget for the next fiscal

year (FY), 2017-18, according to sources.

Owing to slow progress of its three mega infrastructure projects, BBA also had to surrender over 29 per cent of its

budget allocated in the current fiscal year (2016-17).

BBA officials said the authority has sought Tk 79.03 billion against its year-on-year demand plan of Tk 101.52 billion

for the upcoming fiscal year in view of the ground reality.

Sources said all these three projects - Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project, Dhaka Elevated Expressway and Karnaphuli

Tunnel Project-were lagging behind their respective schedules, prompting project offices to surrender Tk 26.8 billion.

The BBA was provided Tk 92.07 billion in the FY 2016-17 for implementing these three important projects but received

Tk 65.27 billion in the revised budget being unable to make the desired progress.

Officials said of the total demand placed for the upcoming year, Tk 55.24 billion has been sought for the Padma

Multipurpose Bridge, Tk 8.05 billion for Dhaka Elevated Expressway and Tk 15.74 billion for the Karnaphuli-tunnel

project.

PMPB project office has revised Tk 13.52 billion down, failing to make due progress, while DEE project could not use

64 per cent of allotted budget.

The Karnaphuli-tunnel project, which was inaugurated during Chinese President's visit to Bangladesh last October,

could also not make any headway due to long silence of the Chinese EXIM bank.

Budget allocation for the Karnaphuli tunnel was Tk 19.81 billion in the current fiscal year, which was, however, revised

to Tk 14 billion for unavailability of the Chinese loan as project assistance.

The project assistance was shown Tk 11 billion.

But sources said BBA could spend Tk 1.38 billion in the current fiscal year from government part of the budget for land

acquisition.

An official said in the light of the reality, lesser budget was sought for the three projects as the Padma Bridge project's

main bridge contractor and river-training contractor could not work much before next dry season.

PMPB and DEE projects have gone through various difficulties like financial crisis since inception in early 2010. Due to

the difficulties, project-completion deadlines for the two infrastructure projects were extended up to December 2018

and 2019.

However, construction of the Karnaphuli Tunnel is yet to be started though it was also planned to be completed in

three years.

Source: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/04/12/66616/Slower-big-projects-lower-fund-demand

Exports to UK will not be hampered for Brexi Bangladesh's export to the UK will not suffer any adverse effect of Brexit, the British government has assured Finance

Minister AMA Muhith.

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The assurance came from Lord Bates, the state minister for international development for the UK, who is visiting

Bangladesh. Lord Bates met with Muhith at his Economic Relations Division office yesterday.

After the meeting the finance minister told reporters that Lord Bates informed him that there was no possibility of any

negative impact of Brexit on export from Bangladesh.

“I think the export of Bangladeshi goods to the UK will increase,” Muhith said.

The finance minister said he presented some problems to the UK minister, with one of them being the declining British

assistance.

Muhith said Lord Bates told him that the reason for the declining British aid was that Bangladesh was doing well on its

own.

“I said, the decline is very steep. Such a steep fall is not desirable,” the finance minister said.

The UK assistance to Bangladesh comes in the form of grant. About 8 to 10 years ago, the amount was £231 million,

which is now £100 million.

The finance minister said Lord Bates praised Bangladesh for its huge development and enquired how it happened.

“I explained the factors behind Bangladesh's development. One of those is poverty alleviation,” Muhith added.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/exports-uk-will-not-be-hampered-brexit-1389919

Exporters see no hope of India lifting jute anti-dumping duty Bangladesh jute goods exporters see no hope of withdrawal of anti-dumping duty imposed by India on import of jute

goods from Bangladesh as the deadline for legal battle ended on April 5 with no local exporters, except one, filing

appeal.

On the other hand, the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has not brought any hope for jute exporters as India did

not make any specific decision on the issue, said sector leaders.

The government will also have to wait for at least one year for seeking review of the decision in line with the anti-

dumping duty law.

Until then, there is no legal way to fight with India against the duty and the only option to go to the World Trade

Organisation against the decision of India.

Generally, the duty ranging from $19 to $351.72 a tonne on jute goods from Bangladesh will remain effective for five

years unless the issue is solved earlier.

Leaders of Bangladesh Jute Spinners Association and Bangladesh Jute Mills Association on Tuesday told New Age that

there was no legal way for Bangladeshi exporters to fight against the duty imposed on the products on January 5 as

they missed the deadline to file appeal.

BJSA and BJMA have no information whether any exporter filed appeal or not as no exporter apprised the associations,

they said.

They, however, heard that only Anwar Jute Spinning Mills filed appeal with the Indian authority against imposition of

the duty, they said.

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Indian finance ministry on January 5 imposed the duty following an investigation of India’s Directorate General of Anti-

Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) for an alleged dumping of the products in the Indian market by Bangladeshi

exporters.

The decision hit hard Bangladesh’s jute products like yarn, twine, sacks, bags and fabrics export to its neighbouring

country as overall export slumped 52 per cent to 6,872 tonnes in January and 37 per cent to 6,155 tonnes in February

compared with the same months in last year.

‘We have no information whether any exporter lodged appeal against the duty,’ said BJSA secretary general Shahidul

Karim.

BJSA represents 90 per cent of total exporters in the country.

BJMA secretary Abdul Barik Khan also said that they had no information on the issue.

Officials of the Bangladesh Tariff Commission also said that no exporter informed anything to the commission or

sought assistance on the issue.

Former vice-president of BJSA Abul Hossain said that exporters thought that the issue would be solved politically

during the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India. So, exporters did not file appeal though some exporters

initially considered filing appeal, he said.

‘Exporters made a mistake by not filing appeal as the issue was not solved during the PM’s visit though it is uncertain

of getting any positive outcome from appeal,’ he said.

According to the joint statement on the visit, India assured that it would look into the matter while Sheikh Hasina drew

attention of Narendra Modi on the issue.

Hossain Khaled, managing director of Anwar Jute Spinning Mills Ltd, told New Age that they filed appeal as the process

of imposition of the duty was unjust as the duty was imposed on false information.

‘But now I have abandoned the hope. I don’t see any reason to keep high hope on the process when no progress was

made during the PM’s visit,’ he said.

Experts and exporters said that only new shippers could seek exemption from the duty arguing that they would not

export during the period of investigation.

Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/13318/exporters-see-no-hope-of-india-lifting-jute-anti-dumping-duty

Bangladesh should explore markets in Malaysia Bangladesh should explore markets for its jute and jute goods, agro-products, spice, furniture, and dairy products in

Malaysia as there is huge demand for such items, a Malaysian minister said.

Malaysian investors are keen to invest in clean energy and energy waste management projects in Bangladesh, said

Encik Malcom Mussen, assistant minister for agriculture at Sarawak state.

Mussen was part of a 40-member trade delegation from the Kuching Chinese General Chamber of Commerce &

Industry (KCGCCI) of Malaysia, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) said in a statement.

The delegation held a meeting with the leaders of DCCI in the capital yesterday.

KCGCCI Commerce Committee Chairman Christopher Ngui Siew Ling said export diversification would help Bangladesh

become competitive in Malaysian market.

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DCCI President Abul Kasem Khan said Bangladesh needs huge investment in the energy and infrastructure sector.

He said Bangladesh has a large untapped market of halal products, which can jointly be explored by Bangladeshi and

Malaysian entrepreneurs.

Khan also said the current bilateral trade and economic cooperation between Bangladesh and Malaysia is far below

the potential.

He invited Malaysian businessmen to import Bangladesh's best quality jute and jute goods. “There is a huge potential

for expansion of bilateral trade and investment between Malaysia and Bangladesh.”

In order to increase the bilateral trade to the expected level and reduce trade deficit, a free trade agreement between

the two countries needs to be inked, Khan said.

DCCI Directors Imran Ahmed, Akber Hakim, Vice President Hossain A Sikder and Secretary General AHM Rezaul Kabir

were also present.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/bangladesh-should-explore-markets-malaysia-1389922

Body to realise Tk 316b VAT arrears from Petrobangla The government has formed a high-powered committee to realise outstanding Value Added Tax (VAT) and

Supplementary Duty (SD) worth over Tk 316 billion from state-owned Petrobangla, officials said.

With the realisation of VAT and SD, the tax authority wants to offset its revenue shortfall of this fiscal year ending on

June 30 next, they added.

The officials said the committee will put forward recommendations to the finance minister within a month after

scrutinising outstanding VAT and SD with the revenue authority and price gap in gas sold by Petrobangla.

The committee has been formed to hammer out a solution to the issue of outstanding VAT and SD Petrobangla owes

to the National Board of Revenue (NBR), said a high official of the finance division.

The price gap has been created in absence of gas price adjustment with the actual procurement rates, officials said.

By official count, the state-run corporation owes about Tk 316.71 billion to the NBR in VAT and SD arrears during the

period between the fiscal year 2009-10 and January 2017.

A high official of NBR said, "During the last one year, the tax authority has done their level best to realise arrears from

Petrobangla."

"We expect to realise outstanding dues within the current fiscal year ending on June 30 next," he said.

The state-owned gas companies collected value added tax (VAT) and supplementary duty (SD) worth Tk 132.78 billion

from their clients between the fiscal year 2009-10 and January 2017, but they did not deposit the money with the

public exchequer, according to NBR.

About Tk 90.80 billion got added up as accumulated interest on the VAT and SD for non-payment in right time as per

Section 37(3) of the VAT Law 1991. From July 2009 to January 2017, the state-run gas distribution companies under

Petrobangla had collected taxes/duty from customers, but had not paid it to the national exchequer, a source said.

Petrobangla has recently sought Tk 45 billion as subsidy from the government to make payment of taxes in the form

of different names to the National Board of Revenue (NBR).

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The state-owned company requires over Tk 60 billion for payment of value added tax (VAT) and supplementary duty

(SD) to the revenue board annually.

Currently, the agency has a surplus fund. It has still a surplus of Tk 3.20 billion every month due to a hike in the price

of gas, produced by international oil companies (IOCs), since March 2017. As a result, surplus fund is likely to stand at

over Tk 38 billion within a year.

Some Tk 5.0 billion will be needed to pay VAT and SD to the revenue board every month. Petrobangla will be able to

pay due VAT and SD from the current month of April if the government gives allocation.

The gross revenue of Petrobangla in the FY 2014-15 from sales of gas, gas-derived liquids, coal and granite stood at Tk

280.759 billion. After paying SD and VAT, net income was Tk 253 billion, according to its annual report.

Gross expenses, comprising Tk 27.61 billion in SD and VAT along with Tk 219 billion in cost of sales, amounted to Tk

246 billion.

After paying income tax, net profit stood at Tk 32.71 billion. And on payment of dividend of Tk 8.91 million, net profit

stood at Tk 31.82 billion, the report mentioned.

Source: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/04/11/66598/Body-to-realise-Tk-316b-VAT-arrears-from-

Petrobangla

ADP implementation 45% in July-March The government has been able to implement 45% of annual development programmes during the first nine months

of the current fiscal year.

This is slightly better than the last year’s implementation rate. The ADP implementation during the same period a year

ago was 44%.

The slow rate of implementation has remained the hallmark of ADP.

Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said the government has taken initiatives to expedite the implementation.

“If necessary, we will take additional reform programmes to boost the implementation rate,” he said a press briefing

after a meeting at the National Economic Council auditorium.

Planning minister said the rate of ADP implementation in July-March this fiscal was 1 percentage point or Tk11,000

crore higher than that of the same period of the FY2015-16.

The ministries and divisions spent Tk53,868 crore during July-March period while it was Tk41,975 crore a year ago, he

said.

Without slashing the original size of the ADP for FY2016-17, the National Economic Council on February 17 approved

ADP of Tk1,10,700 crore.

In the revised ADP, the planning ministry increased its allocation to Tk77,700 crore from Tk70,700 crore of the original

ADP as the Prime Minister increased the allocation by Tk6,500 crore against the planning commission’s proposed

allocation Tk71,200 crore.

Source: http://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2017/04/11/adp-implementation-45-july-march/

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ECNEC Okays Tk 33b infrastructure projects The government on Tuesday approved and revised eight development projects with a combined cost of Tk 32.89

billion.

Presided over by the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC)

endorsed the projects mostly for the infrastructure development.

After the meeting, planning minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said the government would allocate Tk 24.12 billion from

the internal resources while Tk 8.42 billion from the external resources as the project aid and Tk 345.9 million from

the autonomous bodies' own funds.

The projects approved by ECNEC include the improvement of different roads inside the Rajshahi City Corporation areas

at Tk 1.73 billion, upgrade of the important regional roads (Khulna zone) at Tk 5.99 billion, Upgrade of the important

regional the roads (Rangpur zone) at Tk 5.98 billion, upgrade of the important regional the roads (Comilla zone) at Tk

4.76 billion and Police line construction at Barisal metropolitan and Khulna district project at Tk 1.52 billion.

The road development from Kishoreganj-Karimganj-Chamraghat-Mithamoin (Chamraghat-Mithamoin part) (2nd

revision) at Tk 1.33 billion, environmental infrastructure project (revised) at Tk 10.58 billion and setting up of 10-

kilowatt FM Radio stations at Mymensingh and Gopalganj project (revised) at Tk 1.0 billion cost are among the projects

the council revised.

Ministers, Planning Commission members and its high officials and secretaries of different ministries were present at

the ECNEC meeting.

Source: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/04/11/66600/ECNEC-okays-Tk-33b-infrastructure-projects

EPZ, EZ cos must repatriate earnings to B’desh within 4 months Bangladesh Bank on Tuesday said the industries located in the country’s export processing and economic zones would

also have to repatriate to the country their earnings from their exports through land routes within four months of

shipment.

The BB issued a circular to authorised dealer branches of all banks asking them to follow the directive to repatriate

the export earnings in line with the Guidelines for Foreign Exchange Transactions-2009.

The guidelines also asked the banks to repatriate the export earnings within four months from the date of shipment

through air and water ways.

A BB official told New Age on Tuesday that the guidelines mention no timeframe for repatriation of the proceeds of

exports through land routes.

For this reason, the central bank has clarified the matter issuing the circular and that would also be applicable for the

industries located in EPZs and EZs, he said.

Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/13323/epz-ez-cos-must-repatriate-earnings-to-bdesh-within-4-months

Experts plead for wider BIMSTEC connectivity Experts at a conference in the capital underscored Tuesday the need for establishing wider connectivity in the BIMSTEC

region to make the regional bloc a success.

During the day-long deliberation, many of them however stressed on fixing the national level connectivity of the

member countries of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).

16 | P a g e

They observed that as the regional bloc was in its 20 years of existence, it was time to push further the regional

cooperation and move with wider connectivity.

All the member countries -- Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand -- should go ahead in

a co-ordinated manner to align the national and regional physical infrastructure.

BIMSTEC Secretariat in Dhaka and Indian think-tank Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) jointly organised the

conference titled 'Facilitating Connectivity in Bay of Bengal.'

At the inaugural session, BIMSTEC secretary general Sumith Nakandala said the Bay of Bengal region remained

historically well connected and a vibrant trade route.

He stressed on reviving the trade activities in the modern era through establishing wider connectivity.

"Connectivity is not only physical, but also virtual," he added. "In the current world, information technology and

digitalisation turns the connectivity wider."

CUTS International executive director Bipul Chatterjee said intra-regional trade in BIMSTEC remained very low as the

member countries preferred trading outside the region.

According to an estimate based on International Trade Centre (ITC) data, the intra- BIMSTEC trade stood at $74.53

billion in 2015, which was only 6 per cent of the region's global trade.

Taking part in the first working session, Takayuki Kawakami, head of economic and development section of Japan

Embassy in Dhaka, said that national connectivity should be there first before regional connectivity.

He said Japan was providing assistance to Bangladesh for constructing and developing road networks across the

country, which is critical to be linked with other countries and transform the link to a regional connectivity.

Dr Selim Raihan, professor of economics at University of Dhaka, pointed out that without aligning the national

initiatives rightly with the regional plan, no effective connectivity is possible.

He mentioned that Bangladesh has announced a plan to set up 100 special economic zones (SEZs).

"But, it is very important to chose the locations and ensure physical connectivity with the regional trade corridors," he

said.

He suggested that expanding the regional trade with better connectivity would require the private sector's active

participation due to their key role in trade.

In another working session, Mr Samitha Mohan Perera, vice president of Far Shipping Agency Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, said that

Bangladesh and other countries could take the advantage of improved facility of Colombo seaport where 10 per cent

rebate is available for the vessels carrying cargoes in the Bay of Bengal.

Dr Jayantha Colombage, director of Centre for Indo-Lanka Initiatives of Pathfinder Foundation, said that visa regime

should be relaxed to facilitate people to people contact -- a key component of effective connectivity.

Dr Atiur Rahman, former Governor of Bangladesh Bank; Dr Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow of the Centre for

Policy Dialogue; Mr U Kyaw Myaing of Myanmar Institute of Strategic and International Studies; Professor AK Enamul

Haque, professor of East West University; and Mr Subir Bhaumik, South Asia correspondent of bdnews24.com took

part in the discussion, among others.

Source: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/04/12/66615/Experts-plead-for-wider-BIMSTEC-connectivity

17 | P a g e

IFC to bankrol hotels in Bangladesh, Nepal The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has proposed to invest in a couple of South Asia companies, according to

separate disclosures of IFC.

These include Bangladesh-based Bengal Hotels and Resorts Ltd and Nepal-based Himalayan Chain Resort Pvt Ltd,

according to a report by www.dealstreetasia.com.

The IFC is the private lending arm of the World Bank Group.

IFC will invest up to $18 million loan and would mobilise another $18 million from a development finance institution

(DFI) to fund the construction of a hotel project by the Bengal Hotels and Resorts Ltd (BHRL), part of Bengal Group.

Set up in 2013, Bengal Hotels is constructing a hotel property in Gulshan-Tejgaon link road in Dhaka.

The total project cost is estimated at $75 million.

BHRL is developing a greenfield, 350-room business hotel property which will be operated by Swissotel Management

GMBH under its Swissotel brand.

IFC is also investing $1.7 million in Himalayan Chain Resort Pvt Ltd (HCR) as a loan from its own account.

HCR is a wholly owned subsidiary of Astrek Group, one of the leading names in trekking, mountain expeditions and

other trekking related activities in Nepal.

The company is building a project, located along the Gokyo Lakes Trail and Everest Base Camp Trail in the

Khumbu/Everest region of Nepal.

The total project cost is around $4.7 million and the project is proposed to be financed with a long-term debt of $1.7

million which IFC is providing and shareholders equity of $2.5 million.

Source: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2017/04/11/66599/IFC-to-bankrol-hotels--in-Bangladesh,-Nepal

International News

IMF, WTO, OECD vow to defend free trade against protectionism The chiefs of the IMF, WTO and OECD vowed Monday in a joint statement to defend free trade against creeping

protectionist trends, amid growing global alarm over US President Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ call.

‘Disappointing trade growth figures and the danger of increasing protectionist tendencies give us a clear incentive to

support the international trading system even more,’ said the statement, also signed by the heads of the World Bank

and the ILO, as well as host of the meeting, German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The World Trade Organisation has forecasted that global trade would likely grow only within a range of 1.8 per cent

to 3.1 per cent this year.

But of greater concern is the Trump administration’s attitude towards global commerce.

During his campaign, Trump described the WTO as a ‘disaster’ and promised a more aggressive approach to open up

foreign markets to US companies, including threatening to unilaterally imposing tariffs.

The US also refused at a G20 meeting in March to renew a long-standing anti-protectionist pledge, to the dismay of

the group of top developed and developing nations.

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At the meeting in Berlin, the leaders of the international organisations and Merkel also stressed the role of the WTO

in creating ‘new growth, employment and development opportunities’.

In addition, they underlined their commitment to combating climate change — another key issue that was dropped at

the G20 meeting because of US opposition.

Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/13322/imf-wto-oecd-vow-to-defend-free-trade-against-protectionism

Saudis, oil majors discuss gas investments ahead of giant IPO Saudi Arabia and international oil companies have discussed gas venture opportunities inside the kingdom and abroad

as part of the top crude-exporting country's drive to diversify investments before the listing of national energy giant

Saudi Aramco.

Saudi officials explored investment opportunities with firms including BP and Chevron to help develop its gas reserves,

the world's sixth largest, at a time of booming energy demand at home, four industry sources told Reuters.

Aramco has also looked into investing in gas ventures abroad, including with Italy's Eni, the sources said.

The development revives memories of talks between Aramco and global majors at the end of the 1990s and early

2000s, known as the Saudi gas initiative. Most of those talks collapsed as the parties disagreed over returns on

investment.

This time, Aramco is gearing up for a share listing next year, aiming to get a valuation of up to $2 trillion in what could

be the world's biggest initial public offering (IPO).

Chevron, BP, Aramco and Eni declined to comment on talks.

"We have a long-standing relationship with Saudi Arabia, so it is not uncommon for us to talk to them. We're always

having discussions about business development. I don't have anything particular to say about Saudi Arabia," Chevron

CEO John Watson told Reuters last week.

BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley, who traveled to Saudi Arabia at the end of last year, said this year he wouldn't rule out

"creative partnerships" with Aramco but that an outright investment by BP in the IPO was unlikely.

The kingdom has a long-term goal of increasing the use of gas for domestic power generation, thus reducing oil burning

at home and freeing up more crude for export.

This could help increase Aramco's valuation as it generates more revenue from exports than selling oil at lower

domestic prices - Saudi Arabia is the world's fifth-biggest oil consumer despite being only the 20th-biggest economy.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, who is also Aramco's chairman, said last year that Aramco was interested in

investing in international upstream ventures, particularly gas, and could invest in importing gas into the kingdom.

Diversifying gas assets abroad would help Aramco achieve a better valuation and is attractive for investors, industry

sources said. Riyadh also plans to raise domestic gas prices, a move seen as an incentive for foreign companies. Aramco

is preparing to reveal in the next few months a new gas strategy aimed at developing resources to keep pace with

rising domestic demand, sources familiar with the discussions said.

It comes as part of the kingdom's push to diversify its economy away from oil, a strategy known as "Vision 2030", amid

a global drive to phase out the most polluting fossil fuels.

Aramco wants nearly to double gas production to 23 billion standard cubic feet a day in the next decade.

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"IOCs (international oil companies) are waiting for that (strategy) to make their decisions," one industry source familiar

with the matter said.

Another industry source said Energy Minister Falih had said in private meetings with Western oil executives that he

wanted Aramco to partner with other companies in upstream projects.

Two Saudi-based industry sources familiar with the discussions said BP's Dudley had expressed an interest in investing

in gas exploration in the Red Sea. However, the two sides have yet to hold any talks on the project.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/saudis-oil-majors-discuss-gas-investments-ahead-giant-ipo-1389910

Yellen warns Fed's independence under threat The US central bank's shield from political interference is "under some threat" from Congress, a prospect that could

erode progress in the economy, Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen warned Monday.

Research shows that countries that allow the central bank independence in setting monetary policy "tend to enjoy

stronger macroeconomic performance," Yellen said in a discussion at the University of Michigan.

The US Congress "very wisely" passed a law that afforded that independence to the Fed in the 1970s, but it is

threatened by proposed legislation that would either audit the Fed's decisions or require it to follow a strict

mathematical formula to set interest rates.

"I always worry about threats to our independence," Yellen said.

While she did not mention US President Donald Trump, he was highly critical of the Fed during the election campaign

last year.

"I do think independence of a central bank to make decisions about monetary policy, free of short-term political

pressures, is very important and results in better decision making, focused on the long-term needs and health of the

economy," Yellen said.

This does not mean the Fed lacks accountability or transparency, she said, noting that she is required to testify before

Congress twice a year, and holds regular news conferences in addition to publishing the minutes of the policy meetings.

Yellen said the economy currently is "pretty healthy," as it continues to gradually improve in the wake of the 2008

global financial crisis. But it will be key for the central bank to not allow inflation to accelerate too quickly.

She repeated the central bank's expectation that it will need to raise interest rates only gradually to keep inflation

hovering around the two percent target.

"But we don't want to wait too long" to get to a neutral point where the interest rate is no longer stimulating the

economy.

She cautioned that "if the economy ends up overheating and inflation were to rise well above target, we don't want

to be in position to have to raise rates rapidly which could conceivably cause a recession."

"We want to be ahead of the curve not behind the curve," she said.

The Fed has raised interest rates twice in recent months, after the initial hike in December 2015 moved the key lending

rate off zero for the first time since December 2008.

Not only is inflation near the Fed's two percent target, the unemployment rate has fallen to 4.5 percent, which she

said is lower than what central bankers generally consider to be "full employment."

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Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/yellen-warns-feds-independence-under-threat-1389907

India March inflation seen edging up closer to RBI's mid-term target India's inflation is seen climbing to within touching distance of the Reserve Bank of India's 4 percent medium-term

target in March, driven by higher food costs, a Reuters poll found, backing policymakers' decision last week to move

to a defacto tightening bias.

Having sunk to its lowest level for at least five years in January, consumer price inflation is expected to have risen to

3.98 percent last month from February's 3.65 percent, according to the median forecast of 30 economists. The March

inflation rate is due to be released at 1200 GMT on April 12. "Inflation is likely to pick up in March, backing the central

bank's stance to keep rates on hold last week," wrote Radhika Rao, economist at DBS Bank.

"In March, cereal and pulses eased but perishables were up. Adverse base effects will underpin the fuel and commodity

related components, though the sharp rupee gains will help cap imported price pressures."

Signaling its worries about inflation, the Reserve Bank of India surprised markets last week in raising the secondary

reverse repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.00 percent. It kept the key policy repo rate unchanged at 6.25 percent.

India's central bank raised its inflation projections for the 2017/18 fiscal year starting April, expecting the index to

average 4.5 percent in the first half and 5.0 percent in the second, taking it above the RBI's medium-term target.

Such an uptick in prices could force the RBI, which ended a long easing cycle in February by changing its policy stance

to neutral from accommodative, to raise interest rates for the first time in over three years.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/india-march-inflation-seen-edging-closer-rbis-mid-term-target-

1389904

UK inflation holds steady in March British inflation held steady in March due to the later timing of this year's Easter holidays which pushed down airfares,

and a dip in global oil prices, but the squeeze on households looks set to resume soon.

Consumer prices increased in March by 2.3 percent compared with a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said

on Tuesday, in line with economists' forecasts in a Reuter’s poll.

Inflation has accelerated in Britain in recent months, pushed up by a weakening of the pound since last year's decision

by voters to leave the European Union, and by the rise in oil prices which has fuelled inflation in other countries too.

With wages growing at the same rate or slightly slower than prices in the shops, many households are facing the

prospect of a renewed squeeze on their incomes after a respite when inflation dipped to zero in 2015 and remained

low last year.

Earlier on Tuesday, a group representing British retailers said shoppers in Britain clamped down on their spending in

early 2017 as the cost of essentials rose. The ONS data showed food prices rose by an annual 1.2 percent in March,

their biggest increase in three years.

Confronted with the tough outlook for consumers, most Bank of England policymakers have signalled they see no

urgency to raise interest rates, even as they predict inflation will peak at 2.8 percent in around a year's time.

March's inflation figures were held down by airfares which fell, a sharp contrast with a jump of more than 20 percent

in the same month last year when the Easter holidays fell.

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With Easter falling in April this year, inflation is likely to come under renewed pressure from airfares then.

Also in April, increases in taxes on air passengers and car owners are kicking in and many utility companies are raising

their prices too.

Housing costs, which include utility bills, already rose at their fastest pace since November 2014 in March, the ONS

figures showed.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/uk-inflation-holds-steady-march-1389754

Gold gains as geopolitical worries spur safe-haven bids Gold rose on Tuesday as investors sought assets seen as havens from risk as political and security tensions rose over

North Korea, the Middle East and the looming French election.

Spot gold inched up 0.15 percent to $1,256.10 per ounce by 0935 GMT, while US gold futures rose 0.5 percent to

$1,259.50.

Heightened tensions in the Korean peninsula and Middle East following US missile strikes on Syria, along with

uncertainty about the result of the upcoming French presidential election, have made investors nervous.

"There a lot of supporting factors for gold at play here," said Carsten Fritsch, commodity analyst at Commerzbank

referring to safe-haven buys on risk-aversion.

Investors also bought the Japanese yen and US Treasuries, while the dollar index softened and stocks took a knock.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve plans to raise US interest rates gradually so as to sustain healthy growth without

letting the economy overheat, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Monday. Rising interest rates lift the opportunity cost of

holding non-yielding bullion.

From a technical viewpoint, a rally above $1,260 could be hard to sustain "as gold lacks momentum", Jeffrey Halley,

senior market analyst at OANDA said.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/gold-gains-geopolitical-worries-spur-safe-haven-bids-1389748