e_Paper, Monday, May 15, 2017

More documents

Recommendations

Info

10 MONDAY, MAY 15, 2017 DT News Small businesses make up 29% of agent bank users • Shariful Islam Small businesses account for 29% of total users of agent banking followed by housewives that constitute 18%, according to a study of Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM). Agent banking refers to providing limited scale banking and financial services to a sect of under-served population through engaging agents under a valid agency agreement, rather than a teller or cashier. It is the owner of an outlet that conducts banking transactions on behalf of a bank. The information was unveiled at a round-table discussion of BIBM styled “Agent Banking: Effectiveness in Financial Inclusion” held at its auditorium yesterday. Bangladesh Bank (BB) Deputy Governor SK Sur Chowdhury was present at the event as the chief guest while former deputy governor of the central bank Khondokar Ibrahim Khaled spoke on the occasion as special guest. BIBM Director General (DG) Dr Toufic Ahmad Choudhury chaired event while its Director Prof Prashanta Kumar Banerjee presented the report. In his presentation Prashanta said: “Of the total users of agent banking, 29% are small businesses while 18% housewives, 15% public and private employees, 7% farmers, 7% students and 3% are day labourers.” The report said the agent banking is mostly popular in Dhaka as 24% of the users are residents of the division while 18% of Chittagong. The least users are in Sylhet making up 5% of the total agent AGENT BANKING USERS IN BANGLADESH 03 07 07 Source: BIBM 21 29 15 18 banking account holders. In his address, SK Sur Chowdhury said: “Agent banking is playing an important role in financial inclusion as 82% of its users are residing in remote areas. Operational cost of agent banking should have to be reduced with a view to expanding the service.” Many banks have received licence for agent banking, but only two-three banks are now providing the services, he added. Sur urged all banks that received licences to start agent banking services. Khondokar Ibrahim Khaled said: “The number of secret agent banking is on the rise at an alarming rate and hundi business is being conducted in the name of such banking.” “It should be stopped and those involved have to be brought to book.” The commercial banks need to rein in the agent banking totally, and if they fail, the central bank Users in % Small businesses Others Day-labourers Farmers Students Employees Housewives should take steps against them, according to the former governor. BIBM Director General Dr Toufic Ahmad Choudhury said the agent banking is playing a vital role in expanding banking network. He also sought for a comprehensive guideline for the service. According to BB sources, Dutch-Bangla, Bank Asia, Al-Arafah Islami, Social Islami, Modhumoti, Mutual Trust, NRB Commercial, Standard, Agrani, Midland, and First Security Islami Bank are providing agent banking services now. Though Trust Bank and South Bangla Agriculture and Commerce Bank have got the licences, they are yet to launch the services. At present, the number of agents is 1,646 and outlets 2,601, while the number of accounts stand at 5,44,536. The central bank approved agent banking system in the banking sector in 2014. • Divorce rising in Dhaka as women seek way out of abusive marriages • Bilkis Irani Ten years ago, Halima Akter, employed at a private company in Agargaon, Dhaka, would not have dreamt of divorcing her husband despite the incompatibility that plagued their marriage. In 2014, the situation was quite different, which enabled Halima to seek a solution to her problems – a divorce. She sent a divorce notice to her husband of seven years, Rasel Ahmed, on March 18, 2014. Things have changed in Dhaka in recent years; more and more women are speaking up about their marital problems and seeking a solution. In most cases, divorce is the end result. Dr Sadeka Halim, sociology professor in Dhaka University, believes this is a positive trend. “In most cases, it is the women who suffer physical and mental abuse in the hands of their husbands and in-laws. But now many women are speaking up against the abuse and choosing to break out of the vicious cycle,” she told the Dhaka Tribune According to Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) data, around 67% of the divorce notices issued from 2011 to 2016 were by women. In all five zones of DNCC, 28,355 divorce notices were issued in 2011-2016, 14,966 of which were filed by women. In two zones (Zone 1 and Zone 4) of DSCC, 4,811 divorce notices were issued in 2011-2016, 3,215 of which were sent by women. The numbers of divorce notices are increasing every year. In 2011, 2,864 notices (1,773 by women, 1,091 by men) were issued in DNCC and 819 (533 by women, 285 by men) in Zones 1 and 4 of DSCC. In 2016, the numbers of divorce notices issued in DNCC was 4,847 (3,426 by women, 1,421 by men) and 852 (569 by women, 283 by men) in DSCC. Salma Ali, executive director of Bangladesh National Women Lawyers’ Association (BNWLA), said divorce nowadays is also propelled by the fact that women are becoming self-sufficient. “Before, most women were entirely dependent on their husbands, which is why they tolerated all kinds of abuse silently. But as women are becoming financially independent, they have both the confidence and the opportunity to get out of abusive marriage,” she said. However, there are many cases where Muslim men deliberately torture their wives so they would initiate the divorce, because the men believe they would be exempted from paying denmohor, the alimony that is mandatory under Islamic law, Salma said. Marjia Mukta, a housewife and mother of an eight-year-old daughter in Agargaon, dissolved her 10-year marriage by divorcing her husband Ekram Hossain because he was having an extramarital affair. Ekram, who lives in Saudi Arabia, told the Dhaka Tribune that he did not want to initiate the divorce because he did not want to pay denmohor to his wife. This is a major misconception, says Dr Kazi Zahed Iqbal, lawyer in the Supreme Court. • Like what you’re reading? SUBSCRIBE TODAY Call: 0161-I-WANT-DT (01614926838) | Visit: dhakatribune.com/subscribe Dhaka Tribune
News 11 MONDAY, MAY 15, 2017 WB: Rise in women workforce to boost GDP • Ibrahim Hossain Ovi Increasing women labour force participation to 45% by 2020 will help Bangladesh enhance its GDP by 1 percentage point, says World Bank. According to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistic (BBS) on Labour Force Survey Bangladesh 2013, at the latest only 33.5% women worked in productive sector while men were 81.7%. From 1999 to 2013, the increase in female participation in the labour force was remarkable with almost 190% rise in the 20-29 age group while 100% growth in 30-39 and 40-49 age groups. “Despite rise in the number of women joining the labour force, the number of working women is Cabinet approves Tk571cr Dhaka airport expansion project still much lower than their male counterparts,” said the WB in Bangladesh Development Update May 2017 released yesterday. World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal Qimiao Fan was present at the report launching programme. “If Bangladesh can raise the female labour force participation rate to 45% by 2020, it will be able to maintain economic growth by 1% above trend through 2020,” it added. Barriers to women labour force participation are asymmetric household responsibility, human capital deficiency and open discrimination, said WB lead economist Zahid Hussain. 74% women, who responded to the research, said they do not participate in job due to household responsibility. Zahid stressed right education and vocational training demanded by job markets. To increase female participation, he called for steps to reduce the prevalence of early marriage, strengthen girls’ early orientation to career development, ensure gender equity in labour legalisation and foster non-discriminatory workplace environments. The global lender, however, has projected 6.4% and 6.8% Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth between 2017 and 2018. The growth will be sustained at 6.8% in 2017 fiscal year. The country’s economy is performing well in all the indicators except export, remittance and imports compared to the previous fiscal year, said Zahid. The risks on the domestic side include further deterioration in the financial and corporate sector stability, slippages in addressing fiscal reforms and political uncertainties in the run up to the 2019 general election, said Zahid. Commenting on the reserves, Zahid said there is a satisfactory situation in the reserves but no scope of complacency as remittance has seen downtrend in recent times. On the other hand, the World Bank raised question about the growth of capital machinery import as it does not match with the other indicators of the economy. According to Bangladesh Bank data, in July-January of FY’17 capital machinery import has seen a 64.8% rise while overall machinery imports 33.6%. DT Leather machinery has posted the highest growth by 184.5% followed by textile 52.1%. Pharmaceutical machinery import also rose by 37.7%. Bangladesh economy remains stable in the face of global uncertainties and continues to reduce poverty, said the report. By removing the barriers to female participation in the labour force and paving the way for investment and innovation, Bangladesh can boost growth considerably, it added. In the policy recommendation for sustainable growth, the global lender suggested removing structural impediments to investment and innovation, global integration and ensuring corporate governance in the financial sector. • • Asif Showkat Kallol and Ishtiaq Husain The government has approved Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Expansion Project worth Tk570.79 crore to meet the future demand of air transportation. The project was approved at the Cabinet committee on government purchase yesterday. Earlier, the committee selected four companies as consultants of detailed design of the airport. The four are Nippon Koei Co Limited, Oriental Consultants Global Japan, CPG Consultant Private Limited Singapore and Development Design Consultant Limited Bangladesh. The consultancy firms will submit their reports on building a third terminal and other infrastructural development at the airport. According to a report by the Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh (CAAB), the existing terminal building of the airport will be insufficient by 2018 and a new terminal will be required by 2019. CAAB sources said they planned to end the expansion project by 2018, but the bureaucratic process delayed initiating the project work which would lead to a total chaos to cope with the passenger rush at the airport. Considering air traffic growth, the government has taken up expansion project. After getting the detailed design from consultancy companies, the government will take further steps. The objective of the project is to expand airport facilities as well as ensure an international-standard safety and security by expanding airport terminal facilities and developing related infrastructure. Industry insiders said the expansion project would expedite economic growth in the country. Dhaka airport, the main gateway of the country, was designed as a domestic airport in early 1960s. It has a single runway with annual passenger handling capacity of only 8 million. According to CAAB report, currently, the airport can handle eight million passengers in a year. The volume of passengers is on the rise, some 10% each year. • Overseas investment proposals sent back for further details • Asif Showkat Kallol The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has postponed consideration of the proposals of three local firms interested in overseas equity investment due to insufficient details. The committee yesterday returned the proposals of the Akij Group, Nitol Niloy Group and Ha-Meem Group to the Financial Institutions Division. “We have asked the Financial Institutions Division to provide us with more specific details in the proposals of the firms.” In reply to a query, Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed said a policy would soon be formulated for local firms to invest abroad. Akij Group has proposed to invest $20m in Malaysia, Ha-Meem Group $10m in Haiti and Nitol Niloy $7m in Gambia. Ha-Meem intends to invest in the island nation’s garment sector to prop up its shipments to the United States, while Akij Group wants to buy a Malaysian company that produces fire boards and hardboard. Nitol Niloy plans to invest in Gambia’s banking sector. Additional Secretary to the Cabinet Division Mostafizur Rahman said the government and Bangladesh Bank will look into several points for local firms for overseas investment. •
Page 1 and 2: SECOND EDITION MONDAY, MAY 15, 2017
Page 3 and 4: News 3 MONDAY, MAY 15, 2017 DT Bang
Page 5 and 6: News 5 MONDAY, MAY 15, 2017 GDP gro
Page 7 and 8: Teenager killed over enmity with cr
Page 9: News Nepal votes in first local ele
Page 13 and 14: Opinion 13 Is Rampal worth the poli
Page 15 and 16: Opinion 15 DT MONDAY, MAY 15, 2017
Page 17 and 18: What’s on 17 MONDAY, MAY 15, 2017
Page 19 and 20: Sports 19 MONDAY, MAY 15, 2017 DT G
Page 21 and 22: Sports 21 MONDAY, MAY 15, 2017 DT S
Page 23 and 24: Showtime 23 MONDAY, MAY 15, 2017 DT

e_Paper, Monday, May 15, 2017

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?