DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), went up by 13.81 points or 0.25 per cent to settle at 5,532.97. Two other indices also edged higher. The DS30 index, comprising blue chips, advanced 2.88 points to finish at 2,129.18 and the DSE Shariah Index gained 5.288 points to close at 1,263.09.

Turnover, a crucial indicator of the market, stood at Taka 6,230.43 million, which was Taka 6,224.45 million at the previous session of the week.

Gainers took a modest lead over the losers as out of 355 issues traded, 129 ended higher, 104 closed lower and 122 issues remained unchanged on the DSE trading floor.

Beximco continued to dominate the turnover chart followed by Lanka Bangla Finance, Robi, GBB Power and BSCCL.
BSCCL was the day’s best performer, posting a gain of 8.22 percent while HWAWELL Tex was the worst loser, losing 6.28 per cent.

The Chittagong Stock Exchange also ended higher with its All Shares Price Index (CASPI)-gaining 27.23 points to close at 16,054.56 while the Selective Categories Index – CSCX rising 16.82 points to close at 9,684.94.

Of the issues traded, 80 advanced, 73 declined and 74 remained unchanged on the CSE.

The port city bourse traded 79.57 lakh shares and mutual fund units with a turnover value of Taka 27.87 crore.

Prior to joining Prime Bank, Rashid was Additional Managing Director at Eastern Bank Limited.

He started his career with Credit Agricole Indosuez and later moved to HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) in different senior leadership positions.

Rashid is a Graduate of Capital University of USA in Economics and Business Administration and done his Master’s degree in International Management from Garvin School of Management, Thunderbird, USA.

The decision has been taken at a meeting between the Bangladesh Bank (BB) and Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) at BSEC Bhaban in the city, said a press release.

As per the press release, the dividend limit of listed banks will be increased and banks will be able to pay a maximum of 35 percent dividend instead of 30 percent.

To this end, BB will take necessary steps, the release added.

According to the earlier circular issued by Bangladesh Bank, a bank could declare a maximum dividend of 30 percent.

Of this, 15 percent was cash and 15 percent bonus dividend.

The bill, one of the world’s strictest policies against cryptocurrencies, would criminalise possession, issuance, mining, trading and transferring crypto-assets, said the official, who has direct knowledge of the plan.

The measure is in line with a January government agenda that called for banning private virtual currencies such as bitcoin while building a framework for an official digital currency. But recent government comments had raised investors’ hopes that the authorities might go easier on the booming market.

Instead, the bill would give holders of cryptocurrencies up to six months to liquidate, after which penalties will be levied, said the official, who asked not to be named as the contents of the bill are not public.

Officials are confident of getting the bill enacted into law as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government holds a comfortable majority in parliament.

If the ban becomes law, India would be the first major economy to make holding cryptocurrency illegal. Even China, which has banned mining and trading, does not penalise possession.

The Finance Ministry did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

‘GREED’ OVER ‘PANIC’

Bitcoin, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency, hit a record high $60,000 on Saturday, nearly doubling in value this year as its acceptance for payments has increased with support from such high-profile backers as Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk.

In India, despite government threats of a ban, transaction volumes are swelling and 8 million investors now hold 100 billion rupees ($1.4 billion) in crypto-investments, according to industry estimates. No official data is available.

“The money is multiplying rapidly every month and you don’t want to be sitting on the sidelines,” said Sumnesh Salodkar, a crypto-investor. “Even though people are panicking due to the potential ban, greed is driving these choices.”

User registrations and money inflows at local crypto-exchange Bitbns are up 30-fold from a year ago, said Gaurav Dahake, its chief executive. Unocoin, one of India’s oldest exchanges, added 20,000 users in January and February, despite worries of a ban.

ZebPay “did as much volume per day in February 2021 as we did in all of February 2020,” said Vikram Rangala, the exchange’s chief marketing officer.

Top Indian officials have called cryptocurrency a “Ponzi scheme”, but Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman this month eased some investor concerns.

“I can only give you this clue that we are not closing our minds, we are looking at ways in which experiments can happen in the digital world and cryptocurrency,” she told CNBC-TV18. “There will be a very calibrated position taken.”

The senior official told Reuters, however, that the plan is to ban private crypto-assets while promoting blockchain – a secure database technology that is the backbone for virtual currencies but also a system that experts say could revolutionise international transactions.

“We don’t have a problem with technology. There’s no harm in harnessing the technology,” said the official, adding the government’s moves would be “calibrated” in the extent of the penalties on those who did not liquidate crypto-assets within the law’s grace period.

JAIL TERMS?

A government panel in 2019 recommended jail of up to 10 years on people who mine, generate, hold, sell, transfer, dispose of, issue or deal in cryptocurrencies.

The official declined to say whether the new bill includes jail terms as well as fines, or offer further details but said the discussions were in their final stages.

In March 2020, India’s Supreme Court struck down a 2018 order by the central bank forbidding banks from dealing in cryptocurrencies, prompting investors to pile into the market. The court ordered the government to take a position and draft a law on the matter.

The Reserve Bank of India voiced its concern again last month, citing what it said were risks to financial stability from cryptocurrencies. At the same time, the central bank has been working on launching its own digital currency, a step the government’s bill will also encourage, said the official.

Despite the market euphoria, investors are aware that the boom could be in danger.

“If the ban is official we have to comply,” Naimish Sanghvi, who started betting on digital currencies in the last year, told Reuters, referring to existing concerns about a potential ban. “Until then, I’d rather stack up and run with the market than panic and sell.”

The Open-IX Association (OIX) is an Internet community effort to improve the Internet peering and interconnection landscape. Launched in 2014, OIX encourages the development of neutral and distributed Internet exchanges, while promoting uniform standards of performance for Internet community-supported interconnections.

“Since its inception, Open-IX has increased restrictions on interconnection and ecosystem standards for IX and data centers, providing a strong framework framework for best practices for operators,” said Ed de Agostino, vice president and managing director of D-CIX North. America.

“Further highlighting our dedication to maintaining the highest standards of interconnection infrastructure, it was important to obtain its OIX-1 certification in North America with our third IX, DE-CIX Chicago, DI-CIX Dallas and DE-CIX New York.”

He expressed the interest when he paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official Ganabhaban residence in the capital.

“We want to invest in Bangladesh’s energy sector particularly in clean energy,” PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim quoted the Swedish minister as saying at a press briefing after the meeting.

Congratulating Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for Bangladesh’s remarkable development under her dynamic leadership, Olsson Fridh said Sweden will continue its support to Bangladesh in its development efforts, Karim told newsmen.

Olsson Fridh has appreciated the partnership with Bangladesh on the issue of climate change.
Regarding Bangladesh’s readymade garments, he said that Sweden and Bangladesh have already been doing business to this end for mutual interests.

Stressing the need for taking more measures to ensure empowerment of women, the Swedish minister said that his country needs more women in the labour sector.

Talking about corona pandemic, Olsson Fridh lauded the Prime Minister for the way her government tackled the situation successfully in Bangladesh.

He also said, “Bangladesh Premier has a very brave vision”.

When the Swedish Minister wanted to know about Bangladesh’s development, the Prime Minister said, the priority of her government is to develop infrastructure alongside developing the economic, healthcare and education sectors.

The Prime Minister continued that her government has also prioritised ensuring food security for all.

She also apprised the Swedish minister of her government’s social safety net programmes.

Regarding primary education, the Prime Minister said Bangladesh has already achieved almost cent recent enrolment at primary level and in some cases girls’ enrolment is higher than boys.

Sheikh Hasina said that her government is promoting women empowerment through ensuring participation of the women in every sector.

In this regard, she said that Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had ensured women empowerment in Bangladesh through enacting laws.

Referring to the government’s steps of establishing 100 special economic zones in the country, the Prime Minister has said that the government is also giving emphasis on setting up argo-processing industry in the country.

About tackle of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Prime Minister said that all including officials of the administration, members of the armed forces, police, BGB as well as leaders and activists of her party are engaged in tackling the Coronavirus pandemic.

Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus and Swedish Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexandra Berg von Linde were present.

A rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States and some other countries stoked a bullish mood on risk assets even as investors become wary of key central bank policy meets later in the week, including the U.S. Federal Reserve’s, reports Reuters.

“The U.S. is now vaccinating more three million people a day, with President Biden now saying all adults will be able to get a shot by May 1. It could soon achieve a herd immunity and an economic normalisation,” said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.

U.S. S&P500 futures rose 0.2% in early Asian trade, trading just below a record high level touched last week, while Japan’s Nikkei ticked up 0.3%.

Mainland Chinese shares buckled the trend to trade lower despite data showing a quickening in industrial output and a rise in retail sales.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2%, with Hong Kong leading the gains.

“Most market participants and policy-makers have been surprised by the speed of the recovery. On our estimates, the U.S. economy will reach pre-COVID-19 output levels by the current quarter,” said Chetan Ahya, global head of economics, in a note.

“Fiscal policy is doing much more than fill the output hole. Transfers to households have already exceeded the income lost in the recession. As reopening gathers pace, the labour market is poised for a sharp rebound.”

The U.S. House of Representatives gave final approval last week to the COVID-19 relief bill, giving Biden his first major victory in office.

Some investors speculate part of $1,400 direct payments to households could find its way to stock markets, as seemed to be the case with similar direct payments made last year for coronavirus relief.

Investors also suspect the $1.9 trillion package, which amounts to more than 8% of the country’s GDP, could stoke inflation – to the detriment of bonds, especially when their yields are so low.

Rising inflation expectations could prompt the Federal Reserve to signal it will start raising rates sooner when it announces its latest economic projections at the end of Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Wednesday.

“Following the fiscal stimulus packages it is inevitable

that Fed GDP forecasts will be revised up, and some FOMC members might think rates will have to move higher sooner than they anticipated last December,” wrote economists at ANZ.

The 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield stood at 1.628%, having risen to as high as 1.642% on Friday, a high last seen in February last year.

On top of continued U.S. economic optimism and increased debt supply expectations after the stimulus, uncertainties about whether the Fed will extend an emergency regulatory easing in the so-called “supplementary leverage ratio” (SLR) added to the sense of unease.

Higher U.S. bond yields saw the dollar rising against other major currencies.

The euro slipped to $1.1947 from last week’s high of $1.1990 while the dollar held firm at 109.12 yen, near nine-month high of 109.235 set last Tuesday.

The British pound slipped 0.25% to $1.3934.

Bitcoin briefly slipped to $58,742, off a record high of $61,781 hit on Saturday, after Reuters reported a senior Indian government official said Delhi will propose a law banning cryptocurrencies, fining anyone in the country trading or even holding such digital assets.

Oil prices were supported by production cuts by major oil producers and optimism about a demand recovery as the global economy recovers from the pandemic-induced recession.

U.S. crude futures traded at $66.23 per barrel, up 0.9% on the day.

The general mood across trading floors is of a blockbuster surge in global growth this year as the rollout of vaccines and easing of lockdowns allow life to return to a semblance of normal.

Bets on a strong rebound this year increased last week as Joe Biden signed off his $1.9 trillion stimulus, which includes big cash handouts for struggling Americans.

The president’s pledge to ramp up the country’s inoculation programme with an aim for herd immunity around the summer also provided some cheer to traders.

However, the government spending splurge combined with an expected boost in consumer spending has also ramped up inflation expectations.

That is reflected in the spike in government debt yields, particularly benchmark 10-year Treasury notes — a canary in the coal mine for coming price increases — fanning worries the Fed will be forced to hike borrowing costs.

And while yields remain relatively low, Charles-Henry Monchau of FlowBank SA said: “It’s not just a question of level, it’s a question of pace.

“Are we going to move on the bond yields too quickly too fast for the market to adjust or is it going to be a smooth journey to higher bond yields?”

The Fed’s reaction to market angst over rising yields will be closely watched when it holds its two-day policy meeting from Tuesday.

The bank’s ultra-loose monetary policies, including record low interest rates, have been a key pillar of the surge in equities over the past year but fears of possible tightening moves have seen that wobble in recent weeks.

– Yellen inflation confidence –

Still, analysts expect it to maintain its dovish position, with governor Jerome Powell likely to reiterate that policymakers are willing to accept higher inflation to get back to full employment for the foreseeable future.

“I think it’s ‘markets be damned’ at this point,” said Robert Frick of Navy Federal Credit Union.

“The Fed has said that until the real improvement in employment and in the economy, they’re not going to budge,” Frick told AFP. “I really don’t think they’re going to waver.”

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Sunday played down inflation fears, telling ABC’s “This Week” she saw only a “small risk” and “absolutely” does not expect a return to the runaway inflation of the 1970s.

The Dow at S&P 500 ended Friday at an all-time high for the second day in a row, and Asia broadly tracked the gains.

Hong Kong, Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore and Jakarta were all in the green, though Shanghai and Taipei fell. Manila plunged more than three percent after data showing a surge in new Covid infections in the Philippines.

There was little reaction to figures showing Chinese retail sales and industrial production rose more than expected last month.

Patrik Schowitz, at JP Morgan Asset Management, said he was upbeat about the outlook for markets.

“Last week did little to challenge our conviction macro views: strong growth is ahead, driven by economic reopening and turbo-charged by fiscal stimulus and loose monetary policy,” he said in a commentary.

“Despite elevated valuations across both equities and credit it’s very hard not to be positive on risk assets in this environment.”

The bulk of the rise in bond yields may be done for now, he said.

“On a middle of the road view, there’s certainly more upside for equities, but probably somewhat constrained by already-high valuations.”

– Key figures around 0230 GMT –

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 29,815.62 (break)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng: UP 0.8 percent at 28,936.55

Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,449.02

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1946 from $1.1952 at 2245 GMT on Friday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3926 from $1.3922

Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.80 pence from 85.82 pence

Dollar/yen: UP at 109.17 yen from 109.00 yen

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.0 percent at $66.24 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.9 percent at $69.84 per barrel

New York – Dow: UP 0.9 percent at 32,778.64 (close)

London – FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 6,761.47 (close)

1 billion in the Japan Economic Zone (EZ) at Araihazar under Narayanganj district.

“Last year, I said that Araihazar should have 100 companies’ investment of about $1 billion. I am really hoping that Araihazar will attract that level investment,” he said, reports BSS.

He was speaking as the chief guest at a ‘Handing-Over and Taking-Over of Board of Directors of JBCCI Ceremony’ at a hotel in the city on Sunday.

Japan Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JBCCI) organized theceremony.

Among others, Director General (East Asia and Pacific Wing) under Foreign Affairs Ministry Khondker M Talha, newly elected JBCCI President Asif A Chowdhury, outgoing President Yuji Ando, JBCCI Secretary General Tareq Rafi Bhuiyan (Jun) attended it.

Naoki mentioned that JBCCI should concentrate on three areas to enhance the business relationship between Bangladesh and Japan and fulfill the vision 2041 for Bangladesh to become a developed nation.

The three areas included BIG-B (Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt) concept and connectivity of Bay of Bengal area for further development of infrastructure and development of soft infrastructure, which is improvement of business climate (ease of doing business index).

It also included initiating new framework of trade that is Free Trade Agreement (FTA) or Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)) between Bangladesh and Japan.

Naoki laid emphasis on setting up the Araihazar Economic zone on time and human resource development.

Khondker M Talha mentioned the strategic partnership with Japan through which 14 megaprojects are currently getting implemented.

He also noted that through the Public Private Economic Dialogue (PPED), Bangladesh government has resolved many problems of the Japanese investors on a priority basis.

Asif Chowdhury thanked the outgoing president Yuji Ando for his enormous contribution to JBCCI during his tenure.

He also placed his vision for the JBCCI during his tenure as president.

According to the newspaper report, the UK is considering options for expiration of permits in 2040 and options for immediate suspension of licensing. It is also possible that there will be no change.

The UK has net-zero greenhouse gas emissions targets by 2000 and is looking for renewables for growing energy.

Oil production from the North Sea has declined since the turn of the century as fields grew. Nevertheless, the region is important for Scotland’s tax revenue and job creation. Some products from the region determine the global Brent benchmark price.

According to the Telegraph, about 39% of the 270,000 jobs that the oil industry employs in the UK are in Scotland.