The Daily Star

Central Bank yesterday gave nod to three new banks at a time when the sector saturated and
stressed for nonperforming loans and declining corporate governance.
Bengal Bank, People’s Bank and Citizen’s Bank will soon set up shop, taking the total number of
banks to 62. But the new banks will have to pull up paid up capital of Tk. 500 crore each, which
is more than the last new entrants had to cough up in 2013. All three new banks have
connections to the Awami League Government.
But the finance advisers are saying that new banks are not needed at all.

The Daily Sun

The price of all sorts of rice including coarse variety marked fresh decline by Taka 1-2 per kg
this week compared to the last week market price.

The prices of fine and medium variety rice found rise in last couple of weeks at different city
markets immediately after the 11thparliament elections.

Fine and medium quality rice price found a rise of Taka 2-3 per kg in the city market that
continued till last week and the price of both fine and medium quality rice marked little lower
this week.

But the price hike of fine and medium rice did not effect on the coarse variety rice during this
time.

Fine and medium quality rice sold at Taka 54-64 and Taka 44-54 per kg today while it was sold
Taka 54-65 and Taka 46-54 in last week, according to official price index prepared by Trading
Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).

Even the fine quality Nazir and miniket are now being sold at Taka 56-64 per kg while it was
Taka 56-65 in last week.

The Financial express

Bangladesh will import around 1.42 million tonnes of petroleum fuel through
government-to-government (G-to-G) initiative from eight state-owned companies of
different countries from January to June this year.

According to official sources at the Energy and Mineral Resources Division under
the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources (MPEMR), the government
will require to spend about US$806.769 mi llion, equivalent to Tk 67.7287 billion
(Tk 6772.87 crore), to import this bulk refined petroleum fuels.

They said the state owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) will import the
bulk petroleum. Of the total fuels, the BPC will import 1.19 million m t gasoil
(diesel), 100,000 mt Jet A-1 fuel, 30,000 mt petrol (mogas) and 100,000 mt of
furnace oil.

The Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase last week approved a proposal of the
Energy and Mineral Resources Division to allow the BPC to import the bulk
petroleum.

Reuters

DUBAI/ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Union National Bank and Al
Hilal Bank agreed a merger on Tuesday to create the third-largest bank in the United Arab
Emirates.

The bank will become the fifth largest in the GCC with 420 billion UAE dirham ($114.35
billion) in assets with increased productivity and economies of scale expected to boost
profitability, the statement said.

Lower oil prices and weak economic growth is pushing consolidation across the Gulf.

The merger, first announced in September, was unanimously recommended to shareholders by

the boards of ADCB and UNB, the banks said in a joint statement.

The tie-up is expected to take effect in the first half of 2019.

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It will involve a statutory merger between ADCB and UNB. ADCB will issue 0.5966 shares for
every UNB share, corresponding to a total of 1.64 billion new shares issued to UNB shareholders
and valuing UNB at nearly $4 billion.
Al Hilal Bank will operate as a separate Islamic entity within the merged bank.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan said in a tweet that the merger
would bolster the competitiveness of the UAE’s economy.

UAE has 50 commercial banks including 22 local lenders, a number seen as too high in a country
of about 9.5 million people.

Saudi Arabia, which has a population of 32 million, has 12 banks and is set to lose two of those
if announced mergers are successfully concluded.

Bloomberg

Singapore and Australia suspended operations of all Boeing 737MAX Aircraft in and out of their
airports .Indonesia and China grounded their fleet after it suffered a second fatal crash in less
than five months. It was the first major regulator to order such an action but the anxiety was
also evident among air travelers because the same model involved in the Lion Air crash off
Indonesia that killed 189 people in October.
On the other hand Brazil , Argentina and Mexican Airlines temporarily suspended their many
flights of Boeing 737 MAX. The scare has wiped billion of dollars off the market value of the
world’s biggest plane maker

Wall Street Journal

Smartphone makers in India are calling for export credits on devices and tariff cuts on machinery
imports as part of measures they say will make Asia's third-biggest economy a global
smartphone manufacturing hub.

The India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), whose members include some of the
industry's biggest names including Apple Inc, made the proposals in a 174-page document
reviewed by Reuters and submitted to the government ahead of its annual budget announcement
next week.

“As the country is nearing to achieve saturation point... without an export take off manufacturing
growth cannot be sustained and accelerated,” the ICEA said in the document.
The ICEA confirmed it submitted the document. The finance and technology ministries did not
respond to requests for comment.

The government's 'Make in India' campaign beginning 2014 and gradual tax increases on imports
of mobile phone components have spurred the creation of more than 260 manufacturing units in
the country and over 600,000 jobs, ICEA said.

That has helped India become the second-biggest producer of mobile phones after China, and
prompted foreign smartphone makers such as Oppo and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd as well as
contract manufacturers like Wistron Corp and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (Foxconn) to
ramp up production for phones primarily sold domestically.

The industry is now set for a further boost under a broader National Policy on Electronics
currently in the works. Yet at the same time, the government also appears to be raising obstacles.