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Business & Entrepreneurship / Square Pharma to set up subsidiary

« on: February 19, 2020, 10:12:02 PM »

Square Pharmaceuticals is set to establish a subsidiary company named Square Lifesciences to manufacture pharmaceuticals oral solid dosage products.

The estimated cost for the subsidiary would be TK 350 crore. The amount would be internally generated, according to a statement.

The plant is expected to be complete by June 2023, the statement added.

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Business & Entrepreneurship / Tesla in talks to use CATL’s cobalt-free batteries in China-made cars

« on: February 19, 2020, 10:11:13 PM »

Tesla is in advanced stages of talks to use batteries from CATL that contain no cobalt - one of the most expensive metals in electric vehicle (EV) batteries - in cars made at its China plant, people familiar with the matter said.

Adoption would mark the first time for the U.S. automaker to include so-called lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries in its lineup, as it seeks to lower production costs amid faltering overall EV sales in China.

Tesla has been talking to the Chinese manufacturer for more than a year to supply LFP batteries that will be cheaper than its existing batteries by a "double-digit percent," said a person directly involved in the matter, who was not authorized to speak with media and so declined to be identified. Tesla Inc and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) declined to comment.

EV manufacturers usually use nickel-cobalt-aluminum (NCA) or nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) batteries on passenger vehicles because of their higher energy density, which is critical in determining how far an EV can drive on single charge.

To boost the density and safety of its LFP batteries, CATL has been working on its so-called cell-to-pack technology, the people told Reuters.

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Business & Entrepreneurship / Four projects to aid neighbouring transits, business hubs get nod

« on: February 19, 2020, 10:10:38 PM »

he government yesterday approved four projects costing Tk 9,454 crore for facilitating transit of goods from India, Bhutan and Nepal, setting up internal business hubs and attracting foreign investment.

The projects were given the go-ahead at yesterday's meeting of Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec), which was chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

One of the projects is on enhancing the Mongla port's capacity at a cost of Tk 6,015 crore. Of the sum, India would provide Tk 4,459 crore as loan.

After the meeting, Planning Minister MA Mannan told journalists that they were encouraging the three neighbouring countries to avail transit facilities through the Mongla port.

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Departments / Japanese firms most optimistic of their prospects in Bangladesh out of Asia

« on: February 19, 2020, 10:09:53 PM »

Bangladesh is the top choice for Japanese companies seeking to expand business in Asia and Oceania in the next two years due to its high potential and profitability, according to a survey by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).

Some 70.3 per cent of the Japanese companies in Bangladesh are mulling expanding business in the next one to two years, 23.4 per cent believe their operations would remain the same and 1.6 per cent are pondering over going for a reduction.

The statistics are from the '2019 JETRO Survey on Business Condition of Japanese Companies in Asia and Oceania', which is yet to be released officially.

The survey took comments of 13,458 Japanese firms engaged in manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors in 20 Asia and Oceania countries between the months of August and September last year.

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Departments / Agent banking: the bright spot in lending landscape

« on: February 19, 2020, 10:09:19 PM »

Agent banking, which takes banking services to the unbanked people, is going from strength to strength, with both deposit collection and loan disbursement on the rise.

Lenders earlier kept their core focus on collecting deposits from clients through the new banking wing but they have given the same importance to loan disbursement and inward remittance.

As of September last year, loan disbursement through the agent banking channel was Tk 446 crore, which is more than double that from a year earlier. At the same time, deposit collection went up 142 per cent to Tk 7,517 crore, according to data from the central bank.

"The tremendous growth of agent banking proves that the underprivileged people are keen on banking services," said Md Arfan Ali, managing director of Bank Asia.

There remains huge scope for widening agent banking as lenders are yet to extend their traditional banking service to the large numbers of unbanked people.

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Departments / Made in Bangladesh’ smartphones headed to US

« on: February 19, 2020, 10:08:38 PM »

Walton is set to export smartphones to the US, in what can be viewed as a remarkable endorsement of the leaps taken by Bangladesh's manufacturing sector.

"The dream of exporting 'Made in Bangladesh' smartphones is now coming true," said SM Monjurul Alam, managing director of Walton, adding that the quality of the locally-made smartphones with advanced features has drawn buyers' attention.

The first consignment of the smartphones, which would be priced between $100 and $200, will be out of the gates of Walton Digi-Tech Industries's plant in Chandra, Gazipur in March 1.

The smartphones are bound for a renowned American brand and Walton is the original equipment manufacturer, Alam said, while declining to disclose the name of the brand.

This kind of production is known as contract manufacturing, which is commonplace in Bangladesh's garments sector.

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