Month: December 2022

Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) will now consult with the government before any move towards holding a public hearing on retail power tariff hike proposals.

 

“We think we should first consult with the government before starting any process for public hearing on the submitted proposals”, Mohammad Bazlur Rahman, Member (Power) of the BERC, told UNB.

 

Such remarks from the BERC Member came against the backdrop of the government’s latest move to amend the BERC Act 2003 to create scope for the government to take arbitrary decisions on raising retail and bulk power and energy prices.

 

Read more: Raising retail power tariff: 3 more distribution companies submit proposals

 

“After the proposed amendment, the BERC should not move into any conflicting situation”, Bazlur Rahman said.

 

The Cabinet on November 28 approved an amendment to the BERC Ordinance 2022 to empower the government to set fuel tariff on its own under special circumstances without waiting for the commission’s public hearing and decision.

 

The approval came at the Cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair at the PMO, said Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam while briefing the media at the Secretariat.

 

He said the BERC can wait for up to 90 days to review and take a decision on fixing tariff rates and this is a long time. The amendment is being done so that the government can set the fuel price on an urgent basis in a situation like what prevails now.

 

The possibility of importing fuel and energy under private arrangement was discussed at the meeting and the relevant authorities were given direction in this regard, he said.

 

However, BERC Chairman Abdul Jalil, a former secretary of the government, was reluctant to make any comment before going through the gazette notification on the proposed amendment.

 

“Let me see the gazette notification first… Then the commission will decide on any issue relating to public hearing or tariff fixation”, he told UNB.

 

Meanwhile, all the six state-owned power distribution bodies submitted their respective proposals on raising retail power tariff in subsequent of the bulk power tariff hike.

 

Read more: BPDB submits retail power tariff adjustment proposal seeking a 19.44 percent hike

 

Sources said the six entities—BPDB, Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB), Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited (DPDC), Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited (Desco), Northern Electricity Supply Company PLS (Nesco), West Zone Power Distribution Company Limited (WZPDCL)—have placed almost an identical proposal to raise retail power tariff aby about 20 percent.

 

They moved to submit their proposals following the BERC’s decision to hike the bulk power tariff by 19.92 percent with effect from December 1.

 

As per the latest statistics, the financial loss of the state-owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB), the principal organisation in power sector and also the single buyer of electricity from private sector power plants, is likely to increase by Tk 18,094 crore in one year.

 

According to BPDB’s own latest estimates, the financial loss will cross Tk 48,000 crore in the 2022-23 fiscal from Tk 29,915 crore in the fiscal year 2021-22, an increase of almost 67%.

 

Sources said the BPDB’s revenue deficit has further increased due to its purchase of electricity at higher price and sale at lower price, the hike in petroleum fuel prices and also the price escalation of US dollars.

 

Officials said the recent 19.92 percent hike in the bulk tariff may help the BPDB to reduce its loss by only Tk 5,000 crore while a huge revenue deficit will remain a big burden.

 

Read more: Bulk power tariff hike won’t affect retail consumers right now: Nasrul Hamid

 

On the other hand, the bulk power tariff hike puts pressure on power distribution companies to submit their retail tariff hike proposal to the BERC to cover their own revenue gaps.

 

The retail power tariff was last raised in March, 2020 by BERC after holding a public hearing.

 

Through an announcement, the BERC had raised the power tariff on a weighted average by 5.3 percent at retail level with effect from March 1, 2020.

 

As per that decision, the retail power tariff was increased from Tk 6.77 to Tk 7.13 per unit (each kilowatt-hour).

 

Officials said the Power Division is under tremendous pressure from the Finance Ministry to raise power tariff in bulk and retail to cover its huge financial losses.

 

The recent commitment of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to provide a $4.5 billion loan has increased the pressure as the donor agency has tagged a condition to decrease subsidy in the power sector and raise power tariff to cover the loss, said a Power Division official.

 

Source: United News of Bangladesh

President Jiang Zemin, ex-President of China died on 30th November at the age of 96. He was the man who lead China after the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989. He presided over the economic growth of China which sees it as the leading contender to the US for global economic supremacy. His death has been mourned officially which means his legacy is considered as part of the state policy continuum..

 

The CCP has written a letter informing the people of China of his death, writes Xinhua news agency. It states, “Comrade Jiang Zemin’s death is an incalculable loss to our Party and our military and our people of all ethnic groups”. His history for the moment seems secure.

 

Jiang’s death has more than a little symbolic meaning. It comes just a few days after China saw anti-Covid restrictions protest, the first street protest after the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989. The extremely strict zero covid policy has been very unpopular as it has bitten into many Chinese lives including economics. Western commentators say it was sparked by the Covid stringencies but the main cause was economic slowdown. “China is also in the midst of a sharp economic slowdown exacerbated by zero-COVID.” Clearly Covid has not spared anyone including China.

 

Read more: China’s protests are small but significant

 

Jiang himself was not a political softie and put down student protests in Shanghai as the “pro-democracy demonstrations” spread across China in 1989. However, his period also saw phenomenal economic growth and most associate his name with the rise of prosperity.

 

Policy continuation ?

 

Western media is promoting the idea that there is a lot of nostalgia for his era but scholars have disagreed saying that Jiang was also an authoritarian like the current leader Xi. The CCP letter said, “ our beloved Comrade Jiang Zemin” as an outstanding leader of high prestige, a great Marxist, statesman, military strategist and diplomat and a long-tested communist fighter. “The focus on his ideology is significant implying that he acted according to the state principles held by all Chinese leaders.

 

“ He served as president from 1993 to 2003 but held China’s top job, as head of the ruling Communist Party, from 1989 and handed over that role to Hu in 2002. He only gave up the position as head of the military in 2004, which he also assumed in 1989.” (Reuters)

 

In China, the leadership pattern is based on clan loyalty and this has always been the case. Jiang had his Sanghai group and his successor Hu Jin Tao went to some lengths to remove them from positions of power and build his own. After Hu’s era, Xi has removed them from similar positions and even had Hu escorted out from the Congress meeting where Xi was elected a leader for the third term.

 

Read more: So it’s farewell time Ali Imam bhai

 

Meanwhile, China continues to feel the impact of the Covid management crisis and protests. Some easing of restrictions is being noted while they also caused production to slow down. Asia’s industrial activities in general have faced difficulties too due to China’s since they rely so heavily on them for parts and goods.

 

However, though the Western world seems to be hoping that China will crash as a state followed by large scale ‘pro-democracy” rebellion, that may not be the case. This won’t be the first time when such hopes are dashed. Which means the threat to the West’s global economic supremacy posed by China will continue which really took on steam when Jiang Zemin came to power.

 

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh on Thursday said the local-level development is affected by poor institutional effectiveness as the efficacy of public institutions has gradually eroded in the country.

 

“Capacity of public institutions to service the disadvantaged groups, profile and prestige of local leadership have diminished overtime. Citizens’ voice has weakened too.” said Citizen’s Platform Convenor Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya.

 

Read more: Economic mismanagement creating instability in market: Debapriya

 

He was addressing a media briefing in the city’s BRAC Centre Inn to share local opinions received from a series of sub-regional consultation meetings.

 

The Citizen’s Platform arranged the seven consultation meetings between June and October this year to understand how much the local realities reflect the national development narrative. More than 500 engaged citizens from 25 districts of Bangladesh participated in the meetings and expressed their views and opinions.

 

Dr Debapriya said that citizen’s voices, role of CSOs and NGOs and civic activism of students suppressed by a “culture of fear” that has intensified in the recent past.

 

Middle class on the retreat

 

He said that local situations reveal that the leadership role of the middle class is retreating in setting social norms and inclusive cultural approach in society. “Their socio-cultural role has been squeezed. The middle class is also under pressure due to lack of employment, high inflation and decline of income,” he added.

 

He said that the disjunction has widened between national development narrative and local experience as there is uneven distribution of the development gains due to discriminatory design, weak delivery and limited access to resources and public services.

 

Dr Debapriya said that, according to the consultation participants, the impact of ongoing inflationary pressure has fallen disproportionately on the marginalised groups and people with low income. “Traditionally ‘left behind’ groups are not being able to reach national averages,” he said.

 

Read more: Economy needs transitional policy to overcome the crisis: Debapriya

 

The gap between national development narrative and local realities, and asymmetries were aggravated further by lack of democratic accountability, he added.

 

Focusing further on local realities, he said the rich tradition of cultural activities gradually receding; social fabric weakened as values of tolerance, trust and compassion withering away; and political space for pluralistic views, conversation and engagement narrowing.

 

“There is rising concern among the district-level citizens that the smooth developmental progression of Bangladesh may get jeopardised due to adverse national and global economic outlook, as well as because of the apprehended political violence during the upcoming democratic transition,” said Dr Debapriya.

 

Source: United News of Bangladesh

 

Outgoing Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki has said he sincerely hopes that the “safe, voluntary and dignified” repatriation to Myanmar will happen soon.

 

“As the crisis is turning into its sixth year, it is essential to keep the attention of the global community, while multiple emergencies have been taking place in different parts of the world,” he said.

 

The envoy said Japan will continue to work toward the resolution of the Rohingya issue.

 

Read more: Momen ‘not worried’ about Japanese Ambassador’s remarks, calls him a ‘simple, good person’

 

He said education, skills development and livelihood opportunities are the critical areas of responses for the resilience of the Rohingyas.

 

Ambassador Naoki had an official visit to the camp in Cox’s Bazar on Thursday, where over 920,000 Rohingyas reside.

 

Witnessing the ongoing activities in the field, he said, “Every time I visit Rohingya camps, I am impressed by the tireless work of the UN agencies and NGOs for assisting the refugees. This is my last visit to the camp before leaving this country, but I will continue to extend my thoughts and empathy to the government of Bangladesh, Rohingya refugees and host communities.”

 

Read more: Japan, UNFPA join hands to provide $3.7 million assistance to Rihingyas in Bhasan Char, host communities in Noakhali

 

He visited an E-voucher outlet and Upcycling Center of WFP, a Learning Center of UNICEF, a skill development site of UNHCR, where Rohingya refugees produce hygiene kits under the collaboration of Japanese company Fast Retailing and UNHCR, and the office of RRRC.

 

Ambassador Naoki also observed the protection and camp management activities of IOM as well as sustainable land management and environmental rehabilitation project of UNHCR.

 

Since the large influx in August 2017, Japan has contributed over 175 million USD to various interventions in Cox’s Bazar as well as in Bhasan Char through international organizations and NGOs, according to the Japanese Embassy in Dhaka.

 

These assistances included food assistance, healthcare, WASH, shelter, protection, and gender.

 

Source: United News of Bangladesh

 

Prime Minister’s Economic Affairs Adviser Dr Mashiur Rahman on Thursday said the present government has always been a business-friendly government and will continue to do so.

 

He said semiconductors and high-tech already are and will remain highly demanded items in the foreseeable future.

 

The Adviser was speaking as the chief guest at a seminar on “Hi Tech Opportunities in Bangladesh” jointly organized by Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka (MCCI) and the veterans of the Semiconductor Industry from Silicon Valley, California, USA.

 

Read more: Govt committed to full implementation of CHT Peace Accord soon: PM’s adviser

 

PM’s Adviser thanked MCCI for organizing the seminar and assured that the government will always support any such initiative to come to fruition.

 

MCCI has been seriously working to develop an ecosystem for setting up the semiconductor industry in Bangladesh.

 

The country being one of the fastest growing economies in the world with rapid business expansion and development, it is now essential to critically consider diversifying the manufacturing base with high-tech, high-value-added production capturing future potentials of global businesses.

 

The primary objectives of the seminar were to know and further explore existing and potential knowledge sources on semiconductor industry, learn how to overcome the challenges for developing an ecosystem, gain knowledge of the best practices of other countries and how effectively those practices can be adopted in Bangladesh, and how best the Bangladeshi diaspora can be effectively involved in the journey.

 

NM Zeaul Alam PAA, Senior Secretary, Information and Communication Technology Division was present as special guest.

 

Habibullah N. Karim, Vice-President, MCCI moderated the seminar and Farooq Ahmed, Secretary General and CEO, MCCI was facilitator.

 

Panel discussants from MCCI were: Md. Saiful Islam, President, MCCI, Dr. Arif Dowla, Convener, Committee on Semiconductor, MCCI, Mohammed E. Rahman, CEO and President, ULKASEMI, M. A. Jabbar, Managing Director, DBL Group, Dr. M. Rokonuzzaman, Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, North South University.

 

Read more: Prolonged Rohingya crisis to pose hybrid security threat: PM’s adviser

 

Panel discussants from Silicon Valley were: Dr. Yusuf Haque, Chief Technology Officer and Co Founder, Exo Imaging, CEO, SliceX Inc., Managing Director, Maxim Integrated Products; Dr. Khandker Nazrul Quader, Chief Technical Officer and EVP, Sunrise Memory, President and CEO , SK Hynix Memory Solutions, Senior Vice president, Memory RandD; Global Memory Organization, SanDisk Corp; Mustafiz Choudhury, Chief Technical Officer, MIPS and Wave Computing, Partner at multiple Venture Capital Funds, Founder and VP Engineering, Silicon Spice, Founder and COO InSilica Inc., Co-led Development of 2 generations of Intel’s flagship processors; Dr. Syed Hossainy, Director Applied Bioengg at University of California, Berkeley Corporate Science Officer/Distinguished Science and Technology Fellow at Start Up and Public Co., Director and Sr. Research Fellow Abbott; Dr. Khalid Azim, Vice President, ASIC Engineering, Sigma Sense, Director of Design Engineering, Unipixel, Senior Director Touch Controller, Elo Touch Solutions; Dr. Sayeef Salahuddin, TSMC Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engr and Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley Co Director of Berkeley Device Modeling Center, Chair of IEEE Electron Device Society, 2014-2016.

 

MCCI President Md. Saiful Islam thanked the distinguished guests who attended the event either physically or virtually.

 

He emphasized the importance of hi-tech front where Bangladesh is still in infancy.

 

With LDC-graduation and loss of preferential tariffs in its export markets imminent, Bangladesh would do well to move away from its overdependence on readymade garments (RMG) in the export basket.

 

Exploring the semiconductor industry could be the start of the diversification of products that Bangladesh needs. He hoped that this seminar can be the start of the knowledge and guidance sharing that is required for success.

 

The discussants said it was a thought-provoking and believed that it will open new windows of opportunity for Bangladesh.

 

Anis A. Khan, Director, MCCI delivered the vote of thanks. He also thanked all the discussants and participants for making the interactions fruitful.

 

Source: United News of Bangladesh

Bangladesh received $1.59 billion inward remittance in November, showing a slight increase in expatriate income flow, according to a Bangladesh Bank source.

 

Though the central bank is expecting a sharp rise in inward remittance flow after announcing half a dozen facilities including cash incentives and free-of-cost remittance-sending opportunities, the response is not satisfactory yet.

 

Expatriate income or remittances have been steadily declining amid the foreign exchange crisis.

 

The expatriates sent $1.52 billion in October. In July and August, Bangladesh received $2.09 billion and $2.03 billion respectively.

 

Read more: Bangladesh Bank allows export income, remittance through MFS

 

Since September the flow of inward remittance has been declining. A rumor spread among the expatriates that sending money to Bangladesh through banking channel is not secure, which has apparently impacted the remittance flow.

 

According to Bangladesh Bank (BB) data, the country received inward remittance of $8.78 billion in July-November of FY 23 while the figure was $8.60 billion in the same time of FY 22. It shows that expatriates sent more than $180 million in remittances compared to the previous fiscal year.

 

BB spokesperson Md Abul Kalam Azad told UNB that in order to increase remittance inflow, the central bank has increased the exchange rate of US dollars for remittance.

 

In addition to 2.5 percent hassle-free incentive for remittance, several banks also provide additional incentives to attract foreign exchange, he said.

 

Read more: Bangladesh received $769.88mn remittance in 2 weeks of Oct

 

Banks will not charge any fee for sending remittances through the legal channel, he said.

 

Research by Bangladesh Bank found that more than 40 percent of remittance is sent through illegal hundi.

 

Source: United News of Bangladesh

 

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has said that the uninterrupted power supply will continue through strengthening the distribution network.

 

“Underground cable network with optical fiber will ensure reliable power supply through dual sources,” he said while visiting the sites of six ongoing projects in Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited (DPDC) on Thursday.

 

He also said that installations of underground cables, substations and a central SCADA system will strengthen the power distribution network.

 

DPDC Managing Director Engineer Bikash Dewan was present on the occasion.

 

The DPDC has been implementing a project titled: “Extension and Strengthening of Power Distribution System under the DPDC”.

 

Read more: BERC now to consult with govt before any move on retail power tariff hike proposals

 

The DPDC said that under the project some new 14 substations of 132/33 kV capacity and 26 substations of 33/11 kV capacity will be installed while capacity of some 8 existing substations of 132/33 kV and 4 substations of 33/11 kV will be enhanced.

 

Considering the scarcity of land in Dhaka city, some modern and high capacity 35/50 MVA of 33/11 kV power transformers are being installed by the DPDC.

 

This is the first time this type of power transformer is being installed in Bangladesh by DPDC.

 

Under the project, some 20 km of existing overhead distribution lines in Dhanmondi area will be converted into underground cable networks.

 

As a result, Dhanmondi area will be free form overhead cables and the power distribution will be uninterrupted.

 

Under the DPDC project, overhead transmission lines and towers in Hatirjheel area will be removed and underground cables will be installed, which will greatly enhance the aesthetic beauty of the area.

 

Read more: Saudi firm, BPDB sign deal to set up 1000MW solar power plant in Bangladesh

 

Besides, a state-of-the-art mechanised wire house is being constructed at Tongi with an open hangar attached. This will be the first such wire house in the power sector in Bangladesh.

 

Source: United News of Bangladesh