Liu Zhenmin NEW YORK – In 2015, United Nations member states came together and committed to achieving a comprehensive and universal set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) spanning all dimensions of economic and social development.
Category: Finance
ACC concerned over wife’s liability to husband’s graft
Dhaka, May 6 – The Anti-Corruption Commission, (ACC) is concerned about 118 cases of corruption against men and the provision of punishment of women along with husbands, said Iqbal Mahmud, Chairman, ACC.
Investing in the potential of rural entrepreneurs
IFAD Associate Vice-President visits project in the Philippines Rome, 05 May – Charlotte Salford, Associate Vice-President of External Relations and Governance at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), is in the Philippines this week to visit an IFAD-supported project…
Citigroup eyes Saudi expansion
Citigroup is considering seeking a full banking licence in Saudi Arabia as Western banks aim to capitalise on Saudi economic reforms, with rival HSBC announcing it has won mandates for several privatisations in the kingdom More than a dozen foreign…
Should ‘modalities’ for finance info be part of Paris mandate
Bonn, 4 May (Meena Raman) – Parties were divided on whether the issue of ‘modalities’ for the biennial communication of indicative information on the financial resources available to developing countries under Article 9.5 of the Paris Agreement (PA) is part…
New tax paradigm in the digital age
Dhaka-Much of the western world is experiencing a social crisis. Basic public services—in the UK, for instance, the National Health Service—are set at unsustainably low levels of funding. Unemployment, already high amongst the young, is set to rise rapidly as…
Another debt crisis for poor countries?
By Masood Ahmed Washington DC, Apr 18 (IPS) – When the world’s finance ministers and central bank governors assemble in Washington later this month for their semi-annual IMF meeting, they will no doubt set aside time for yet another discussion…
Europe: PPPs show ‘widespread shortcomings, limited benefits’
Geneva, 11 Apr (Chakravarthi Raghavan) – While Public-Private Partnership s (PPPs) have the potential to achieve faster policy implementation and ensure good maintenance standards, an audit of such projects in the European Union show s “widespread shortcomings and limited benefits”,…
Rusian Rouble falls on Trump missile threat, sanctions
The Russian ruble has again fallen sharply as last week’s U.S. sanctions continue to bite and President Donald Trump threatened a missile strike on Syria.
US-Bangla plane crash: Family of each deceased to get $50,000
Dhaka, Apr 11 – Families of those killed in the US-Bangla airplane crash will get at least $50,000 as compensation from the Tribhuban International Airport authority in Nepal, said Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister AKM Shahjahan Kamal. -UNB
How corruption impedes universal health coverage
Sania Nishtar Islamabad – Half of the planet cannot access essential health services. For many people, paying to see a doctor, obtaining medications, seeking family-planning advice, or even getting immunized against common illnesses is a choice between staying healthy and…
Bahrain discovers largest oilfield since 1932
Bahrain said it had discovered the country’s largest oilfield in decades, located off the west coast of the kingdom, according to state news agency BNA. The new tight oil and deep gas resource is expected to contain many times the…
Apex BD business chamber for business-friendly revenue system
Leaders of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) on Thursday demanded that a business-friendly and hassle-free system be devised for effectively collecting revenue. They came up with the demand at a meeting with the National Board…
We need more social investment but no more PPPs
Europe needs to spend €1.5 trillion on social infrastructure between now and 2030 to redress the massive underspend over recent years and to address the increasing demands on social services. This is one of the main arguments of the report,…
$930M given for Yemen aid as Saudi prince meets UN leader
United Nations, Mar 28 (AP/UNB) — Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have given $930 million to U.N. humanitarian efforts in Yemen as a war between a Saudi-led military coalition and Yemen’s Houthi rebels enters its fourth year.
IFAD-Myanmar $65.2m smallholder agriculture deal
Rome, 26 March – The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Myanmar signed a financing agreement today to improve incomes for 62,400 poor rural households who depend on smallholder agriculture, agroforestry, or rural wage labour in the eastern states…
A road to right wing authoritarian government
by Simon Wren-Lewis This post is inspired by another, by Jan-Werner Müller. I have talked about Müller’s ideas on populism before. This particular post is a plea to focus less on the voters who elect populist politicians, and more on…
Improving the sustainability of development finance
by Ethiopis Tafara Washington, DC – To achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, trillions of dollars in state spending, investment, and aid will be needed annually. Although estimates vary widely, one UN report from 2014 suggests that…
Consumer Rights Protection Day observed
Dhaka, Mar 15 – The Consumer Rights Protection Day was obsseved in Bangladesh with a renewed call to safeguard consumers and their rights against price manipulations and adulteration of food.
The right question about inequality and growth
By Jason Furman The relationship between inequality and growth has become a hot topic for economists, with new research challenging the conventional view that greater inequality is the price that must be paid for higher output. But for policymakers, this…
‘Panama Papers’ law firm announces that it is closing down
Panama City, Mar 15 (AP/UNB) — The Panamanian law firm whose more than 11 million leaked documents known as the “Panama Papers” shed light on how the world’s wealthy exploit financial secrecy to hide assets says it is closing at…
Green Climate Fund approves $1 billion for funding 23 units
Songdo, 5 March (Indrajit Bose) — The Board of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) agreed on a process for the replenishment of its resources after much wrangling. It also adopted a host of decisions and approved over USD 1 billion…
Stocks open optimistic on both bourses
Dhaka, Mar 4 – The prices of most shares on both bourses – Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) – witnessed an upward trend in early hours of trading on Sunday as enthusiastic investors remain active.
Saudi developer to close Umm Al Qura merger this year
Jabal Omar Development Co., one of Saudi Arabia’s largest listed property developers, expects to finalise its merger deal with Umm Al Qura Development and Construction in 2018, a senior company executive told Reuters. The deal, announced in November, is key…
Debt restructuring turns more difficult and costly
The South Centre has announced the publication of Investment Policy Brief No. 10 entitled “How international investment agreements have made debt restructuring even more difficult and costly” by Yuefen LI, Special Advisor on Economics and Development Finance of the South…
Protect rights of labourers in Gulf: Filipino community
A call to ensure the rights of unskilled domestic workers in Gulf countries has been issued by the Filipino community. It comes as the Philippines Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) on Monday issued an employment ban of overseas Filipino workers…
Debt is a determining factor in History
By Eric Toussaint Sovereign debt has been a crucial factor in a series of major historical events. From the early 19th century, in Latin American countries such as Colombia, Mexico and Argentina, struggling for independence,as well as Greece when seeking…
BB takes steps to discourage remittance thru non-banking channels
Bangladesh Bank governor Fazle Kabir has said remittance inflow through proper banking channel has increased as the central bank has taken initiatives to discourage it through non-banking channels.
Structural neglect of human rights impacts financial crisis
Geneva (Kanaga Raja) – The policy responses to the recent financial crisis have revealed a deep-seated structural neglect of human rights in economic policy formulation, insufficient protection of the most vulnerable and a lack of attention to participation, consultation, transparency…
US$92.4m to improve livelihoods in flood-prone areas
Rome, 13 February 2018 – The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Bangladesh signed a financing agreement today to sustainably improve incomes and promote resilience to extreme weather conditions for 303,000 rural households in six flood-prone districts in northern…