Bangladesh

Mitsubishi Motors is thought to hold the largest share of new cars sold in Bangladesh. (Screen grab from the company's homepage)
Automobiles

Mitsubishi Motors to build new plant in Bangladesh

Japanese automaker looks to expand footprint as country's economy grows

2 September 2021
Colombo's ill-planned import ban to protect Sri Lankan foreign reserve is negatively impacting the economy.
Economy

Sri Lanka's import ban puts hundreds of businesses in jeopardy

Colombo's ad hoc efforts to save forex likely to hamper economy and cost jobs

28 July 2021
Onlookers gather near a beverage and food factory on July 11, after a fire gutted the building in the Narayanganj district, near Dhaka, three days earlier.
Fires

Bangladesh factory fire puts new spotlight on worker safety

Improvements incomplete and focused on export businesses, say critics

26 July 2021
Bangladesh has ample electric power for now but wants to add more renewables to its energy mix of the future.
International relations

Bangladesh scraps plans for 10 coal-fired power plants

Projects involving China, Japan and others axed due to environmental concerns

8 July 2021
Dhaka shops selling smartphones from Oppo and Vivo, two Chinese companies that are among the global manufacturers producing the devices in Bangladesh. (Photo by Syful Islam)
Telecommunication

Bangladesh draws smartphone assembly as brands eye growing market

Nokia, Samsung and Chinese makers including Vivo enticed by government incentives

30 June 2021
The Karnaphuli underwater tunnel project in Chittagong, Bangladesh, has been funded by China, which recently said it would not fund at least two rail projects in the country.
Belt and Road

Belt and Road projects in limbo as Bangladesh cuts budgets

China withdraws infrastructure funding after Dhaka trims proposed costs

28 June 2021
Bangladesh's image has drastically changed after a decade of strong economic growth.
Economy

Bangladesh helps out cash-strapped Sri Lanka with $200m loan

Former recipient of major foreign aid, Dhaka now has money to lend

7 June 2021
Laborers work in a sewing section of a garment factory in Gazipur on May 2: Bangladesh's economic rise has been powered by the ready-made garment industry,
Opinion

Bangladesh goes from basket case to rising star

Recent success was far from preordained

4 June 2021
Bangladeshi Foreign Minister A. K. Abdul Momen, left, with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in 2019: Momen has lashed out at remarks from Beijing's ambassador in Dhaka.
11 May 2021
Bangladesh is turning to Chia for the Sinopharm vaccine, left, and to Russia for Sputnik jabs as India deals with its own corona crisis. (Source photos by Reuters and Getty Images)
Coronavirus

India COVID spike pushes Bangladesh to tap Sputnik and Sinopharm

Russia and China step up as New Delhi uses vaccines for its own population

7 May 2021
Bangladesh, once one of the poorest countries in the world, is attracting increasing attention from foreign investors.
DealStreetAsia

Dutch bank to invest $50m in Bangladesh microfinance lender

FMO encourages BRAC to accelerate support of education and female empowerment

7 April 2021
Boats on the Buriganga river in Dhaka in February. Bangladesh's economy has grown substantially since independence in 1971.
Business trends

Bangladesh at 50: how the country has fared since independence

The economy has boomed and exports have soared but vulnerabilities remain

26 March 2021
The train manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industry, pictured, will run on Dhaka's MRT Line-6, which has a total length of about 20 kilometers and connects the center of the city with areas to the north and south. (Photo courtesy of the company)
Transportation

Japan's Kawasaki Heavy ships trains for Bangladesh's first MRT

Total of 144 railcars to operate from 2022 in Dhaka under $373m contract

4 March 2021
Online meal delivery service HungryNaki has 500 drivers who serve its more than 500,000 regular customers in five Bangladeshi cities. (Source photos by AP and HungryNaki)
Food & Beverage

Alibaba buys Bangladesh food delivery service HungryNaki

Deal comes as Chinese e-commerce company hits obstacles in India

4 March 2021
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, pictured in September 2018: she would be loath to trigger passionate sentiments among religious factions.
Opinion

Is Bangladesh moving to normalize relations with Israel?

Increased cooperation offers clear benefits for both countries

1 March 2021
India has allowed transit by rail of Bangladeshi fertilizer to Nepal as it mends relations with its Himalayan neighbor. (Source photo by Reuters)
Trade

India mends Nepal ties with transit of Bangladeshi fertilizer

New Delhi improves regional connectivity as it normalizes neighbor relations

19 February 2021
Rohingya Muslims fear that the military, which drove them out of Rakhine State in 2017, will continue to persecute them if they return. (Source photos by Reuters)
Myanmar Crisis

Rohingya Muslims fear repatriation to Myanmar after coup

Bangladesh, keen to send refugees back, wants to continue talks with Naypyitaw

10 February 2021
A street vendor hawks fresh bank notes, in high demand, ahead of the Eid festival, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on May 24, 2020.
Economy

Bangladesh scores $1.2bn through tax amnesty offer

COVID also helps as it prevents cheaters from sheltering cash overseas

4 February 2021
Rohingya refugees sit on wooden benches on the deck of a navy vessel sailing to the Bhasan Char island, Noakhali district, Bangladesh, on Dec. 20, 2020.
Politics

Bangladesh sends more Rohingya to remote island

More than 1,400 Myanmar refugees set sail for vulnerable Bay of Bengal isle

30 January 2021
Transparency International says the Philippines, ranked 115th for perceived corruption, has responded to COVID-19 with "abusive enforcement, and major violations of human rights and media freedom."
Coronavirus

Corruption deepens COVID impact in developing Asia: report

Singapore is region's only country in Transparency International's clean top 10

28 January 2021
Hijras take lessons in the Quran, Bengali, English, math and social sciences at the madrassa. (Photo by Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Life

Bangladesh's first trans school ignites hope for acceptance

Madrassa's opening shows progress may be slow, but is still a step forward

22 January 2021
Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends the launch of the pan-India COVID-19 vaccination drive via video conference in New Delhi on Jan. 16. (Photo courtesy of Government of India)
Coronavirus

Vaccine diplomacy: Indian supplies reach Bangladesh and Nepal

New Delhi's aid shipments come amid China's own COVID outreach to the region

21 January 2021
A boy carries a bag of onions at a food distribution center at a Rohingya refugee camp near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh: The WFP's efforts have been hit by COVID-19. (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma)
Coronavirus

Food insecure Asians doubled to 265m in 2020: UN report

World Food Program faces budget pinch as governments face 'harsh reality'

21 January 2021
Sheikh Hasina's government positioned Bangladesh's economy as another haven for multinational companies looking to diversify away from China.
Opinion

Bangladesh confounds the naysayers for all the right reasons

Four ways Dhaka can accelerate the transition to middle-income status

23 November 2020
Women work in a garment factory in Dhaka on May 3: there is something here to learn from.
Opinion

India's horrible year just got worse: it has fallen behind Bangladesh

To revive its economic fortunes, Delhi can learn a lot from its eastern neighbor

4 November 2020