China cuts key interest rate to 4.35%

China has cut its one-year benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.35%.Photo: Reuters

BBC Online

China has cut its one-year benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.35%.
European shares gained ground following the decision, particularly in the mining sector, and commodities rose.
The Chinese central bank also cut the ratio of Chinese currency that it expects its banks to hold.
China hopes that looser monetary policy, in the shape of cheaper money, will help it hit its growth target of 7% for 2015.
The changes will come into effect on Saturday.
The decision from the People's Bank of China suggests a concern that the slowdown in growth might be becoming too abrupt.
Official figures published earlier this week told a different story. They suggested a very moderate weakening in the third quarter of the year. But Beijing's data are widely regarded as unreliable.
Lower interest rates tend to stimulate borrowing by consumers and businesses and so could contain the slowdown, but there is a risk the move could lead to a build up of debt - and some economists say China is in danger of having a financial crisis.
In London, shares in the benchmark FTSE 100 index rose 1.3%, led by miners Glencore and Fresnillo, which added 7% and 4% respectively. The Dax in Frankfurt rose 3.0%.
Brent crude was up 0.8% to $48.46 per barrel.
China's economy has grow at an average annual rate of 10% for the past three decades, but has been cooling in the past few years.
Last year it grew by 7.4%, which is extraordinary by Western standards, but a definite slowdown for China.
There is little doubt that its economy is slowing to a more sustainable rate of growth, with the question being whether that transition can be made smoothly.

Bangladesh: a rising star in denim sector

Refayet Ullah Mirdha

Bangladesh has become a major sourcing hub for trendy denim products for international retailers for its competitive pricing.
“The response from international retailers has been so amazing that we are facing difficulties in getting hotel rooms for them during the denim fair next month,” said Mostafiz Uddin, managing director of Chittagong-based Denim Expert Ltd.
Hundreds of retailers, fashion designers, denim fabric makers will convene in Bangladesh to participate in the third edition of the Denim Expo, due to be held at Bashundhara International Convention City in Dhaka on November 11-12.
A total of 41 companies will showcase their products at the exposition, up from the previous edition's 25, according to Mostafiz Uddin, the founder of the Denim Expo.
Of the participants, 27 are from abroad, from countries such as China, India, Pakistan, the US, Turkey, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Japan and Germany.
He said even five to six years ago, the retailers did not know of Bangladesh's potential in denim.
“But now they know. The amazing response from the international retailors is testimony to the progress the country has made in the denim sector.”
One of the reasons for Bangladesh's rising popularity as a source for denim products is that China, the world's largest denim supplier, has became dearer for its higher costs of production, he said.
Bangladesh exports nearly $2 billion worth of denim products and fabrics a year, with the figure touted to hit the $5 billion-mark soon given the positive response from retailers, industry insiders said.
Apart from the international markets, the domestic market for the denim products is also growing fast with the changes in fashion, said Showkat Aziz Russell, managing director of Amber Denim, a leading denim producer.
The growing middle-class consumers are the main customers of denim products in Bangladesh, he said.
Usually, when people think of denim, they think of trousers and shirts, but now a lot of other items like bed sheets, pillow covers, home textiles, apron and table cloths are also made from denim fabrics, Russell said.
Given the higher demand, the mill owners have also increased the production capacity of denim, either through expanding their existing capacity or by establishing new mills, according to Russell.
A total of 30 mills produce 21 million yards of denim fabrics a month, he said.
The investment in the denim sector also increased for the higher demand: it will cross the Tk 7,500 crore-mark soon, he added. Russell, who has been in the denim business for many years, also said 20 percent of Bangladesh's denim exports go to the US and 80 percent to the European markets.
Currently, Bangladesh is the third largest denim exporter to the US, after Mexico and China, with an 11.3 percent market share, according to the US Department of Commerce.
Bangladesh exported denim products worth more than $529.53 million to Europe between January and June, up 23 percent year-on-year, according to data from the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
Recently, denim makers have also started shipping to some new destinations: China, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan and Russia. Among the global players in the $60 billion denim market, Bangladesh stands behind China, the US, Italy and some other Latin American countries.
Bangladeshi entrepreneurs supply denim products to retailers such as H&M, Uniqlo, Levi's, Nike, Tesco, Wrangler, s.Oliver, Hugo Boss, Puma, Primark and JC Penney.

Bangladesh's GDP to grow 6.55pc, says Bloomberg

Star Business Report

Bangladesh's economy will grow 6.55 percent in the current fiscal year, according to a survey by Bloomberg News.
The growth forecast of the US-based media outlet is the same its previous prediction in February.
The estimate is the median of forecasts from four economists for Bangladesh's economic indicators. They were surveyed from October 16 to 20.
The economists, however, cut their GDP (gross domestic product) growth forecast for the next fiscal year of 2016-17 to 6.6 percent from 6.65 percent earlier.
On Tuesday, the World Bank predicted that Bangladesh's economic growth will be 6.5 percent this fiscal year.
Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund upgraded Bangladesh's economic growth forecast to 6.8 percent from 6.5 percent in April. The Asian Development Bank said the country's GDP will grow 6.7 percent this year.
The country's economy grew 6.5 percent last fiscal year, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
The government has targeted 7 percent economic growth in the current fiscal year that will end in June next year.