DBBL introduces virtual cards for app developers

Star Business Report

Dutch-Bangla Bank Ltd has rolled out virtual cards for individual app developers and programmers, solving the difficulties they face when making international transactions online.
A virtual card has an annual card limit of $300.
The amount can be used to pay for games, software licence, mobile and games application development, vendor certification exam fee, domain registration, hosting, cloud service and hackathon on online market places such as Windows, Android, iOS, BlackBerry and Firefox.
Sayem Ahmed, chairman of DBBL; KS Tabrez, managing director of the private commercial bank; and Shameem Ahsan, president of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services, inaugurated the service at a press conference at the Westin hotel in Dhaka on Tuesday.
Speaking at the event, Ahsan said individual app developers and programmers have been facing troubles for not having the payment service in Bangladesh.
BASIS has been negotiating with Bangladesh Bank for a long time to take the necessary steps to this effect.
The BB directed banks to issue virtual cards in 2014 to facilitate international payments online.
“We hope the initiative will mitigate the hazards the individual developers and programmers were facing during online international transactions,” he said in a statement.
Ahsan said the first step on the path to the app stores is to register as a developer in order to get started with app development.
Global debit card system is essential to facilitate the payments for app store registration fees and domains, and participation at boot camps and courses offered by different international organisations on apps development.
As per directive from the central bank, BASIS will verify whether an applicant meets the criteria of being a developer or programmer.
BASIS will then authorise the authentic applicants to be issued the virtual cards.
To get the cards, applicants will have to show the certificate provided to participants during programmes on mobile apps, games and hackathons run by BASIS or the ICT Division.
Initially, BASIS members used to enjoy the service. But now it is open to students, IT professionals and entrepreneurs, according to the association.
Ahsan hopes the youth will now be encouraged to join IT-related professions.
DBBL has started the service at all of its branches, said officials of the bank.
BASIS Senior Vice President Russell T Ahmed, Secretary General Uttam Kumar Paul and Director Suny Md Ashraf Khan were also present.

United Airways resumes flights

Sarwar A Chowdhury

Private carrier United Airways yesterday resumed its flight operations, which remained suspended for three weeks due to an unavailability of aircraft.
Operations recommenced with a daily flight on the Dhaka-Cox's Bazar route with an ATR-72-212 aircraft, said Foyez Ahmed, manager of public relations of the airline.
“Another domestic flight on the Dhaka-Saidpur route will resume on February 29,” he said, adding that the rest of the domestic and international flights will resume soon after the other aircraft become serviceable.
Earlier on February 4, the private carrier announced that its flights have been suspended due to an unavailability of serviceable aircraft.
Sources, however, said the aircraft were grounded for maintenance, but the airline does not have enough funds to do the required servicing, which is a matter of high costs.
United Airways was desperately seeking funds from different sources; unless the company can arrange the funds, it may not be able to resume its flights in full swing, they added.
The net operating cash flow of the airline, which was Tk 0.26 per share in July-December last year, also shows its financial weakness. It was Tk 0.40 a year earlier, according to data on the Dhaka Stock Exchange website.
The suspension also raised the sufferings of those who bought tickets with the airline.
“We have refunded the tickets of those who claimed in the meantime,” said Ahmed.
This is not the first time the private carrier suspended its flight operations. Its domestic and international flights remained suspended for several days in September 2014 over a conflict among its directors.
Set up in 2007, the airline has 11 aircraft in its fleet: two Airbus 310-325, five MD-83, three ATR-72-212 and one Bombardier Dash-8 100. It was listed on the stock exchanges in 2010.
It has permission to operate domestic flights to Chittagong, Sylhet, Jessore, Cox's Bazar, Rajshahi, Barisal, Saidpur and Ishwardi.
On the international front, it has permission to fly to Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Kathmandu, Kolkata, Jeddah, Bangkok, Muscat and Singapore.
With market capitalisation of Tk 453.61 crore on the DSE, its shares traded between Tk 6.6 and Tk 7.1 yesterday, before closing at Tk 6.8.
Its earnings per share in the July-December period of last year were Tk 0.07, which was Tk 0.39 a year earlier.

Govt considers re-fixing fuel prices: State minister

Plans to dig 57 gas exploration wells by 2021

Nasrul Hamid. Star file photo

Star Online Report

The government is “actively” considering to re-fix prices of fuel in the country’s market due to fall of fuel price in international market, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid said today.
In reply to lawmakers’ queries in the parliament, the state minister however did not say from when the reduced price will come into effect.
Nasrul, replying to another query, said the government with a view to increasing gas production to meet the rising demand has a plan to dig 57 exploration gas wells, 43 development wells and work over of 20 wells by 2021.
The government expects producing an approximate 1,078-1,240 million cubic feet (mcf) natural gas per day from the said gas wells.
"The present demand for gas in the country is over 3,200 mcf per day, while the gas production is 2,740 mcf," he said.
The state minister said despite increase in the gas production, the deficit in the sector is 500 mcf per day.
Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (BAPEX) has been continuing 2-Dimension Seismic Survey in various areas in the country to identify new gas structure, he said.

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The BAPEX also is conducting 3-Dimension Seismic Survey to reevaluate the existing stock of gas at various gas fields along with digging of gas wells, he added.