Md. Liakat Ali Chowdhury has been elected as Director of the Board of Al-Arafah Islami Bank Ltd.

The Board of Directors of the bank at the 261st meeting unanimously elected Liakat as Director of the bank.

Md. Liakat Ali Chowdhury is the owner of Asadi Steel Enterprise and Regal Oxygen. He is the managing partner of Jamuna Ship. Md. Liakat Ali, a prominent businessman of the country is a Director of Chittagong Metropolitan Chember of Commerce and Industry.

He is also the Founder Director of Southern University Bangladesh.

Sharia-based lenders can make renewable investment in the fund

Sharia-based lenders will have to repay the central bank the principal amount of the loan and the profits on it every three months. The lenders, however, will be able to borrow until their investment period lasts. 

The circular came on the back of a huge growth in Islamic banking in the country. There are seven full-fledged shariah-compliant banks. Most other banks have also launched their Islamic banking wing in recent years.

BASIC decided to take away some part of high management’s salaries

 Leading mobile phone operator Robi Axiata Limited signed a corporate deal with Exim Bank in the city on Thursday.

Under this agreement, Robi will offer various corporate postpaid and prepaid packages along with some other value-added services to Exim Bank, said a press release.

Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Robi Axiata Limited, and Dr Mohammed Haider Ali Miah, Managing Director (MD) of Exim Bank, signed the agreement of behalf of their respective organisations.

Nowadays, mobile phone service is not limited within voice call only, rather subscribers can avail various value-added services and attractive data offers. Moreover, corporate subscribers can enjoy more lucrative offers from operators which facilitate the staff.

AKM Nazmul Islam, Vice-President (Enterprise Business), Kazi Md Ozair, General Manager (Enterprise Business), Md Imrul Shahid, Key Account Manager of Robi Axiata Limited, and Exim Bank Deputy Managing Director M sirajul Islam, Sirajul Haque Miah and Khondoker Rumy Ehsanul Haq were also present at the signing ceremony.

LONDON: Russia’s economy will contract next year as a result of the crisis with Ukraine, the EBRD development bank forecast on Thursday after slashing its prediction for growth.

Ukraine’s economy will meanwhile contract faster than expected, in turn weighing on other emerging economies in the region, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said in its latest outlook report.

Russia’s economy will contract by 0.2 per cent in 2015, the EBRD said after predicting in May that it would expand by 0.6 per cent next year, reports AFP.

The bank, founded in 1991 to help ex-Soviet bloc countries such as Russia and Ukraine make the transition to free-market economies and democracy, maintained its forecast of zero Russian growth for this year.

“The Russian economy will come under pressure both from Western sanctions and the sanctions that Moscow has imposed on the West in response,” the EBRD said.

The United States and European Union last week hit Russia with tough new sanctions over Moscow’s “unacceptable behaviour” in Ukraine.

In some of the toughest measures yet to punish the Kremlin for allegedly fomenting the insurgency, Washington targeted Russia’s top bank Sberbank— which holds the deposits of nearly half all Russian savers—and leading energy and technology companies.

Moscow has meanwhile threatened to bar EU airlines from its airspace, and has drawn up a list targeting imports of consumer goods and second-hand cars from the West.

The EBRD added that Ukraine’s economy is predicted to shrink by 9.0 per cent this year, more than May’s forecast for a contraction of 7.0 per cent. Gross Domestic Product is set to come in at minus 3.0 per cent in 2015, the London-based institution added.