Author: Sourabh Gupta, Samuels International
On 7 September 2011 in Dacca, the prime ministers of India and Bangladesh signed a landmark protocol to their 1974 Land Boundary Agreement, providing for final settlement of their long-pending boundary issues.
Given that instances of territorial dispute settlement in this sovereignty-conscious region have been few and far between, this exercise in statesmanship is both commendable and long overdue. Read more…
Author: Pravakar Sahoo, IEG
Since Bangladesh achieved independence, seceding from Pakistan in 1971, India has been its major trading partner.
But since 2002 China’s trade with Bangladesh has increased many times over, surpassing that of India. Read more…
Author: Nina Merchant-Vega, The Asia Foundation
Since the 1980s, microfinance institutions in Bangladesh have touted the success of women micro-entrepreneurs in starting and operating thousands of microenterprises throughout the country.
While this is certainly an achievement, Bangladeshi women have not achieved the same level of success in the small and medium sized enterprise (SME) sector. Read more…
Author: John D. Conroy, ANU and FDC
The removal of Muhammad Yunus as Managing Director of Grameen Bank now seems irrevocable.
The Bangladesh Finance Ministry is reported to have prepared a ‘14 point plan’ that will ‘transform the Nobel winning micro-lender into another state-owned bank’, with the government likely looking to increase its equity stake in Grameen (currently less than 4 per cent of paid capital) to restructure the board and ‘establish control over its lucrative sister firms’. Read more…
Author: Mahendra Ved, New Delhi
Bangladesh’s microcredit conglomerate, the Grameen Bank, founded by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, and with its 20,000 employees and 8.3 million customers, has distributed Taka 600 billion (US$8.2 billion) in loans as of January 2011.
The Grameen concept of lending small sums to poor women in rural areas — who would not dare to enter a regular bank — has been replicated in many countries with a fair degree of success. Read more…
Author: David Brewster, ANU
Bangladesh’s recent announcement of a deal with Russia to construct its first nuclear reactor marks a broadening of the nuclear gold rush in South Asia.
The latest deal is part of a big expansion of nuclear generation throughout the region. Read more…