National flag carrier Biman finalised a landmark agreement with US aviation giant Boeing to acquire 14 aircraft, including eight 787-10 Dreamliners, two 787-9 Dreamliners and four 737-8 MAX jets. The agreement was signed by Biman Managing Director and CEO Kaizer Sohel Ahmed on behalf of the airline, while Boeing Vice President Paul Righi signed for the manufacturer in the presence of senior government officials, diplomats and aviation executives at a city hotel in Dhaka.

The estimated list value of the aircraft package is around $3.7 billion (Tk 45,000 crore). Under the delivery schedule, the first aircraft is expected to arrive in November 2031, while the remaining jets are scheduled for delivery by October 2035. The agreement ends a prolonged contest between Boeing and European rival Airbus for Biman's next major order, and comes in the shadow of the trade deal signed between the Trump Administration and the interim government in its dying days.

Bangladesh is experiencing mounting pressure in repaying its foreign debt, as outflows for loan servicing continue to rise alongside fresh disbursements, according to the latest report from the Economic Relations Division (ERD). In the first nine months of the current fiscal year (July-March), the country paid more than $3.5 billion in principal and interest on external loans to development partners, including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Japan.

The ERD report shows that Bangladesh repaid $3.525 billion during the period, while receiving $3.89 billion in foreign loans and grants. Of the repayments, $2.276 billion was principal and $1.25 billion interest. Foreign loans are primarily used to finance projects under the Annual Development Programme (ADP), with the ERD maintaining records of disbursement and repayment. At the same time, reliance on domestic borrowing has also increased. To bridge the budget deficit, the government borrowed over Tk 1 lakh crore from the banking system during the first nine months of the fiscal year.

Three banks lost their existing stock exchange category status as the Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchange downgraded them to the 'Z' category for failing to declare dividends for two consecutive years. Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC, Standard Bank PLC and SBAC Bank PLC were stripped of their respective standings: Islami Bank from 'A' category and the other two from 'B' category, effective Wednesday, in accordance with provision 1(a) of the BSEC directive.

Stock brokers and merchant bankers have been directed to refrain from extending loan facilities for the purchase of securities of all three banks with immediate effect, as per rule 11(8) of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (Margin) Rules, 2025. All three boards of directors have recommended no dividend for the year ended December 31, 2025. The 'Z' category encompasses companies that have failed to hold their AGM, failed to declare any dividend based on annual performance, remained non-operational for more than six months, or whose accumulated losses exceed paid-up capital after adjustment of revenue reserves.

Bangladesh cited gaps in readiness, incomplete core reforms, and economic fallouts from the Iran war as reasons for seeking an extension of the transition period for graduation from the least developed country (LDC) category by three more years at the public hearing of the UNCDP on April 29. Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir attended the virtual hearing with Chair of the United Nations Committee for Development Policy (UNCDP) José Antonio Ocampo.

Bangladesh mainly cited the country's gap in preparedness, lower implementation of core reforms, and the fallouts of the war between the USA and Israel on Iran as the main reasons for the requested extension. Apart from these three main reasons, Bangladesh also mentioned vulnerabilities in the financial sector, weaknesses in the banking system, an export slowdown due to volatile global supply chains, high interest rates, and an uncertain business and investment climate in support of the extension.