Readers’ Voice

Currency business

The roller coaster ride of the US dollar exchange rate against Taka cannot be stopped unless the real reason for this exchange rate fluctuation is addressed. In Bangladesh, Dollar can be bought and easily sold by locals. It is also a safe investment as the US dollar will increase in value over time.
Investing in US dollars is also possible with small amounts, with no paperwork and with an easy way to buy or sell dollars. It is because of these reasons local businessmen have started investing their savings in US dollars and therefore the exchange rate of the US dollar is going up and down on its own. To overcome this, the Government has to provide alternative investment options to the locals. The alternative options should be most importantly tax-free, and easy to buy and sell. For example, buying foreign currency in saving accounts in banks.
The government would also need to either stop local hoarding and investing in US dollars by imposing a tax on its local exchange while allowing the tax-free exchange of other currencies. Or start two exchange rates for US currency in Bangladesh, one for local investment and one for imports and travelling.
The government should also promote investing in other currencies besides US dollars to locals and ask locals to convert their US dollars into Canadian dollars or Euro or UK pounds. A simple request can help reduce the pressure on the exchange rate for the US dollar in the short term, while an alternative investment option will fix this problem in the long run.
Imtiaz Ahmed
Rangpur

Bangladesh in Test cricket

Although the Test format is considered the standard of international cricket, Bangladesh has not been able to achieve this criterion of cricket at the expected level in the last 21 years. The cricketing statistics of wins and losses in a total of 121 matches both at home and abroad in the elite arena of Tests, is not at all promising or pleasant for the country.
At the end of the day, cricket is a team-bound game. Therefore, in order to win, the relevance of playing with three different teams of professional cricketers in three formats of cricket might be thought. Above all, the board, selectors, team management, and coaches – all have to make the right decision in a cricket-friendly manner to uplift the image of Test cricket of the country.

W. A. Khan
Narsingdi Sadar