OPPORTUNITIES OF HEDGING WITH FORWARD CONTRACT: EVIDENCES FROM CHITTAGONG STOCK EXCHANGE (CSE)

The stock market of Bangladesh is still in its development stage. No mechanism is there for the investors by which they can get protection against the variability of price that generates risk. A forward contract, an instrument of derivatives, gives the parties involved in the contract protection against such risk. This study investigates whether there is any opportunity of using forward contract or not for the investors trading at Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), one of the major stock exchanges of Bangladesh. To conduct the study, closing prices of 50 randomly selected companies operating under different sectors has been taken from the website of CSE for the period of September 2019. Then, the forward prices for December 2019 have been calculated by compounding the September prices at the rate of 91-day Treasury bill. Actual December 2019 prices are then compared to the calculated forward prices. The study finds significant difference between the actual price and calculated forward price for 94 percent of the sample companies. This implies that, the investors of CSE could better off by hedging their position through forward contract if such mechanism were there in practice

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Managing Inventory of Medicine in Pharmaceutical Industry

 Inventory is one of the vital components of current assets. Excess holdings of inventory may increase cost as well as wastage. As such, effective and efficient management of inventory is an integral part of supply chain. Especially, in the field of management of pharmaceutical products and medicine it bears more importance. Improper use of pharmaceutical products or shortage of medicine would not only cause financial loss but also may affect the patients adversely. Rather than using the traditional techniques of managing inventory use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) can make the process more effective and efficient. AI is the application of computer program that demonstrates action like a human being, learns from experience, gets new input and processes big data by reasoning. It can acquire large amount of data and create rules for turning the data into actionable information. This study has been conducted based mainly on secondary sources of data. It is a qualitative study that gives a conceptual idea regarding how the functions of AI can support managing inventory of medicine in pharmaceutical industry

NECESSITY OF PRACTICING FOREIGN EXCHANGE FORWARD CONTRACT IN BANGLADESH

The study intends to explore the reasons necessitating the inception of practicing foreign exchange forward in Bangladesh, one of the emerging economies of South Asia. With the country’s increased involvement in international trade and commerce and extensive investment in infrastructural facilities exposure to foreign exchange risk is also growing. But unfortunately, no mechanism is there in Bangladesh that can give the individual or institutional investors protection against exchange rate risk while dealing with foreign currencies regularly. As such, it is an attempt to provide a qualitative judgment regarding the prospects of initiating practice of foreign exchange forward contract in Bangladesh. The study has been conducted based primarily on secondary data and the majority of data has been collected from different books, reports, research articles, web sites and other internet based resources. It finds that if the country introduces practice of foreign exchange forward not only the individuals receiving foreign remittances and firms that deal with the foreign currency would be benefited but also the government would be benefited

Does heterogeneity in contract-type and employment sector matter? : an analysis of transitions of the temporarily employed in Norway

Over the past few decades, temporary contracts have become increasingly important in determining career trajectories of individuals. For some, it has worked as a bridge to permanent employment, while for others, it has led individuals to be stuck in a cycle of unemployment and temporary employment (Booth et al., 2002; Gash, 2008). A possible explanation for this is that temporary employees are a heterogenous group for whom temporary contracts vary from one individual to the other (Berglund et al., 2017; Fuller & Stecy-Hildebrandt, 2015; Rasmussen et al., 2019). Hence, with this thesis, we address this heterogeneity and study transitions of temporarily employed in Norway using data from the Norwegian Labour Force Survey between 2006 until 2018. Using linear probability model for our analysis, temporary employees are assessed as a heterogenous group whose probabilities of transitioning to permanent employment, unemployment and remaining in temporary employment differ within the group depending on the reason for temporary contract and sector of employment. Our findings depict that for temporary employees on probationary contract, the temporary employment contract acts as stepping stone into permanent employment. Furthermore, temporary employees in the public sector are less likely to transition to permanent employment and more likely to remain temporarily employed relative to the private sector after a little over two years and, hence, our results indicate that temporary employment is more persistent in the public sector. Furthermore, using data from Statistics Norway for years 2006-2020, we studied the impact of 2015 policy change, where the maximum length of a temporary contract was extended to 12 months in the private and municipality sector, on the use of temporary contracts in Norway. We found that, on aggregate level, the policy change had no effect on the use of temporary contracts in Norway. However, the effect on sub-groups differed as for interns, the policy change led to an increased use of temporary contracts, but seasonal work remained unchanged.nhhma

RELATIVE VALUATION OF STOCKS: EVIDENCE FROM THE LISTED CEMENT MANUFACTURING COMPANIES OF BANGLADESH

The paper aims to apply the relative valuation technique to the listed cement manufacturing companies of Bangladesh and address whether they are mispriced (overvalued/undervalued) or not. It considers the financial information of seven listed cement manufacturing companies of Bangladesh. All the financial data used in this study has been collected from the annual reports published in their websites for the financial year 2020-2021. On the contrary, closing prices of their stocks for the same year has been collected from the website of the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), one of the two major stock exchanges of Bangladesh. The study reveals that in terms of the selected multiples (PS, PE and PB) all the sample companies are undervalued. But when comparison is made in terms of the relative value and the market value, six companies except one were found undervalued. This implies that despite their strong financial and operating performance, the stocks of the listed cement manufacturing companies are not correctly priced.&nbsp

Awareness and Effective use of ICT in Undergraduate Science Classroom Activities

Technology-dependency is increasing rapidly. People seek ways to apply technology to simplify complex tasks. Technology is the greatest platform for students to get ready for the world and become successful tech-oriented citizen. Knowledge acquisition needs to follow the current technological trends. Technology-dependency of our country increasing rapidly, students must learn to be tech-orianted. Integrating technology in education helps students to stay engaged. The purpose of the study is to identify the scenario of current trends, awareness and effective use of ICT and digital contents in science classroom of undergraduate students in Bangladesh. This study is focused on two central phenomena naming, ‘skills, capabilities and practices’ of teachers for appropriate and affordable digital content and ICT based learning’ and ‘use of digital contents to support collaboration, innovation and effectiveness’. The findings of the study represent that the concept of ICT based learning is not clear for both teachers and students so that classroom practice is not effective. Professional learning opportunities about ICT should be developed to meet the needs of teachers at various stages of knowledge, skills, understanding and practice. Keywords: ICT based learning, digital content, collaboration. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-20-03 Publication date:July 31st 202

Reassess of capital structure theories

This study presents a review of major capital structure fiction. Capital structure decision is important for companies because it helps to increase firm value by ensuring that the company has enough resources to carry out planned investments using as much as possible the cheapest cost of capital. It therefore involves choices between the different sources of capital such as debt, equity and hybrid capital. The different sources of finance available to companies are also influenced by the quality and maturity of the financial system and the overall risk of operating in that environment. The paper identified a host of capital structure theories that are key contemplation in the financing structure of firms around the world. This review will help companies in emerging and underdeveloped economies identify the peculiarities in the choosing the appropriate blend of capital

Green finance is essential for economic development and sustainability

Green finance is part of a broader occurrence; from the incorporation of various non-financial or ethical concerns onto the financial universe. Generally green finance is considered as the financial support for green growth which reduces greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutant emissions significantly. Green finance in agriculture, green buildings and other green projects should increase for the economic development of the country. In this paper an attempt has been made to describe green financing in a boarder sense

Industrial Accidents in Bangladesh Apparel Manufacturing Sector: An Analysis of the Two Most Deadliest Accidents in History

The purposes of this study are, firstly to investigate the two recent industrial accidents: the collapse of Rana Plaza and the fire at Tazreen Fashions, and secondly, to find out the reasons behind these accidents. The study particularly focuses on the readymade garment (RMG) sector in Bangladesh. It is qualitative in nature and follows an interpretivist and constructivists philosophical paradigm. Data were collected through triangulation method which uses two deviant cases (Rana Plaza and Tazreen Garments), and responses from a qualitative questionnaire. The questionnaire sample includes 16 male participants from 8 RMG factories located in Dhaka. All the participants were top-level executives at those factories (i.e. owners and general managers). The study finds that non-compliance with the occupational health and safety (OHS) provisions and the evasive nature of the factory owners were the main causes of the accidents. The study also discovers that there is a significant difference in the OHS practice among the factory owners of the outsourced and the subcontracted factories. The study further explains the rationale behind this difference

Green finance is essential for economic development and sustainability

Green finance is part of a broader occurrence; from the incorporation of various non-financial or ethical concerns onto the financial universe. Generally green finance is considered as the financial support for green growth which reduces greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutant emissions significantly. Green finance in agriculture, green buildings and other green projects should increase for the economic development of the country. In this paper an attempt has been made to describe green financing in a boarder sense