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Pragati Life partners with SSL Wireless
STAR BUSINESS DESK
Pragati Life Insurance Ltd recently signed a strategic partnership agreement with SSL Wireless, a software development, fintech and ITES company in Bangladesh, to drive Insurtech innovation and expand access to micro-insurance in Bangladesh.
Md Jalalul Azim, managing director and CEO of the life insurer, and Md Iftekhar Alam Ishaque, chief operating officer of the software development, fintech, and ITES company, penned the deal at the former’s head office in the capital’s Karwan Bazar, read a press release.
Under this agreement, SSL Wireless will provide embedded insurance technology support, enabling the development and testing of new insurance products and services within the regulatory sandbox framework.
The software development company will also integrate the insurer’s micro insurance policies into their digital platforms, expanding access to insurance for underserved communities.
Quazi M Murshed, assistant managing director of the life insurer, Md Jaharul Islam, senior vice-president and head of bancassurance, and Mohiuddin Tawfik, assistant general manager and head of banking and financial services of the software development company, and Syed Mahabur Rahman, deputy manager for banking and financial services, along with senior officials of both organisations were also present.
Business at ICDs
FROM PAGE B1
The five leading ICDs -- comprising KDS, Portlink Logistics Centre Limited, two units of Summit Alliance Port Limited (East and West), Incontrade Limited and Esack Brothers Industries Limited -- jointly handled 542,783 TEUs of export and import containers, around 61.84 per cent of the total volume.
Still, container handling dropped across the board. KDS’ handling dropped by 8.8 percent, Portlink’s by 14.39 percent, Summit Alliance Port Limited’s (East and West) by 8.16 percent, Incontrade’s by 11.3 percent, and Esack Brothers’ by 15.46 percent.
Among them, KDS Logistics handled the most import and export containers, amounting to 144,814 TEUs, around 16.50 per cent of the total volume.
In 2023, the 17 ICDs handled a total of 661,152 TEUs of export containers, down 11 per cent from the previous year, and 216,537 TEUs of import containers, down 9.7 per cent from 2022.
KDS Logistics was also top in terms of handling export containers, handling 109,554 TEUs in 2023.
KDS Logistics Executive Director (ED) Md Ahsanul Kabir said 2023 was a challenging year for business as overall foreign trade declined, thereby impacting the trade volume of ICDs.
Despite the fall in volume, they tried to focus on developing efficiency to ensure better services to clients, he said.
Nurul Qayuum Khan, president of the Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association, told The Daily Star that the overall fall in the inflow of export and import cargo was the reason for the negative growth in total handling by ICDs.
Most ICDs saw their revenue drop due to decreased business in 2023 and outstanding dues in the market are climbing, he said, adding that the owners were facing difficulties in paying off instalments on their bank loans.
However, Khan hoped for a better situation in 2024.