Mahmud Hossain Opu/Dhaka Tribune

BSEC working to upgrade financial literacy among stock investors

Prof Shibli acknowledged that sometimes people are being influenced to invest their hard-earned money or chasing misinformation

Bank Asia sues Western Marine Shipyard to recover Tk505cr

According to Western Marine’s financial report for fiscal 2019-20, it has a total debt of Tk1,338 crore with 10 banks and seven non-bank financial institutions

https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/bank-asia-sues-western-marine-shipyard-recover-tk505cr-550406

Economy

Industrial, corporate lending rate cap to stay: Central bank

December 12, 2022

·          The 9% lending rate cap on corporate and industrial loans will not be lifted, the central bank said on Monday at a meeting with the country's leading business owners.

·          Central bank spokesperson and Executive Director Mejbaul Haque claimed that the Bangladesh Bank did not cap the interest rate on consumer loans. He said the lending rate cap is there for industrial loans, working capital loans, raw material loans.

From: https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/banking/industrial-corporate-lending-rate-cap-stay-central-bank-550410

BB to return to biannual monetary policy

December 12, 2022

·          The central bank is set to return to its semiannual monetary policy stance after three years as per a suggestion of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) but local economists say the move would not bring about any change amid the lending rate cap and multiple exchange rates.

·          In the fiscal year of 2019-2020, the central bank moved away from a twice-a-year policy statement to an annual statement that was practised for the previous two decades. Thus, it began coming up with the policy in July alone.

·          In November, a delegation from the IMF, during its talks with the government over the latter's USD 4.5 billion loan plan, called for unveiling the monetary policy on a quarterly basis since the economic situation is changing frequently, at home and abroad.

·          Accordingly, the Bangladesh Bank has begun its preparation and is holding discussions with stakeholders, including economic think tanks.

From: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/bb-return-biannual-monetary-policy-3193741

 Govt set to launch USD 1.34b programme

December 13, 2022

·          The government, with the support of the World Bank (WB) and the IFAD, is going to take up a USD  1.34-billion programme for upgrading food nutrient values in agricultural products and rural transformation, officials said on Monday.

·          The WB and the IFAD are expected to provide USD 543 million for facilitating the proposed agricultural upgradation programme, they added.

·          "Bangladesh is self-sufficient in food production, and now it is looking for improving the agricultural items' nutrient values. The WB and the IFAD have come forward to support the government," said a senior official of the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

·          The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) will implement the "Programme on agricultural and rural transformation for nutrition, entrepreneurship and resilience (PARTNER)" between 2023 and 2028.

·          The WB will provide USD 500 million funds to the programme, and the IFAD will provide USD 43 million. The remaining USD 800 million will be provided by the Bangladesh government from its internal resources, the MoF official added..

·          The MoA official said the programme will support a transformational shift of agriculture for diversification towards high-value crops for ensuring food and nutrition security as well as building long-term sector resilience to climate change.

·          The DAE and other agencies will work to increase productivity and sustainability of all key crops, like cereals, pulses, fruits, vegetables and spices, promoting agricultural diversification for ensuring food security and nutrition.

From: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/first-page/govt-set-to-launch-134b-programme-1670866051

 Banking

Bank accounts with above BDT 1cr fall by 2,000 in 3 months

December 12, 2022

·          The number of bank accounts with at least BDT 1 crore in the country increased during the pandemic, but it has decreased by about 2,000 from July to September this year due to ongoing inflationary pressure.

·          At the same time, the amount of money deposited in these bank accounts decreased by BDT 27,567 crore, according to the Scheduled Banks Statistics for September this year.

·          According to the Bangladesh data for September, there are 1,06,520 bank accounts in the country with over BDT 1 crore deposits. Around BDT 6,52,794 crores were deposited in those accounts.

·          In June this year, the number of accounts with at least BDT 1 crore was 1,08,457, where BDT 6,80,361 crores were deposited.

·          Bankers said the number of bank accounts with crores of taka does not reflect the number of millionaires in the country. Organisations hold more accounts with crores of taka than individuals do. As the rate of inflation has been increasing in the current fiscal year, many people are running their families by withdrawing their deposit money, so people's savings are decreasing.

From: https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/banking/bank-accounts-above-tk1cr-fall-2000-3-months-550422

https://www.newagebd.net/article/188933/bank-accounts-with-more-than-tk-1cr-stand-at-106-lakh

Capital Market

Index Agro to invest BDT 14cr to increase storage

December 12, 2022

·          In a way to curb its cost of purchasing raw materials, Index Agro Industries – a poultry and fish feed producer – is going to invest around BDT 14 crore to expand the capacity of storing the raw materials by 16,000 tonnes.

·          According to its stock exchange filing on Monday, the company will install two silos – each having a capacity of 8,000 tonnes – with automatic loading and unloading facilities at the feed mill division in Bhaluka, Mymensingh.

·          A silo is a tall tower or pit on a farm used to store grains.

·          Index Agro already has five automatic storage facilities with a total capacity of 26,000 tonnes, an official of the company said on condition of anonymity.

·          He said if there is more storage, the company will be able to buy more raw materials in bulk when their prices are reasonable. As a result, it will improve the company's profitability.

From: https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/stocks/index-agro-invest-tk14cr-increase-storage-550398

Banks asked to relax LC margin rate for Ramadan items 

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has directed all commercial banks to relax the cash margin rate against the opening of import letters of credit (LC) for eight food items at the minimum level to keep their prices at a tolerable level and supply adequate during the forthcoming Ramadan.  The central bank fixed the opening margin rate for LC settlement at 75% to 100% in a bid to limit imports to save the depleting foreign currency reserves in the country.

Banks disburse BDT 94.70 bn in farm loans in July-Oct 

Farm loan disbursement by banks was BDT 94.69 bn in the first four months (July-October) of the current financial year 2022-2023.  The amount disbursed is 30.63 per cent of the total annual disbursement target. The central bank’s pressure on banks to expedite disbursement of loans to the farmers was one of the key reasons for the increase, BB officials said.

Envoy Textiles gets USD 11.2 mn ADB loan for yarn spinning unit  The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has entered into a Euro 10.8 mn (USD 11.2 mn) loan agreement with Envoy Textiles to fund a second yarn spinning unit at Envoy's manufacturing plant in Mymensingh's Bhaluka.  The fund will also support, finance the purchase and installation of energy-efficient spinning machinery and other equipment to expand sustainable textile production and create local jobs, according to a statement from the ADB today.

World witnesses gold reserves 50-year high

 The central banks have maintained highest ever reserve of gold across the world in last fifty years after stockpiling large amounts of the precious metal.  The gold reserves increased by 31 tons month-on-month in October, highest ever since 1974, according to World Gold Council (WGC).

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