Private credit growth up for 7th straight month

Private sector credit growth in Bangladesh accelerated to 10.68 per cent in December rising for the seventh consecutive month as the economy rebounds from the coronavirus pandemic. Analysts call the double-digit growth a good sign for the economy as the upward trend came in the face of the third wave of infections.The credit growth, which had faced sluggishness right after the coronavirus arrived on the shores of Bangladesh in March 2020 as demand plunged, stood at 10.11 per cent in November. The growth stood at 8.29 per cent in April and 7.55 per cent in May. The credit expansion has been rising since then. The BB has set a private sector credit growth target of 14.8 per cent for the current fiscal year ending in June. It missed its goal in the last fiscal year after the growth plunged to 8.35 per cent against the goal of 14.8 per cent.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/islami-bank-bangladesh-limited-ibbl-received-the-7th-islamic-retail-banking-awards-2021-as-the-strongest-islamic-retail-bank-1642869314

Top drug makers keep growth trajectory in H1

Pharmaceutical companies are doing good business in line with the growing demand for medicines in the country and they have maintained the growth in the first half of the current financial year. Among the top drugmakers, Square Pharma posted a 16% growth in sales, Beximco 18%, Renata 17%, ACI 9%, Acme 16%, IBN Sina 25% and Orion Pharma 13%.Alongside a local market boom, the country’s pharmaceutical sector is expected to rake in over $1.5 billion or around Tk13,000 crore in export earnings per year by 2030 – almost nine times higher than the $169 million earned in FY21. At present, the pharmaceutical market in the country is around Tk30,000 crore and the companies are exporting medicines to more than 100 countries.However, the World Bank says, among the regional peers, Bangladeshi people spend the least portion of their income on healthcare – only 2.4% to lag behind Pakistan, Indonesia, India, the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal and, of course, Vietnam where the ratio is the highest in the region at 6.4%. Bangladeshi drugmakers will be allowed to develop generic versions of patented drugs until 2033 and even after that the Trips adherence is unlikely to affect the industry massively as over 85% of the generic drugs produced now by the industry are off-patent ones, which need no royalty payment to patent owning companies.

Source: https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/stocks/top-drugmakers-keep-growth-trajectory-h1-364801

SIBL opens 10 agent banking outlets

Social Islami Bank Limited inaugurated 10 new agent banking outlets at Olir Bazar & Projapoti Bazar (Cumilla), Narjar Bari Bazar (Narsingdi), Shahar Bazar (Chandpur), Maligram Bazar (Faridpur), Bibir Bazar & Diabari Bazar (Dhaka), Durgapur Bazar (Rajshahi), Char Bangshi Bazar (Laxmipur) and Shashibhusan Bazar (Bhola).

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/sibl-opens-10-agent-banking-outlets-1643650689