Trade in rupee to save at least Tk 1 per dollar

Trade settlement in rupee between India and Bangladesh would reduce pressure on US dollars and save at least Tk 1 on the exchange cost of each greenback. Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserve, which was $41.8 billion a year ago, stood at $29.97 billion on July 6 as its payments for import bills continued to outpace receipts from exports and remittance. With this backdrop and demands from some chambers, Bangladesh Bank earlier allowed EBL and Sonali Bank to open “vostro accounts” with the State Bank of India (SBI) and ICIC Bank in India to facilitate trading in INR. Later, the Reserve Bank of India also gave permission to facilitate trade in INR between the two neighbouring countries that trade around $16 billion yearly. Bangladesh’s exports account for nearly $2 billion of this amount while imports make up the rest. The use of the INR in India-Bangladesh trade provides a convenient and cost-effective mechanism for conducting cross-border transactions, contributing to the strengthening of economic ties between the two nations.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/trade-rupee-save-least-tk-1-dollar-3364331

Forex reserve falls below $30bn again after ACU payment

After clearing the import bills of $1.1 billion to the Asian Clearing Union (ACU), the foreign currency reserve of the country once again fell below the $30 billion mark. The ACU payment gateway covers monetary transactions by its nine member countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – for regional imports. The bills are cleared every two months. Acting Spokesperson and Executive Director of the Bangladesh Bank Md Zakir Hossain Chowdhury told The Business Standard that $1,096 million ACU payments have been made. Earlier in May, the Bangladesh Bank cleared $1.18 billion in import bills to the Union, which brought down the reserves to the $29 billion mark. In August 2021, the country’s reserves hit a record high of $48 billion. According to the central bank, LC openings fell by more than 25% to $62.4 billion in the eleven months (July-May) of FY23, which was $83.58 billion in the same period of the last year.

Source: https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/forex-reserve-falls-below-30bn-again-after-acu-payment-661126

Mr. Faruq Mayeenuddin elected vice chairperson of BRAC Bank

Faruq Mayeenuddin, an independent director of the BRAC Bank Limited, has been elected the vice chairperson of the bank. He was appointed independent director to the Board in December 2021 and also serves as the Chair of the Board Executive Committee of the bank. Mr Mayeenuddin, a career banker with over 37 years of experience, held key management positions in different leading private commercial banks of Bangladesh. He served Trust Bank Limited as the managing director and CEO till February 2021. Before joining Trust Bank, Mr Mayeenuddin served as the additional managing director, chief risk officer and CAMLCO of the City Bank Limited. He also worked as deputy managing director with Mercantile Bank and AB Bank. In his career, he held the position of country manager at AB Bank Mumbai Office for five years facilitating correspondent and reimbursement banking services to different Bangladeshi banks.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/mayeenuddin-elected-vice-chairperson-of-brac-bank-1688832305