Private credit growth in Bangladesh accelerated further

Private sector credit growth in Bangladesh accelerated to 12.94 per cent in May, the highest in more than three years, but rising inflation and deepening volatility in the exchange rate have paled the attainment. The credit growth in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year is, however, below the Bangladesh Bank’s ceiling of 14.80 per cent for the entire year. The BB will revise the target on June 30 when it is due to unveil its monetary policy statement for the coming fiscal year of 2022-23. Inflation surged to an eight-year high of 7.42 per cent in May, driven by a hike in food costs amid significant spikes in global commodity prices. Amid a sharp increase in price pressures, the central bank of Bangladesh too raised its key interest rate for the first time in a decade on May 29 as it raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5 per cent. But it may have to increase the policy rate once again in keeping with a revision of the lending rate cap. The central bank will keep the private sector credit growth unchanged for FY23. Between July and April, imports went up by 41 per cent to $68.66 billion, while exports grew 35 per cent to $41 billion. This resulted in a record trade deficit of $27.56 billion, up 53 per cent year-on-year. Higher import costs brought the reserves down to $41.38 billion on June 15, way lower than $46.15 billion on December 31.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/private-credit-growth-ticks-further-3054266

Default loans now stand at Tk 126,389cr

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal told parliament yesterday that people had defaulted on repayments against loans amounting to Tk 126,389 crore in the country as of March this year according to Credit Information Bureau. Banks and financial institutions are unable to realise another Tk 21,046 crore due to High Court stay orders, he added while responding to a question. Replying to another question, Kamal said there was no specific information on money laundering from Bangladesh and it was very difficult to determine the amount. Some 20,41,534 Singaporean dollar has been returned on November 20, 2012 which was smuggled to Singapore. The repayment period of Bangladesh’s foreign loans is much longer and at lower interest rates and the Bangladesh government has no sovereign bond.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/default-loans-now-stand-tk-126389cr-3054261

Agrani Bank to pay US$ 2.4b in foreign currencies to finance Padma Bridge

State-owned Agrani Bank will pay US$ 2.4 billion in foreign currencies to the Padma Bridge project. So far, it has supplied $1.45 billion up to the third week of June amid the ongoing volatility in the country’s forex market. The CEO said the state-owned bank is the sole supplier of the foreign currency to the Padma bridge from its own coffer. The government pays back Agrani Bank in local currency for the dollars. The Gulshan branch of the bank has been maintaining an account in the name of Padma Multipurpose Bridge Account since 2013. The total cost for the 6.15km bridge is $3.56 billion. Of this, $2.4 billion needs to be paid in foreign currency and the rest in the local currency.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/dutch-co-to-invest-105m-in-bepza-economic-zone-1655833048