BB to float exchange, lending rates by June: Rouf

Bangladesh Bank is expected to go for floating exchange and lending rates by June next as part of an effort to reform its financial sector. “Now we’re working on introducing the market-based foreign-exchange and lending rates for a better outcome,” BB Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder said on Tuesday. The foreign-exchange rates are administered to some extent by the central bank while the lending rates are capped. The governor was speaking as the chief guest at a discussion in Dhaka on “Middle-income trap and way forward”, marking the occasion of Bangladesh-ADB 50 years of partnership. “To avoid the Middle-income trap, Bangladesh needs to go for some reforms and take initiatives,” he said, stressing the need for investing in product diversification, productivity improvement, developing CMSMEs, climate change issues, and improvement in financial inclusion and digital transformation.

Source: https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/economy/bangladesh/bb-to-float-exchange-lending-rates-by-june-rouf

Unique Meghnaghat Power secures $463m loans from abroad

Unique Meghnaghat Power Ltd has signed an agreement with lenders for a foreign loan of $463 million for 15 years to meet its debt requirement, said one of its owners yesterday. The company is a joint venture of Unique Hotel & Resorts PLC, Strategic Finance Limited, Nebras Power Investment Management BV, and GE Capital Global Energy Investment BV. It was established as a special-purpose vehicle for the construction and operation of a 584-megawatt gas-based combined cycle power plant in Narayanganj on a build-own-operate basis for 22 years. A special purpose vehicle is a subsidiary company that is formed to undertake a specific business purpose or activity. The project will be financed at a 75:25 debt-equity ratio where Unique Hotel & Resorts PLC has a 37.24 per cent of economic interest, said Unique Hotel in a filing on the Dhaka Stock Exchange. As per disclosure, Standard Chartered Bank will provide $270 million, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will give $110 million, Germany’s development finance institution DEG will come up with $45 million, and the Opec Fund for International Development will lend $38 million.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/news/unique-meghnaghat-power-secures-463m-loans-abroad-3271526

ADB will continue to stand beside Bangladesh, says ADB President

Lauding highly the socio-economic progress and capacity of Bangladesh, visiting Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa has said that the lending agency would continue to stand beside Bangladesh in the coming days like in the past. The ADB has been continuing to stand beside Bangladesh in its stride toward socio-economic recovery from the pandemic and would continue to support Bangladesh in the future also, he said. The ADB President said this as he met Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal at a city hotel on Monday, said a Finance Ministry press release. The ADB president has been visiting Bangladesh on March 12-17 marking the 50 years of partnership of ADB and Bangladesh, reports BSS. The Finance Minister lauded the role of ADB as one of the leading development partners since 1973 in the development journey of Bangladesh. He informed that in the last 50 years, ADB made a commitment of $28.4 billion to Bangladesh of which it made a disbursement of $21.1 billion till date. Bangladesh also made a repayment of $6.5 billion as principal amount during this period.

Source: https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/economy/bangladesh/adb-will-continue-to-stand-beside-bangladesh-says-adb-president