Defaulted industrial loans up BDT 46.1 billion in Jul-Mar

The amount of defaulted loans in the industrial sector in the July-March period of this fiscal year increased by BDT 46.1 billion from that in the same period of the previous fiscal year due to a dull business environment and a lack of effective loan recovery measures by scheduled banks and non-bank financial institutions. According to the latest Bangladesh Bank data, the defaulted industrial loans stood at BDT 232.6 billlion in the first nine months of FY 2015-16, 24.74% higher from BDT 186.5 billion in the same period of FY 2014-15. An economist and BB officials said the industrial sector faced a major setback in recent months due to political uncertainty and fragile law and order situation that ultimately fuelled the defaulted loans in the sector. Apparent political stability has failed to restore the confidence of businesspeople, former BB governor Salehuddin Ahmed told New Age on Sunday. The existing widespread corruption is also hampering the industrial sector vibrancy, he said. Against the backdrop, the industrial defaulted loans maintained an upward trend in recent months, he said. BB executive director Nirmal Chandra Bhakta told New Age on Sunday that some banks failed to recover their disbursed loans in the first nine months of FY16 that fuelled the defaulted loans. He said that the central bank had recently issued letters to the banks whose defaulted loans crossed 10% of their outstanding industrial loans, asking them to speed up their loan recovery process. Due to an increase in non-performing loans, banks’ financial health will be vulnerable and will weaken their corporate governance, another BB official said.

Source: http://newagebd.net/236486/defaulted-industrial-loans-BDT-4613cr-jul-mar/

Banks going rural to cover unbanked multitude

Commercial banks are expanding their networks to rural and semi-urban areas to cover unbanked multitudes, many of whom hold much disposable money and do nonfarm vocations. Officials said the scheduled banks, both private and state-owned, are spreading their wings over the grassroots in aid to government policy to enhance financial inclusion in the country by way of bringing unbanked people under the coverage of formal banking services. As of May 2016, according to data available with the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the commercial banks have had a total of 9,433 branches opened across the country. Of the units, 5,349 were in rural areas and 4,084 in urban centres. A total of 1,472 branches have come up in both the areas in the last five years. In 2011, the total number of branches was 7,961: some 4,551 in rural and 3,493 in urban areas. The commercial banks were once reluctant to take their operations to rural areas. Their business was mainly urban-based. As a result, the clients in the countryside lacked their access to banking services, sources said.

Source: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/06/20/144594

Two diaspora bonds soon

The government is working to float two diaspora bonds for channelling remittances from non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) into productive investments, officials said, as much of their hard-earned money goes for subsistence uses. Of the couple of bonds, one is meant for financing local development projects which could have a public-private partnership potential as well as wider employment-generation impact. The other one, namely ‘PKSF diaspora bond’, is to fund micro-enterprise development. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will help the government in floating the bonds by providing 50% capital guarantee. The central bank will issue the sovereign diaspora bonds and the ADB will provide USD150 million in loan for this purpose, the sources said. They said the bonds would target the Bangladeshi diaspora community through a three-pronged outreach program-social media, television advertising, and print media in key magazines.

Source: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/06/20/144606

Budgetary targets outweigh government’s execution capacity

Speakers at a dialogue aired doubts Sunday about implementation of such a large budget next fiscal as they said the sizes of revenue target and annual development program outweigh government’s implementation capacity. The volume of deficit financing in the proposed budget for 2016-17 is also large and its size may be further bulging as the revenue collection is already going much below the target, they pointed out. At the post-budget dialogue arranged by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), the discussants suggested strengthening government institutions, establishing good governance, transparency and accountability for taking the economy on the aspired higher growth trajectory. Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, however, ruled out such uncertainty about implementation of the proposed budget, saying that all macro-indicators, including GDP, are showing upturn as the country is moving in “right direction”. “The GDP has grown steadily over the last four decades and we are hopeful about achieving the 7.2% GDP growth this year,” he told the dialog on the budget for 2016-17 at a city hotel. Replying to the speakers who termed the proposed budget ‘impracticable’ and ‘unrealistic’, the minister said it is quite achievable as the government has taken a number of measures to plug the loopholes. Over the last seven year since 2009, the minister said, the size of GDP has grown 2.5%, the size of budget increased three times and the government created employment for over 10.3 million people. At present the investment rate is about 29.6% which he said is higher than in many of the Asian countries, including Singapore (25.6%), Malaysia (26.0%), Vietnam 26.1%) and the Philippines (22.4%).

Source:
http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/06/20/144601
http://www.thedailystar.net/business/higher-growth-doable-current-investment-1242370

Government World Bank sign deal for financing of economic zones

The government Sunday signed an USD130.0 million loan agreement with the World Bank (WB) to scale up support for economic zones (EZs). The deal was signed under ‘Private Sector Development Support Project (PSDSP)’ as additional loan financing to develop new EZs through identifying, licensing and negotiating Public-Private Partnership (PPP). Division (ERD) Additional Secretary Kazi Shofiqul Azam and WB Acting Country Director Rajashree Paralkar at the ERD in the city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area Sunday morning. With this additional financing, the World Bank’s support to the project stands at USD170 million. The credit from the WB’s International Development Association its low-interest loan arm, has a 38-year term, including a six-year grace period, and a service charge of 0.75%.

Source:
http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/06/20/144568
http://www.thedailystar.net/business/wb-gives-130m-economic-zones-1242331
http://www.dhakatribune.com/business/2016/jun/20/world-bank-lends-130m-develop-economic-zones

Footwear sales picking up pace before Eid

Sales of footwear items, like clothing, are rising in the city markets ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr. Besides local brands such as Apex, Bata, Bay, Zeils, Zenith in the country, imported footwear, especially Chinese products, is in high demand for its attractive and diverse design. Locally-produced footwear, however, is competing well with international brands attracting substantial customers, especially in the gents and ladies footwear segments. In case of kids footwear, Chinese products are on top of customer choice. A wide range of footwear for gents, ladies and kids made of leather, canvas and clothes, rubber, plastics, artificial leather and polyurethanes are available in the markets. Apex is offering price for men shoe BDT 1,650 to 14,990, sandals BDT 590 to 9,990, Women sandal is priced at BDT 590 to 3,990 and women shoe priced from 690 to 2,990 and kids shoe and sandals are priced within 490 to 2,490 for Eid-ul-Fitr. Bata is offering 10% discounts on all products and offering men sandal at 690-3,990, shoe at 1,490-3,990, women sandals at BDT 590-2,190 and shoe at 550-1,390 and for kids sandals and shoes are priced between BDT 250 and 1,690. Bata’s special segment Hush puppies is priced at 2,190 to 13,990 in the Eid market this year.

Source: http://print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2016/06/20/144562

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*Currencies and Commodities are taken from Bloomberg.