$400m up for grabs for key infrastructure dev

The central bank has undertaken Investment Promotion and Financing Facility (IPFF-II) project with over US$400 million disbursement target for infrastructure development in nine key sectors. An official list of the sectors eligible for drawing the funds includes ports, power, environment, industrial estates and water supply. In the meantime, the Bangladesh Bank (BB) has sought applications from interested scheduled banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) for selection of participating financial institutions (PFIs) in the IPFF-II project. “Scheduled commercial banks in private sector and financial institutions that meet the eligibility criteria and intend to avail financial facility may apply to the project director of IPFF-II project preferably by April 19, 2018,” the BB said in a notification Tuesday.

Source:
http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/last-page/400m-up-for-grabs-for-key-infrastructure-dev-1520963615
http://www.newagebd.net/article/36717/bb-asks-banks-fis-to-apply-by-apr-19-for-ipff-project-facilities

Green investment rises by 24.61%

Investments under green initiatives increased by 24.61 % or BDT 34,326.75 million as of the October-December quarter of 2017, compared to the previous July-September period, reports BSS. According to the latest data of Bangladesh Bank (BB), total amount invested as green finance stood at BDT 173,801.77 million in October to December quarter of last year. Out of the total invested amount, direct green finance was only 7.78 % or BDT 13,527.65 million and indirect green finance was BDT 160,274.12 million. The official said, 44 banks out of 57 and 13 FIs out of 34 had exposure in green finance, either direct (31 banks and eight FIs) or indirect (29 banks and 13FIs) mode in the Oct-Dec quarter.

Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/green-investment-rises-by-2461pc-1520966091

Bangladesh Bank sells $10m to four banks

The central bank of Bangladesh has sold US$10 million more to four commercial banks to meet the growing demand for the greenback in the market. The central bank sold the foreign currency to the banks on Tuesday at market rate to settle import payment bills particularly for food grains and fertilizers, according to a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB).

Source: https://businessnews-bd.net/bangladesh-bank-sells-10m-3/

BB’s server crashes again

The central bank’s Credit Information Bureau server collapsed once again yesterday — less than 24 hours after it was brought back to working order after an abrupt shutdown of seven days. The latest disruption means banks’ lending activities are on pause again. The CIB report, which informs on the clients’ credit status, must be collected from the central bank’s server to sanction, extend or renew any loan. Banks are not allowed to provide any loan if the CIB report, which was put up online in July 2011, informs that the clients are defaulters. Earlier on March 6, the CIB server and some other segments of the central bank’s data centre had collapsed due to failure of the cooling system. A BB official told The Daily Star yesterday that the CIB server was brought to order at 5:00pm on Monday, but it collapsed again at 11:00am yesterday due to failure of the hard disks.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/bbs-server-crashes-again-1547971

Bangladesh’s forex reserves declining

The foreign currency reserves of the Bangladesh Bank is on the decline. The reserves dropped to $31.93 billion from $33.36 billion between February 28 and March 8, according to the central bank. Officials of the central bank say import costs have increased, particularly after the rise in onion and rice prices in India. Moreover, the reserves took a hit after clearing payment for imports of Asian Clearing Union (ACU). A Bangladesh Bank official says there is no reason to panic at the decline of the reserves mainly because of a rise in import cost. “It will be possible to foot import bills for the next six to seven months with the current reserves,” the official added. According to the central bank, the import cost increased by 25.78% in the first six months of the 2017-18 fiscal compared to the same period the previous year. During July to December, food import (rice and wheat) increased by 212%. The import of necessary machinery for setting up industries rose by about 35% during this period while the import of fuel oil and raw material for industries increased by 28% and 15% respectively. In the first six months of this year, Letters of Credit (LC) worth $40 billion were opened. The amount is expected to cross $60 billion at the yearend. Bangladesh’s foreign currency reserves stood at $33.01 billion on June 21 last year. It came down to $32.31 billion on January 17 this year. The country was witnessing a rise in forex reserves over the last few years but the import cost jumped in the election year, putting pressure on the reserves. However, remittance inflow and export income are increasing. Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies researcher Dr Zaid Bakht said there was no reason to panic even though the forex reserves had declined a little due to increased import cost. “The works of some big projects like Padma Bridge and metro rail are going on in full swing. The cost for importing necessary equipment for these projects is increasing,” he noted.

Source: http://www.dhakatribune.com/business/economy/2018/03/13/bangladeshs-forex-reserves-declining/

Bank, non-bank officials asked to join March 22 celebration

The financial institutions division has asked the Bangladesh Bank, state-owned commercial and specialised banks, and non-bank entities to join a procession on March 22 for celebrating the country’s elevation to a lower middle-income country. The division issued the directive, signed by its secretary Eunusur Rahman, on Sunday as the government expected that the United Nation would come up with the announcement on March 15 or16.

Source: http://www.newagebd.net/article/36729/bank-non-bank-officials-asked-to-join-march-22-celebration

Mutual fund penetration abysmally low

Bangladesh has among the lowest mutual fund investment in the world, offering a vast untapped opportunity for local asset managers. A mutual fund is an investment fund that gathers capital from a number of investors to create a pool of money that is then re-invested into stocks, bonds and other assets. Investors are effectively shareholders in the fund in proportion to their investment. Bangladesh’s asset under management to gross domestic product ratio is a mere 0.48 percent, according to Brac EPL. In contrast, the ratio is 10.73 percent in India and 31.02 percent in Thailand. The global average is 32 percent. Mohammed Rahmat Pasha, managing director and chief executive of UCB Capital Management, blamed the Bangladeshi fund managers’ poor performance for the abysmally low ratio.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/business/mutual-fund-penetration-abysmally-low-1547980

Market price-based calculation of exposure limit creates havoc

Identifying liquidity shortage as the key reason for the sustained market fall, the market operators made a set of demands including revision of exposure limit to help revive the capital market. The representatives of Bangladesh Merchant Bankers Association (BMBA) and DSE Brokers Association of Bangladesh (DBA) said at a press briefing that general investors are panicked over the liquidity shortage. The market price-based calculation of exposure mainly created the liquidity crisis, they said. “There is a serious fund crisis in the capital market. Those who have funds are not able to invest in the market as the bank’s exposure is calculated on the basis of market price,” DBA president Mostaque Ahmed Sadeque told the press briefing. He said cash reserve ratio (CRR) should also be reduced to 5.5 per cent from existing 6.0 per cent. “The DBA earlier sent a letter to the Bangladesh Bank for considering the calculation of exposure limit based on cost price instead of market price. But the BB is yet to consider our proposal.” Sadeque said. He also said high interest rate on deposits offered by the commercial banks is another reason behind the liquidity shortage in the capital market.

Source: http://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/market-price-based-calculation-of-exposure-limit-creates-havoc-1520965350