Kazi Akramuddin Ahmed, Chairman of Standard Bank Limited, inaugurates the 74th branch of the bank at Shila Plaza, at Gobindagonj in Gaibandha recently.

Standard Bank Limited opened its 74th branch at Shila Plaza, at Gobindagonj in Gaiban-dha.

Kazi Akramuddin Ahmed, Chairman of the bank inaugurated the branch as chief guest.

Mohammed Abdul Aziz, Director of the bank attended the ceremony as special guest, said a press release Wednesday.

SA Farooqui, Managing Director of the bank presided over the function.

Md. Abdul Wahed, Monowara Hakim Ali, AKM Shaheed. Reza, Md. Rezaul Karim Reznu, Bijoy Kumar Kejriwal, Md. Jalaluddin Ahmed Yeamin, Md. Aminul Hoque Shamim, were present among others.

News: The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/15-Nov-12

A portion of bank credit is being used for unintended purposes due to weak monitoring by the regulator and the banks, two former central bank governors and a business leader said yesterday.

The central bank will have to earn autonomy by running the banking industry effectively, they said.

Former governors -- Mohammed Farashuddin and Salehuddin Ahmed -- and President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry AK Azad made the observation at a discussion on the situation in the banking sector and macroeconomic challenges.

The Economic Reporters' Forum (ERF) organised the programme at the National Press Club in Dhaka with its President Khawaja Main Uddin in the chair.

“Credit has to be ensured for productive sectors, including small and medium enterprises,” Salehuddin said.

Ahmed said he carried out a research on 18 bank branches recently and found that the banks did not know where the credit was going.

The private sector credit witnessed 19.9 percent growth in the first quarter (July-September) of the current fiscal year against a monetary policy target at 16 percent, according to Bangladesh Bank data.

“Loans are not going to the targeted areas, if so, the economic growth would have been higher,” said AK Azad, who is a leading apparel exporter and a director of a private commercial bank.

“Banks are crazy for profits, they don't see quality always,” said Azad.

Farashuddin questioned if there is such a high growth in credit, why did the private sector investment go down by 1 percentage point last fiscal year?

Hassan Zaman, the chief economist of Bangladesh Bank, said they are working to find where the credit is going.

“The quality of credit growth matters,” Zaman said.

“We're trying to reduce the loan concentration among some big borrowers,” he said.

There was also a debate between the former and present officials of the central bank on the private sector credit growth The FBCCI president fuelled the debate, saying the private sector's credit growth should increase to 25-30 percent to help entrepreneurs create more jobs.

The chief economist of the BB said more credit will fuel inflation to double digit levels that will affect the poor.

He also said the credit growth in India is at 15 percent, which is nearly 20 percent in Bangladesh.

Former governor Ahmed said, “We should not mix up the credit growth of Bangladesh and India; they are different.”

He said India has a very big equity market and companies raise funds from the stockmarket before going for bank loans, but Bangladeshi companies prefer credit from banks.

On the central bank's autonomy, Deputy Governor SK Sur Chowdhury said the BB has the functional autonomy except for giving the employee benefits that are in the government's hands.

News: The Daily Star/Bangladesh/15-Nov-12

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde (R) shakes hand with Malaysian Central Bank Governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The International Monetary Fund wants a "real fix, not a quick fix" on Greek debt, its managing director said Wednesday, days after publicly clashing with European officials on the issue.

Christine Lagarde also urged US legislators "at all costs" to avoid the "fiscal cliff" of spending cuts and tax rises that will come into effect January 1 unless the two parties can agree a deficit and debt reduction deal.

Asked at a press conference in Malaysia whether the IMF would insist on Greece's debtors taking a "haircut", Lagarde said all partners "share the same objectives and the same concern" to return the country to economic stability.

"And obviously from the IMF perspective we expect a real fix, not a quick fix, and that means clearly a debt that is sustainable as quickly as possible."

She declined to take further questions on Greece.

The country's debt crisis has revealed new strains between the IMF and European finance officials.

On Monday Eurogroup president Jean-Claude Juncker and Lagarde clashed openly on a key debt target in the bailout programme.

Speaking after a eurozone finance ministers' meeting in Brussels, Juncker said the country's debt target of 120 percent of gross domestic product should be put back two years to 2022. The current level is 170 percent.

Lagarde told the same press conference she believed the target should remain at 2020, the original date in the second bailout agreed earlier this year.

On China, the IMF chief said Wednesday the Communist Party congress that ended earlier in the day would clear uncertainties. The meeting has put in place a new top leadership line-up to be formally announced Thursday.

Economic actors "should be able to move in a more settled, certain environment. That is very important," she said.

"Our sense is that China is going to continue to be a significant driver for growth... China is a very important member of the IMF."

In a later speech on Asia's prospects, the IMF chief said the continent's response to its 1998 economic crisis has lessons for the rest of the world.

Asia's economic foundations "became safer, sounder, and more resilient -- but still open to the world and open for business. This has important lessons for the advanced economies currently facing severe challenges," she said.

"Of immediate concern, American policymakers must avoid the so-called 'fiscal cliff' at all costs," Lagarde said.

Otherwise, US growth would fall to zero or below "and the rest of the world will not be immune. This policy uncertainty must be resolved, and it will require all sides coming together."

Lagarde said the eurozone "must also deliver on its policy commitments at the national and regional level -- fiscal, financial, structural. And again, all players must play their part."

A major priority was a true banking union to complement its monetary union, she said.

"As a first step, this means a single supervisory framework; and ultimately, there also needs to be a pan-European deposit guarantee scheme and a bank resolution mechanism with common backstops."

News: The Daily Star/Bangladesh/15-Nov-12

Chittagong port has reduced waiting time from 6 days to 3 days for vessels and from 25 days to 16 days for containers in recent times.

Chittagong port has shown improved efficiency in handling of containers, thanks to computerised terminal management system (CTMS).

Installed in 2011, the CTMS facilitates loading and discharging of containers to and from vessels by tracking containers in real time and automatically generating bills and invoices.

“Because of the system we are confident of opening our seaport for transit facilities to India, Nepal and Bhutan,” said CPA Chairman Rear Admiral Nizamuddin Ahmed, adding that the move would bring in substantial amount of foreign currency.

Ahmed said the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) has turned the port into a world-class one by ensuring optimum utilisation of berths and yards, introducing systematic container handling, establishing control over container locations and increasing the use of modern equipments.

The CPA has also reduced ship turnaround time and boosted container holding capacity, he said.

Chittagong Port now handles more than 92 percent of the country's foreign trade, data from CPA showed.

“Factors such as road connectivity and infrastructure development outside of the port need to be considered as well when extending transit facilities to the neighbouring countries,” Ahmed added.

The marked enhancement of the Chittagong Port, however, would not have been possible without Asian Development Bank (ADB) assistance.

In 2004, ADB approved the $41.3 million Chittagong Port Trade Facilitation project with the view to boost port capacity and bring international standard security and environmental regulations.

Teresa Kho, ADB's country director, visited the port on Monday and found the progress made so far to be “impressive”.

Responding to a question, Kho said: “Chittagong Port Facilitation Project was really to help Bangladesh realise its potential to become an economic gateway to South Asia by lowering shipping and port charges.”

“Reduction in vessel waiting time and increased capacity to handle more containers at a lower cost will raise business competitiveness of the whole country and further promote Bangladesh's exports,” Kho said.

An efficient port will also help position Bangladesh as an attractive destination for foreign direct investment, she added.

Kho was particularly impressed with the reduction in waiting time of vessels and containers, which have come down to 3 days from 6 and from 25 days to 16 respectively.

“The port is now fully free from congestion. No trucks or other vehicles can be seen waiting around for carrying goods,” she said.

“It's continuing to improve. With this increased capacity, the port will see a greater volume of trade,” she added.

Quoting port officials, Kho said the Chittagong port now handles some 1.5 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) container, which only a few years ago used to be just 7000.

M Khairul Mostafa, CPA's chief engineer, said: “There has been significant improvement following automation of computer handling. Now, anyone from any part of the world can identify the location of containers at the port, which previously was a very difficult proposition.”

“Things are much more disciplined than ever before and the port's income has increased by 30 to 40 percent,” he added.

He said there is no container or vessel congestion at the Chittagong Port, adding “container holding capacity has increased manifold”.

Security, too, has been tightened significantly, he said.

“There is no incidence of robbery or theft inside the port area.”

The CPA officials also assured of absence of any labour unrest in the port area.

The port handled around 1.5 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) containers in fiscal 2010-11, up from fiscal 2009-10's 1.21 million, according to CPA.

News: The Daily Star/Bangladesh/15-Nov-12

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed an agreement yesterday to lend $25.1 million to Pran Group to build three food manufacturing plants.

“The new plants will source as much raw material as possible from the local farmers, and this will help boost agricultural growth,” said Martin Lemoine, investment specialist in ADB's private sector operations department.

“The majority of Bangladesh's poor still live in the rural areas, and agriculture remains their main source of employment and income,” he added.

The plants, to be set up under Sylvan Agriculture Ltd, will produce liquid glucose, frozen food processing and fortified flour, and are scheduled to be complete by 2015.

The three plants will cost $35.8 million to build, with Pran's controlling shareholders providing the remaining $10.7 million.

The plants will directly employ around 1,000 workers, and provide indirect employment for about 50,000 farmers under a contract farming model; at least 30 percent of the workforce will be female.

The estimated annual production capacity from the plants will be: 45,000 tons of liquid glucose, 90,000 tons of flour and 180 million units of flour-based frozen foods. The annual sales are expected to exceed $50 million by 2016, the ADB said.

The investment, ADB's first private sector agribusiness loan since 1985 and first private sector loan in Bangladesh since 2004, is part of ADB's efforts to promote productivity and competitiveness in Bangladesh's agriculture and food processing sectors.

The project will help push the country's agribusiness sector up the food value chain, increase food exports and improve food security and nutrition in Bangladesh.

Pran is the country's leading food and agribusiness company, with sales of $450 million that includes $70 million from exports.

News: The Daily Star/Bangladesh/15-Nov-12