Bad loans in the industrial sector rose 80 percent in fiscal 2012-13, due to political unrest in the first half of the year.

The industrial sector’s bad loans on June 30, 2013 stood at Tk 15,553 crore, up from Tk 8,686 crore registered a year ago, according to data from Bangladesh Bank.

Of the total defaulted loans, the four state-run banks account for Tk 6,865 crore and the 30 private banks Tk 5,952 crore.
Bankers blamed the political unrest and infrastructure deficiencies for the sharp rise, adding that the situation has even staggered the expansion plans of different industries.

“Scams in the banking sector have also pushed up the bad loans,” said Shafiqul Alam, managing director of Jamuna Bank that witnessed a rise in its default loans due to Bismillah Towels.

Helal Ahmed Chowdhury, managing director of Pubali Bank, said a political consensus is a must to boost the confidence of the business community, who have taken on a wait-and-see position.

The lack of confidence is also evident in the import of capital machinery and raw materials.

Overall imports dropped 4.36 percent year-on-year in fiscal 2012-13, with capital machinery import declining 15.85 percent and industrial raw materials 2.50 percent.