Bangladesh Bank has directed ocean-going ship importers to collect no objection certificates from the ship building and ship recycling board (SBSRB) of Industries Ministry instead of from the department ocean transport for opening LC (letter of credit) for ship imports.

The Foreign Exchange Policy Department (FEPD) of Bangladesh Bank on Thursday issued a circular in this regard.

The decision was made in view to discouraging import of ocean-going ships to Bangladesh which is considered to pose threat to the environment as well as human health.

The no-objection certificates will have to be taken as per the ship breaking and ship recycling guidelines-2011, issued by the Industries Ministry on December 12, 2011, the circular said.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 10th Feb 2012

Bangladesh Bank sits with the managing directors (MDs) of all the banks operating in the country on Thursday to discuss the overall situation of the banking sector.

The meeting will start at 11am at the BB conference room with governor Dr Atiur Rahman in the chair, BB general manager AFM Asaduzzaman said on Wednesday. 

The meeting is likely to focus on the steps taken by the central bank, Asaduzzaman said adding that it will also review whether the banks are following the instructions of the central bank. 

The Daily Independent/Bangladesh/ 9th Feb 2012

Bangladesh Bank yesterday refuted the media reports that claimed fake notes worth of Tk 5,000 enter the country's market every day, and one in every three to four notes is fake.

The BB issued a statement following the comments madeby analysts at a roundtable that said the circulation of fake currency is gradually increasing.

"It is not true as it is inconsistent with the reality,” the central bank said in the statement.

The country has a total of Tk 68,000 crore worth of authentic currency in the economy, the banking regulator said, adding that it would be fearful if Tk 5,000 crore worth of fake notes is in circulation out of Tk 68,000 crore.

The regulator yesterday checked the volts of four banks to identify the fake notes. It examined around 9.07 lakh pieces of Tk 100 and Tk 500 notes. But it did not find any fake note.

Prof Abul Barakat, chairman of Janata Bank, said on Monday, “Fake notes worth Tk 5,000 crore, in denomination of Tk 500, are coming into the market everyday and one third or fourth of those notes are fake.”

Abdul Jalil MP, chairman of Mercantile Bank, said the country's economy cannot be a middle-income country or self-reliant until fake notes are wiped out from the market.

The central bank is strictly monitoring to prevent the circulation of fake currencies in the economy, according to the statement.

It said the central bank has already taken a number of measures, including formation of taskforce, visiting volts of commercial banks, strengthening security features and arranging mass awareness against fake notes.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 9th Feb 2012

Bangladesh Bank yesterday refuted the media reports that claimed fake notes worth of Tk 5,000 enter the country's market every day, and one in every three to four notes is fake.

The BB issued a statement following the comments madeby analysts at a roundtable that said the circulation of fake currency is gradually increasing.

"It is not true as it is inconsistent with the reality,” the central bank said in the statement.

The country has a total of Tk 68,000 crore worth of authentic currency in the economy, the banking regulator said, adding that it would be fearful if Tk 5,000 crore worth of fake notes is in circulation out of Tk 68,000 crore.

The regulator yesterday checked the volts of four banks to identify the fake notes. It examined around 9.07 lakh pieces of Tk 100 and Tk 500 notes. But it did not find any fake note.

Prof Abul Barakat, chairman of Janata Bank, said on Monday, “Fake notes worth Tk 5,000 crore, in denomination of Tk 500, are coming into the market everyday and one third or fourth of those notes are fake.”

Abdul Jalil MP, chairman of Mercantile Bank, said the country's economy cannot be a middle-income country or self-reliant until fake notes are wiped out from the market.

The central bank is strictly monitoring to prevent the circulation of fake currencies in the economy, according to the statement.

It said the central bank has already taken a number of measures, including formation of taskforce, visiting volts of commercial banks, strengthening security features and arranging mass awareness against fake notes.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 9th Feb 2012

Achieving the stipulated seven percent GDP growth in the current 2011-12 fiscal year may not be possible if the economic contraction in European Union countries deteriorates, Bangladesh Bank in its annual report has feared.

The report, which was published yesterday, also said that point-to-point inflation stood at 10.2 percent at the end of 2010-11 fiscal which was 8.7 percent in the previous fiscal.

It would also be harder to bring it down to a single digit rate despite maintaining a cautious monetary policy, said the report, published by Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman at the BB headquarters at Motijheel in Dhaka.

The report also projected that the country may not be able to maintain growth trends in import and export this fiscal due to external economic risks caused by troubles in EU economies. During the 2011-12 fiscal year, the growth of both export and import may be reduced by 15 percent compared to targets, it said.

The annual report titled ‘Analysis of Bangladesh Economy’ elaborately focuses on the overall economic indicators in 2010-11 fiscal.

The report also focuses on agriculture, industrial sector, social safety net programmes, monetary policy, inflation and money supply.

Although the growth in remittance inflow is likely to hit a double-digit mark this fiscal, global trends indicate that overseas employment opportunities would decline.

The Balance of Payment (BoP) of the country would come under further stress in FY12, on increasing trade deficit despite growth in remittance inflow, said the report.

Exchange rate of taka is likely to remain under some pressure in FY12, according to the report.

The BB report also said the public expenditure went up by 28 percent in 2010-11 fiscal against an increase by 13.8 percent in 2009-10 fiscal.

It said, the classified loan has also reduced this fiscal. In 2009-10, the amount of classified loan was 8.7 percent, which stood at 7.1 percent last fiscal.

Talking to daily sun over the BB report, economist and chairman of Bangladesh Krishi Bank, Khondoker Ibrahim Khaled, also expressed his doubt over achieving 7 percent GDP growth this fiscal.

Khaled said the country’s economy will be slightly affected by the global economic meltdown, leaving a negative impact on the economy.

He said the GDP growth rates of India and Pakistan have also been affected by external causes.

The report said the government’s borrowing from the domestic banking system rose sharply by 39.9 percent in FY11, characteristically exceeding rather than falling short of initial projection, despite healthy growth in revenue receipt.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 7th Feb 2012