RAJSHAHI: All the existing potential sectors and sub-sectors of agriculture should be brought under qualitative and quantitative investments for making the region’s agro-based economy more vibrant.

Services of Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (RAKUB) should be taken to the doorsteps of the farmers for elevating the condition of their living and livelihood, a RAKUB press release here said on Monday.

The Board of Directors of the bank in its 418th meeting on Monday made these observations. With Board Chairman Prof Dr Shah Newaz Ali in the chair, board members Mofazzal Hossain, Saifuddin Ahmed, Helaluddin Ahmed, Nuruzzaman Mollah, Prof Modan Mohan Dey and Prof Obaidur Rahman Pramanik were present at the meeting, reports BSS.

Deputy Managing Director Dr Nazmul Bari and Secretary Emdadul Haque also attended the meeting.

For the sake of sustainable livelihood of the farmers and for bolstering the agro- based economy, the meeting called for increasing the need- based credit flow.

The meeting discussed elaborately on how to make the bank’s operational and commercial activities more dynamic through strengthening the credit support for both farm and non-farm prospective fields.

Terming the farmers as the vital force to boost up the agricultural production the board expressed its commitment to protect farmers’ interests as a whole.

The meeting laid emphasis on intensifying the bank’s activities to supplement the government’s efforts to expand social safety net and ensure poverty reduction and food security, the release added.

Besides, the meeting reviewed overall activities of the bank and took some important decisions relating to its operational and administrative matters.

DHAKA: Bangladesh Bank (BB) will introduce scholarship to support education of meritorious students.The scholarship would be offered to the students of schools and colleges across the country, reports AP.
The name of the scholarship will be the “Governor Scholarship”. “The scholarship will be a part of the central bank’s CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities,” said Governor Dr Atiur Rahman.
The governor made the announcement at the banking conference, organized jointly by Sonali Bank and Bangladesh Krishi Bank (BKB) at Mithamoin, Kishoreganj.
The two state-owned banks also orgainsed similar banking conferences at Astagram and Itna of the district on Thursday and Friday, according to a BB press release.
Parliament member from Kishoreganj-4 Redwan Ahmed Tawfik, BB Executive Director M Mahfuzur Rahman, Sonali Bank managing director Pradip Kumar Dutta, BKB managing director Abdus Salam, National Bank managing director AKM Shafiqur Rahman, Exim Bank managing director Dr. M Haider Ali Miah and City Bank deputy managing director Mashrur Arefin attended the conferences, among other senior bankers.
Addressing the conferences, Dr Atiur advised banks to accelerate their activities in the rural areas with growth- incentive banking services.
At the conferences, the governor also handed over loans to some small entrepreneurs, farmers and students under farm, SME and education credit schemes of Sonali Bank and BKB.
The representatives of Exim Bank, City Bank and AB Bank announced at the conference that the banks would open three branches at Mithamoin, Ashtagram and Itna respectively.
Besides, AB Bank announced that it would give three computers to each of the schools and colleges of the three upazilas.
Exim Bank declared that the bank would grant necessary funds to help improve sanitary system of the upazilas.

Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) has received the Financial Branding Award by Centre for Non Resident Bangladeshis for its outstanding contribution to the Financial Branding of Bangladesh abroad, says a 
press release. Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman on behalf of the Centre for NRBs, handed over the award to IBBL Managing Director Mohammad Abdul Mannan at a ceremony at a city hotel on Saturday.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, Deputy Chief of US Embassy in Bangladesh David Mili, Additional Director (Research) of Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem and Chairperson of Centre for NRBs SM Shekil Chowdhury were present on the occasion.

Bangladesh Bank has sought detailed information from its authorised dealer banks on remittance they receive from aboard as Wage Remittance, reports UNB.
In a circular issued yesterday, the central bank asked the banks to send their remittance reports specifying districts of the remittance senders and also mentioning ‘Not Specified’ for those whose districts are not specified. The directives were made as per the decisions taken at a meeting held on August 5 last which was attended by representatives of the Bangladesh Bank’s Statistics Department and Foreign Exchange Policy Department, Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd and Janata Bank Ltd.
The circular said the dealer banks have to mention in their reports the names of the countries from where remittance is sent.
Names of districts of the remittance senders which could not be specified in the report of a week must be collected and sent those to the Bangladesh Bank in the report to be submitted on next Sunday.
There must be uniformity between the reports of the remittance which are sent to the Foreign Exchange Policy Department weekly and that sent to the Statistics Department daily.
The central bank also advised the dealer banks to send the daily district-based remittance report through ‘RIT Input Temple’ to its Statistics Department.

KUWAIT CITY: The National Bank of Kuwait’s investment arm has been selected as exclusive financing adviser for a $12-billion clean fuel refineries project, the bank said in a statement yesterday.
State-owned Kuwait National Petroleum Co. (KNPC), which owns the mega project, and NBK Capital signed a 12-month contract under which the bank will assess funding requirements and help raise the financing, reports AFP. KNPC awarded the clean fuel project to upgrade two of three refineries to three international consortia in April and also invited bids to build a new 615,000-barrel refinery at an estimated cost of $15 billion. 
The clean fuel project, to modernise Al-Ahmadi and Mina Abdullah refineries to produce environment-friendly petroleum products, is scheduled to be completed in 2018.