WASHINGTON: Afghanistan has made progress on structural reforms despite a difficult environment, the IMF said yesterday as it approved the release of $18.2 million in new funds under its loan program.

The International Monetary Fund said Kabul had moved ahead on targets to draft a value-added tax law, set a strategy to fight economic crimes, and strengthen the central bank’s capitalization framework.

The IMF said it was releasing the second tranche of the $133.6 million loan program approved in November even though Kabul had not met a goal on fiscal revenues.

“In a very difficult environment, Afghanistan has begun a transition toward greater macroeconomic stability and economic self-reliance,” IMF deputy managing director Nemat Shafik said.

“The authorities have also reported on asset recovery from Kabul Bank where cash recoveries have increased following a presidential decree,” she added.

“Going forward, the program will continue to focus on safeguarding the financial sector, strengthening economic governance, and moving toward fiscal sustainability, while progress has been made on all these fronts, strong government ownership of the program remains crucial to resist opposition from vested interests.”

The original IMF loan was held up for a year as foreign donors and the Fund pressed the government to deal with the massive Kabul Bank scandal, in which nearly one billion dollars were lost in a scheme involving many powerful Afghan businessmen and officials.

The bank, once Afghanistan’s largest, had to be taken over by the central bank in late 2010 amid accusations that powerful former executives siphoned off more than $900 million, some of which was used to buy luxury properties in Dubai.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 1st July 2012

AAM Zakaria, Managing Director of FSIBL, seen with the participants of a training course at the Bank’s training centre in Dhaka recently.

First Security Islami Bank Limited organised a foundation training course for its cash officers at the training centre of the Bank recently.

AAM Zakaria, Managing Director of FSIBL inaugurated the course, said a press release Thursday.

Zakaria, in his inaugural speech, emphasised on upgrading the Bank to a modern one and advised all to discharge their duties with honesty and sincerity.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 1st July 2012

 Leading mobile phone operator Grameenphone in association with BRAC Bank Limited Saturday organised a workshop on ‘Capital Market: Awareness and role of media’ to foster knowledge base of the financial journalists reporting on capital market issues, financial statements and valuation models.

Around 40 journalists of different print and electronic media covering capital market took part at the workshop held at BRAC Inn which also discussed the impact and importance of journalists’ work on capital market and economy.

Dr. Musharraf M. Hussain, Chief Executive Officer, Dhaka Stock Exchange inaugurated the workshop as the chief guest.

Moazzem Hossain, Editor Financial Express, Arif Khan, Member, Securities and Exchange Commission, Rahmat Pasha, Chief Executive Officer, BRAC EPL and, Fridtjof Rusten, Chief Financial Officer of Grameenphone were the panel discussants.

Shawkat Hossain Masum, News Editor of The Daily Prothom Alo moderated the session while Syed Mahbubur Rahman, Chief Executive Officer of BRAC Bank delivered vote of thanks.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 1st July 2012

Bangladesh Bank governor Dr Atiur Rahman has stressed the need for sustained expansion of productive capacity in all economic sectors by entrepreneurs utilising investment resources efficiently and innovatively to continue broad-based job creation in developing economies.

“Small enterprises producing goods and services figure importantly in output growth and job creation,” he said while addressing a function at the UN Headquarters, New York.

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs arranged the event tilted ‘Financial Inclusion, Productive Capacity and Youth Employment,’ according to a message received here on Saturday.

Atiur said youth employment has always been a challenge and a key priority in populous low-income developing economies like Bangladesh. “Many advanced Western economies are now facing much the same challenge in lingering growth slowdown since the global financial crisis.”

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 1st July 2012

Bangladesh Bank has decided to float a tender to procure one-taka and two-taka coins to meet demand as it fears the country would face coin crisis in the future, official said on Thursday.

“After canceling the previous tender of tagging health conditions, the new tender will float within a month to overcome shortage of metal coins in the country,” said a senior official of Bangladesh Bank.

The official also said the central bank fears coin crisis in the future as six local and international companies have lodged complaints against the tender procedure.

The new tender committee for procurement of metal coins is likely to sit today (Sunday) at the Bangladesh Bank to finalise the conditions for procurement of the coins, sources in Bangladesh Bank said.

The central bank estimated that two billion pieces of coins will be required till December 2013 as most of the paper notes have torn out during last five years since 2007, they said.

The conditions for tender might be amended as the committee wants to drop the provision of DNA tests of DIN 1061, much essential for metal coins to make sure that users are secured from all health risks from the coins may carry.

The central bank did not consider the health issues as it initiated the new tender process with DNA tests, they added.

The first tender process was canceled after six companies lodged complaints against it as the condition which asked to ensure health hazards with the coins.

Meanwhile, the official sources said different companies from Japan, France, Canada, the UK, Netherlands and Salvia raised complaints against the condition of DNA test.

Earlier, a Malaysian company failed to supply coins after receiving work order from the central bank, while another Indonesian company had no sufficient experiences.

Indonesian company, however, spent huge central bank funds to supply five-taka paper currency. Five foreign companies have sufficient experience to make coins.

Some metal coin and paper note manufacturing factories have procured their blank sheet from other sources.

Blank sheets are usually made from different types of components of products, sources in Bangladesh Bank said. Bangladesh may be facing risk in procuring coins and paper notes from Indian companies. Usually, extra blank sheets are destroyed in present of officials of Bangladesh Bank, sources said.

The central bank has re-allocated Tk 1.2 billion in the next fiscal’s budget. The cost of procurement of two types of coins is estimated at Tk 1.4 billion.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 1st July 2012