Md. Badiul Alam, Additional Managing Director of National Bank Limited inaugurates a workshop in the city recently.

National Bank Limited (NBL) organised a workshop on 'Prevention of Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism' at its Training Institute premises in the city recently.

A total number of fifty six Branch Managers participated in the workshop.

Md. Badiul Alam, Additional Managing Director of the Bank inaugurated the workshop as chief guest.

Debaproshad Debnath, Gneral Manager and Head of Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, Bangladesh Bank were present as resource person.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 19th April 2012

Extensive use of advanced technology, high velocity analytical tools and applications by regulators and financial institutions can ensure sustained and inclusive growth which will result from a robust analytics driven system of financial governance, risk management and regulatory oversight.

Governor of Bangladesh Bank Dr. Atiur Rahman said this while addressing the concluding session of an international workshop on “Enterprise Governance, Risk Management and Compliance in Banks” jointly organised by SAS Institute and Bangladesh Bank Training Academy at the BBTA auditorium on Wednesday.

Later Dr Atiur Rahman presented certificates to the participants.

Deputy Governor S.K. Sur Chowdhury inaugurated the workshop in the morning.

SAS is the largest privately owned software company in the world based in Cary, North Carolina, USA.

Dr Atiur Rahman said, “I’m a firm believer in the destiny of Bangladesh as a knowledge economy and the presence of SAS Institute, widely recognised as the global leader in analytics software and services, in Bangladesh is an attestation of a sleeping market here for advanced analytics that is about to explode.”

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 19th April 2012

Industries Minister Dilip Barua speaks at launch of a project of the Bangladesh Women Chambers of Commerce and Industries (BWCCI) at CIRDAP auditorium in the city yesterday.

Industries Minister Dilip Barua Wednesday said that the banks are not complying with the provision to give collateral-free loan up to Tk 2.5 million for women entrepreneurs of SME (small and medium enterprise) sector.

“The women are not getting collateral-free SME loan due to the banks’ negligence, misperception and unreasonable fears of recovery failure despite the fact the women are not defaulters,” Dilip Barua, also the SME Foundation chairman, said.

He was addressing a project launching ceremony of Bangladesh Women Chambers of Commerce and Industries (BWCCI) at the city’s CIRDAP auditorium.

BWCCI President Selima Ahmad, Senior Vice Presidents Munmun Rahman, Sangita Islam and Member of Parliament Narayan Chandra Chanda, among others, were also present at the function.

The project styled “Proactive engagement of Members of Parliament to enhance women entrepreneurship development through policy/legislative support” is to create a platform for women entrepreneurs to discuss with public representatives about the issues such as easy access to credit and marketing.

Dilip Barua praised the large number of women entrepreneurs of the country as they have been playing a big role towards achieving sustainable economic growth.

He said access to credit facility is important to promote women entrepreneurs.

The minister also laid emphasis on women’s participation in decision making process both at home and outside for their empowerment.

He, however, assessed that the women are enjoying freedom than they did decades before. “The women have become now relatively solvent and dynamic.”

The government will try to make it sure that the SMEs , particularly the women entrepreneurs, have easy access to loan by citing it in the industrial policy, the minister said.

Dilip Barua said the per capita income of the country’s people would exceed US$1000 in next one year given the current growth of its economy.

Dilip Barua informed that Industries Ministry and SME foundation will hold a women entrepreneurs’ conference in next June in Dhaka and the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to attend it as chief guest.

The four-year project till 2015 will be implemented initially in Dakop, Botiaghata in Khulna-1, Khulna Sadar of Khulna-2 and Dumuria, Fultala of Khulna-5 constituencies.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 19th April 2012

A woman works in a garment factory in Dhaka. The textiles and clothing industry, the biggest export earner, faces a slowdown.

Bangladesh's economic growth will slow down to 5.9 percent in the current fiscal year, largely due to falling exports and sluggish investment, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.

The growth in gross domestic product will, however, make a comeback in the upcoming fiscal year, expanding at 6.4 percent, the IMF said.

The estimate is lower than the government's target -- 7 percent -- for the current year of 2011-2012.

The country's economy expanded 6.7 percent in fiscal 2010-2011 even in the face of the global recession.

The forecast from the Washington-based lender came in its April 2012 World Economic Outlook released on Tuesday, ahead of the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in Washington.

Bangladesh's growth prospect for this year is almost in line with the slowing growth in Asia, which will expand by 6 percent in 2012.

The IMF said China and fellow emerging economies will face slower growth in 2012-13 on weak external demand, but strong Chinese domestic demand and policy easing by other Asian countries should help ensure a soft-landing.

On Asia, the report said, weaker external demand has dimmed the outlook. But resilient domestic demand in China, limited financial spillovers, room for policy easing, and the capacity of Asian banks to step in as European banks de-leverage suggest that the soft landing underway is likely to continue.

The IMF also said Bangladesh's overall inflation would be 10.4 percent in the current fiscal year, which will come down to 7.9 percent in 2012-2013.

In the World Economic Outlook report, the IMF said commodity price shocks can have large economic, social, and political effects on low-income countries (LICs), whether they are commodity importers or exporters.

Global commodity price shocks also tend to create strong inflation and social pressures in the LICs because of soaring food prices, it said.

Earlier on Monday, the IMF also said Bangladesh faces major challenges in restoring macroeconomic stability, strengthening its external position, and engendering higher and more inclusive growth.

Bangladesh's export growth slowed sharply from its record pace last fiscal year.

Exports grew at a slow pace at 0.15 percent to $1.99 billion in March from a month ago for the ongoing debt crisis in the Eurozone.

Earnings fell by 7.23 percent in March, compared to the same month a year ago. This is the first time that the monthly earnings from exports have gone in the negative territory in the current fiscal year.

The IMF said, over the past 18 months, macroeconomic pressures have intensified in Bangladesh, resulting in a marked deterioration in its external position. These pressures stem mainly from large oil and capital imports associated with new fuel intensive power stations, an oil price-driven terms-of-trade shock, and expansionary fiscal and monetary policies.

As a result, the balance of payments slipped into a deficit in fiscal 2011 for the first time in a decade. Much of the foreign reserve buffer built during fiscal 2009-10 was used up in 2011, against the backdrop of limited exchange rate flexibility, said the IMF.

The global lender also said a now-weaker global outlook and firming in oil prices weigh on the near-term BoP prospects.

The ongoing efforts to address power shortages and infrastructure deficit are expected to add to further pressures in Bangladesh, said the lender.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 19th April 2012

At least 60 percent of people in developing countries lack effective safety net coverage as countries struggle to protect their most vulnerable citizens from the impacts of global financial crisis and food and fuel price hikes, the World Bank said yesterday.

About 6.6 crore children around the world go to school hungry and struggle to concentrate and learn, the World Bank said.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 19th April 2012