A Rouf Chowdhury, chairman of Bank Asia, attends the Bank's 13th annual general meeting at Officers' Club in Dhaka yesterday. The Bank declared 20 percent stock dividends for 2011. Mohd Safwan Choudhury and Mohammed Lakiotullah, vice chairmen; Rumee A Hossain, chairman of the audit committee; AM Nurul Islam, M Irfan Syed, Mashiur Rahman, Romo Rouf Chowdhury, Shah Md Nurul Alam, directors, and Md Mehmood Husain, managing director, were also present.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 1st April 2012

World Bank (WB) Country Director Ellen Goldstein Wednesday said the bank would not take any decision on the Padma Bridge project before getting the investigation reports on it.

She said the WB is continuing dialogue on the Padma bridge project with Bangladesh.

"We are waiting for the preliminary outcome of some ongoing investigations into Padma Bridge project and at the same time the Bank is maintaining dialogue with the goverment," Ellen Goldstein told reporters after a meeting of the local consultative group (LCG) at the Economic Relations Division office in Dhaka.

Goldstein gave the assurance that the commitment made by the development partners worth about US$ 13 billion was available for use by Bangladesh though a global economic recession was going on.

"The fund is yours and you will get the committed fund. What you will have to do is spend it. From our part we will see whether it is spent on the purpose it is intended for," she said.

"Though the country maintained a steady growth and achieved many of the indicators in millennium development goal (MDG), Bangladesh aid disbursement could have been speedier if several structural reforms including financial management and public procurement were implemented," she added.

The country director said donors want to see that the money spent on projects is monitored in more transparent and accountable ways.

Goldstein identified the cumbersome project approval process, discontinuity of project directors and non-implementation of financial reforms as the major barriers to speeding up aid disbursement.

Senior Secretary of the Economic Relations Division (ERD) Iqbal Mahmood speaking on the occasion admitted that slow pace of implementation and discontinuity of project directors also worried the government. He said the meeting decided to hold the meeting of the LCG regularly to improve the situation.

The LCG meeting examined the trends in implementation of the Annual Development Programme (ADP).

The meeting agreed to hold quarterly meetings to closely monitor the implementation of the agreed measures.

Presently, the WB is implementing about 30 development programmes involving a sum of $4.6 billion in commitment.

The government signed agreements with WB for $1.2 billion loan, ADB (Asian Development Bank) for $615 million, JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) for $400 million and IDB (Islamic Development Bank) for $140 million to construct the 6.15 kilometre-long Padma bridge.

But the project became stalled in October last year following WB's allegation of corruption in the bidding process.

Iqbal Mahmood said the Padma bridge project, the biggest ever infrastructure project in the country, is on and the process would continue.

"We also discussed speedy appointment of consultants by the development partners," he said. "Delay in project approval is an obstacle and we will request the Planning Commission to look into the issue."

The ERD secretary claimed that aid disbursement and commitment this fiscal were better than that of previous years and it would continue to grow in future.

"Last year we received $1.7 billion foreign aid and this year until January we received $1.01 billion and we expect to get $2.0 billion in disbursed loan by the year-end," Mahmood said.

The World Bank country chief said until March the Bank disbursed $300 million and the amount is expected to cross $ 0.5 billion by the end of this fiscal.

Financial Express/Bangladesh/ 29th March 2012

The government has borrowed Tk 164-billion loan from banks in the first nine months of the current fiscal starting in July last year. The figure is three times higher than that in the same period of last fiscal, when it stood at Tk 40.23 billion.

Finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith admitted that the government’s dependence on bank loan was increasing but hoped it would not exceed the budget estimates at the close of the current financial year (2011-2012).

Budget of the current fiscal year has estimated a loan of Tk 189.57 billion from banking system.

“The government has to take loan from banks to meet its increasing expenditure and provide money as subsidies since loan sources other than banks have shrunk along with a relative reduction in the flow of foreign loan and donations,” said Muhith.

He, however, said steps have been taken to practise restraint in borrowing from banks.
Government loan from banks exceeded Tk 220 billion on December 5 last year.

On December 1 last year, opposition leader Khaleda Zia said it is unprecedented that the government has borrowed “so much in such a short time, creating famine for the time being in the private sector”.

But the loan figure came down to Tk 160 billion after the government received Tk 40 billion from mobile phone operators and used the money for paying back the money borrowed from banks.

Since then the government loan from banking system has been ranging from Tk 150 billion to Tk 160 billion.
According to Bangladesh Bank, Tk 54.82 billion was borrowed from the central bank and Tk 109.15 billion from other commercial banks until March 21 this year.

In the last financial year, the government had taken Tk 204 billion loan, which was Tk 20 billion higher than the budget estimates.

Analysts hold rental power plants mainly responsible for the increasing bank loan.

“The government expenditure has increased due to rental power plants. It is one of the major reasons behind the increasing bank loan,” said former finance adviser to the caretaker government AB Mirza Azizul Islam.

“Increasing oil price is causing a rise in import expenditure and creating trade deficit. As a result, pressure is increasing on foreign exchange, making the government dependent on bank loan,” he added.

The Independent/Bangladesh/ 29th March 2012

Mohammed Nurul Amin, Managing Director of NCC Bank, hands over a Biochemistry Analyzer Machine to Jahangir Alam, General Secretary of Parshuram Diabetic Samity in the city recently.

NCC Bank Limited donated a Semi Automatic Biochemistry Analyzer Machine to Parshuram Diabetic Samity in Feni recently.

The Bank has donated the machine as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in a simple ceremony held at the Bank's head office in the city, said a press release.

Mohammed Nurul Amin, Managing Director of NCC Bank handed over the machine to the Jahangir Alam, General Secretary of Parshuram Diabetic Samity.

Among others, director of NCC Bank Ainul Kabir, board secretary AKM Nurul Islam, advisor of Parshuram Diabetic Samity, Jalal Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury Pappu, joint secretary Mir Ahmed Chowdhury and Khurshed Alam Helal were also present on the occasion.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 29th March 2012

Rehana Rahman, director of Southeast Bank Limited, inaugurates a branch of the Bank at Mirpur in the city recently. Mahbubul Alam, managing director, Shahid Hossain, deputy managing director, are also seen.

Southeast Bank Limited (SBL) opened its 86th branch at Mirpur in the city recently.

Rehana Rahman, director of the Bank, inaugurated the branch, said a press release.

Mahbubul Alam, managing director, Shahid Hossain, deputy managing director, SM Mainuddin Chowdhury, senior executive vice president and head of Information Technology, Kayser Imtiaz, senior assistant vice president and head of Rupnagar branch, Donald Rossette, assistant vice president and head of corporate marketing attended.

Local businessmen, customers, educationists, local elites and other officials of the Bank were also present.

The Bank opened the branch aiming to provide modern commercial banking services and credit facilities to its customers.

Besides, the hard-earned money of the Bangladeshi expatriates working abroad shall be handed over speedily to their beneficiaries at a competitive exchange rate through this branch.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 29th March 2012