The World Bank (WB) has approved a US$ 1.2billion concessional IDA credit in Washington on Thursday to Bangladesh for the Padma Multipurpose Bridge (PMB) project, aimed at  improving  connectivity,boosting  opportunities for people in its  southwestern region,  a bank  statement said on Friday. Spanning the Padma River, the world's third largest; the 6.1km long bridge will connect nearly 30 million people in the Southwest region to the rest of country, enhancing their access to markets and services, while accelerating growth in the country as a whole.
The bridge is the largest IDA credit ever. It will reduce distances to Dhaka by about 100km while cutting travel times in half from most areas of Southwest Bangladesh. Given its size, complexity and expected impact on local communities, it includes state of the art safeguards and accountability features. Transparency has been emphasized throughout every step of its preparation and design.
"We've been working closely with the Government of Bangladesh on a Governance and Accountability Action Plan that ensures strict supervision to prevent fraud or corruption, and guarantees quality and transparency," said Isabel Guerrero, WB South Asia vice president. "The construction of the bridge would fulfill the long-standing dream of the people of the Southwest region to have a permanent crossing over the Padma River," she added.
Furthermore, the project will adhere fully to Bangladesh's Right to Information (RTI) Act and will include information sharing through the project website, social media, newsletters, and broadcasts on radio and television.
Accountability will also be strengthened through third party monitoring by an independent panel of experts, community-based 'accountability meetings' to review social and resettlement action plans and the appointment of an independent Project Integrity Advisor reporting directly to the Prime Minister.   
Through retroactive financing, the WB has already financed $60 million for environmental and social actions to ensure that the lives of families in the construction zone are better. The development of resettlement sites is underway to protect the land, homes, livelihoods and community assets of local residents.
"I have witnessed the tremendous support of local people for the bridge and believe it will have far reaching economic and social benefits, including faster growth, new jobs, enhanced connectivity and trade within the country and in the broader region, and improved protection against river bank erosion and floods, said Ellen Goldstein, WB country director to Bangladesh. "We have also begun identifying with the government a comprehensive development plan for the Southwest region in order to maximize the benefits from the bridge."
Additionally, the bridge will enhance regional trade and collaboration along the Asian highway No.1 and the Trans-Asian railway network systems, the statement added. It will also connect the two major sea ports in Bangladesh and the river training work will help control river erosion and flooding locally which is a major cause of landlessness and extreme poverty in that area, WB said.
The credit from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's concessional lending arm, has 40-year maturity, including a 10-year grace period; it carries a service charge of 0.75 per cent.

News: The Independent/ Bangladesh/ 26-feb-2011

Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), Bangladesh recently held a seminar for its wholesale banking clients based in Chittagong on Transaction Banking’s electronic channel – Straight 2 Bank,says a press release.
The purpose of the seminar was to familiarise customers on the benefits of using Straight2Bank. With continued use, wholesale banking clients will benefit by improving efficiencies, improving visibility on financial positions, making quicker decisions and better utilizing their business resources.
Straight2Bank is an integrated electronic platform for corporate clients of Standard Chartered Bank.
It offers comprehensive transaction access and reporting flexibility across cash, (payments & collections), documentary trade and security services. This electronic channel has three connectivity options and can be customized for users.
Nearly 100 clients attended the interactive session and utilized this opportunity to learn more about Straight2Bank. Tanvir Haider Chaudhury, head of Transaction Banking, Mahfuzur Rahman, head of Chittagong, Standard Chartered Bank and other senior officials were also present at the seminar.

News: The Independent/ Bangladesh/ 26-feb-2011

Sonali Bank Ltd. (SBL), a state-owned commercial bank, held a “Business View Exchange Meeting-2011” at a city hotel on Friday aimed to underscore on the work plans for the year of 2011 through evaluating the past year’s business achievement. The meeting was presided over by the SBL’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Director Humayan Kabir while Kazi Baharul Islam, SBL’s chairman, attended the meeting as chief guest.
SBL’s board of directors were present at the meeting as special guests, among others, general managers and deputy general managers of the bank head and local office and the high officials of all GM office, principle office, local office were also present.
Kazi Baharul Islam, said we have to build the bank as people friendly at the clients through improving services.
“We have to obtain remarkable achievement this year maintaining continuous achievement of the previous year,” he added.
Humayan Kabir underlined the need for increasing the collection of sound savings, sanctioning new loan to the good clients, recovering the default loans as well as increasing the amount of bank’s profit.

News: The Independent/ Bangladesh/ 26-feb-2011

General Manager of Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (RAKUB) Muhammad Awal Khan Wednesday urged the bankers for disbursements of adequate agri-loans at farmers’ doorsteps for enhancing agri-production. The farmers could ensure sustainable developments in the country through ensuring its food security by increasing production if they were provided with necessary facilities including agri-loans in an easier way, he said.
He put special emphasis on disbursing agri-loans at two percent interest rate among the farmers for enhancing productions of pulses, spices and oilseeds to make the country self-reliant on these essentials without imports.
He was addressing an ‘Open Agri-loan Disbursement Ceremony’ arranged by Gujipara Branch of RAKUB at Bhendabari under Pirganj upazila as the chief guest with its Zonal Manager Rafikul Alam Chowdhury in the chair.
RAKUB officials AN Das, Abdul Wajed Mandal, farmers Nurul Haque, Nazrul Islam, Bhendabari union chairman Khalilur Rahman, local elite Dildar Hossain, Manjur Hossain, Abdul Baten, Gopal Chandra, Awami League leaders Wajed Ali and Kainat Selim, addressed.
Later, the chief guest distributed agri-loans among  the farmers from different areas of the union in the open loan  disbursement ceremony.

News: The Independent/ Bangladesh/ 25-feb-2011

The board of directors of Bank Asia has recommended rights shares at a ratio of 1:4 and 40 per cent stock dividend for the year 2010.

The existing shareholders will enjoy one rights share for every four shares after the approval of the market regulator.

The extra general meeting (EGM) and annual general meeting (AGM) of the company will be held on March 30 this year at Officers' Club, while the record date for EGM and AGM is March 7, company source said.

Another record date for entitlement of the proposed rights shares to be notified later after obtaining approval from the SEC.

The bank has also reported earning per share (EPS) of Tk 64.26, net asset value (NAV) per share of Tk 235.12 and net operational cash flow per share (NOCFPS) of Tk 186.06.

News: Daily Sun/ Bangladesh / 25-Feb-2011