Fahim Ahmed Faruk Chowdhury, director of Pubali Bank Ltd, inaugurates a branch of the Bank at Katirhat, Chittagong recently. Helal Ahmed Chowdhury, Managing Director, Safiul Alam Khan Chowdhury, Deputy Managing Director of the Bank, are also seen.

Pubali Bank Limited inaugurated its 407th branch at Katirhat, Chittagong recently with online facilities.

Fahim Ahmed Faruk Chowdhury, director of the Bank inaugurated the branch as chief guest. Independent Director Khurshid-ul-Alam was present as special guests. Helal Ahmed Chowdhury, Managing Director of the Bank presided over, said a press release.

Deputy Managing Director Safiul Alam Khan Chowdhury, Chief Technical Officer and General Manager of General Services and Development Division Mohammad Ali, General Manager of Principal Office Chittagong Md. Sirajul Islam Miah, Regional Manager of Chittagong North DGM Md. Omor Sultan, Regional head of Chittagong South and Hill Track Region DGM Shaym Sundor Banik, DGM of Agrabad corporate Branch Md. Azizul Haque, DGM of CDA corporate Branch Mir Akhtarul Alam and KM Zakaria attended the function.

Helal Ahmed Chow- dhury said the Bank has been providing better services for its clients with a promise to keep up its original tradition. He also said, PBL gives priority to provide opportunity and advantage to the customers through application of modern technologies.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 29th March 2012

Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Atiur Rahman yesterday urged local firms to borrow from abroad saying that the authority gave a nod at the beginning of the fiscal year to local firms to borrow $598 million from foreign sources.

“I really ask you to look for foreign loans and it is cheaper and easier to get now,” said Rahman at a luncheon meeting of businesspeople and top executives.

So far, local firms have taken out loans from foreign sources in diverse sectors like shipping, power, footwear, IT, telecom, agriculture, steel and readymade garments, said the BB governor, who is also the chairman of a Board of Investment committee related to the approval of applications on getting foreign loans.

"I do not take more than two days to clear applications,” added Rahman.

Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) organised the meet at Sonargaon Hotel, where the central bank chief also called upon foreign investors here to help improve the image of the country by showcasing its achievements in various sectors.

Rahman urged investors to go outside Dhaka to understand the investment potential in Bangladesh. The economy of the country has been growing at 6 percent annually in the past decade, although the country suffers from poor infrastructure, power shortages, corruption and political instability.

The BB governor said when corporate houses will borrow from foreign sources, it will help maintain a steady exchange rate and ease pressures on the foreign exchange reserves.

The BB chief's appeal comes at a time when the central bank is following a monetary tightening stance to curb the money supply and cut excess demand, in a bid to bring down inflation to a single digit by the end of the financial year ending June 30.

Average inflation stood close to 11 percent in February. On a monthly basis, inflation dipped to 10.4 percent in February from 11.59 percent in January.

Volatility in exchange rates has eased and a liquidity crunch in the banks has reduced with the interest rate on inter-bank lending falling.

The rapid growth of government borrowing from the banking sector has created a crowding-out effect in credit flow to the private sector, Rahman said.

Government borrowing -- currently worth Tk 16,500 crore -- will have a limited crowding-out effect on the private sector and the target of 16 percent credit growth to the private sector could be maintained despite a higher projection of government borrowing, he said.

Citing the performance of exports and farm, industrial, and service sectors in the first half of the current fiscal year, the central bank chief expects the economy to grow 6.5-7 percent by the end of the year.

Noting the prospects of Bangladesh, he said the country has entered into a phase of demographic dividend as the ratio of working population is rising against a backdrop of a falling fertility rate.

He said the country needs to cash in on its demographic dividend to attain 8 percent growth to cut poverty and become a mid income country by 2021.

"The demographic dividend does not last for ever. At some point, this bulge in the working age population will transform itself into a bulge in the elderly population.”

"We must use the next ten years to create higher productivity jobs, intermediate the savings that this working population has to invest in our country's infrastructure, institutions and build foundations to prepare for when this demographic dividend is over," he said.

"The next ten years is the best opportunity we have to drastically cut poverty," said Rahman, recommending skills development for the labour force along with education to tap the opportunity.

The governor also suggested local entrepreneurs, especially banks, to explore the possibilities to open branches in Myanmar that has taken measures to make reforms after its election.

FICCI President Syed Ershad Ahmed demanded making BB an independent body, free from the interference of the finance ministry.

Referring to the BB move to issue licences to open new banks, Ahmed wanted the authority to clarify whether there is a need for more commercial banks in the economy.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 29th March 2012

The World Bank yesterday termed the delay in approving and implementing the donor-funded projects in Bangladesh a tragedy.

Ellen Goldstein, the WB country director in Bangladesh, said: "In some instances, development partners are waiting one to two years after the signing of a financing agreement with the government for an approved development project proposal allowing activities to begin and money to flow."

"This is a tragedy for the people of Bangladesh. Equally frustrating can be slow procurement processes, some of which raise red flags and must be cancelled or re-bid, adding to lengthy delays," she said.

Her comments came at a meeting of Local Consultancy Group at the Economic Relations Division in Dhaka at a time when donors' money continued to pour into the country, with outstanding commitments now standing at $13 billion.

"Aid commitments are at record highs. Project disbursements are running at the same pace as last year, and are no cause for immediate alarm," she said.

She also said project disbursements could accelerate significantly above trend if structural obstacles were addressed, particularly the project approval/revision process, public procurement and staffing continuity.

"While we have no cause for immediate alarm over aid disbursements, we should be working together to accelerate implementation, particularly given the size of outstanding aid commitments and subsequent decline in the disbursement ratio."

Goldstein said their joint analysis points to a few obstacles where immediate action is needed and possible.

"Perhaps the most binding constraint for many development partners is the cumbersome project approval and revision process, embodied in the Development Project and Technical Assistance Proformas (DPP/TPP)."

The WB's Bangladesh chief said, another source of concern is frequent turnover of project staff -- often within mere months of appointment.

"Let me hasten to add that changes in donor staff and lengthy donor procedures can also cause frustration for the government."

She said growth of credit to the private sector has slowed, which could dampen investment and growth in Bangladesh.

This situation is admittedly difficult, calling for strong fiscal discipline on subsidies and other public expenditure management going forward, even as the government seeks additional support from partners to relieve fiscal pressures.

"In addition, a strong focus is needed on the quality of public spending, in order to ensure that every taka is used to maximum effect and waste is minimised."

Goldstein said the government can build confidence among development partners by redoubling efforts to strengthen public financial management and promote transparency, accountability and good governance.

"Bangladesh's development partners are committed to Paris Declaration principles calling for greater country ownership and use of country systems to implement aid-funded activities.”

The Joint Cooperation Strategy signed by 18 development partners in Bangladesh underscores this commitment, she added.

At the same time, the WB official said partners require adequate fiduciary safeguards to ensure that aid resources are used for the purposes intended.

She said the development partners are focusing on absorption of aid flows, as this has been a source of concern for the government and its partners.

"Adequate absorption is indeed a prerequisite to achieving the goals of development interventions. But it is not enough to disburse the funds. We must ensure that funds support activities that produce desirable results for intended beneficiaries."

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 29th March 2012

From right, Noman Anwar, head of marketing and communications of HSBC Bangladesh; Andrew Tilke, chief executive officer; Mohammad Mahbub-ur-Rahman, head of commercial banking; and M Shohiduzzaman, head of trade finance, attend a press meet at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in the capital yesterday where the Bank announced the third edition of its Export Excellence Awards for Bangladeshi exporters.

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) Bangladesh yesterday launched its Export Excellence Awards for a third year to recognise five exporters for their outstanding performance in 2011.

“Exports not only keep our economy thriving, but also position the Brand Bangladesh across the world,” said Andrew Tilke, chief executive officer of HSBC Bangladesh. “As the world's leading international bank, HSBC is in a robust position to be a partner in this growth journey.”

The five award categories are: readymade garments and textiles exporters (Group A and Group B), EPZ enterprises, traditional and emerging sectors, and SMEs.

“Recognising exporters would play an important role in the promotion of exports and its diversification, and achieving excellence,” Tilke told the press at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in Dhaka. “It is an initiative of the Bank to recognise the outstanding growth of Bangladesh exports.”

Mohammad Mahbub-ur-Rahman, head of commercial banking of HSBC Bangladesh, said the award is an attempt to dig up opportunities for the Bank to see how to facilitate the country's growing exports.

HSBC divided RMG and textiles exporters into two categories as these sectors account for a majority of the country's exports.

RMG exporters with annual export turnover worth $50 million or more are in Group A, and Group B covers those with less than $50 million in annual export turnover, HSBC said.

Companies in the export processing zones will be awarded under the EPZ enterprises category.

The non-RMG or textiles companies with annual export turnover worth $3 million or more will be awarded under the traditional and emerging sectors category.

The SME category is for the non-RMG or textiles companies with annual export turnover less than $3 million.

Local exporters can also participate in the programme by filling out a nomination form on the Bank's website.

The deadline for nomination submissions is April 30.

The Daily Star, Prothom Alo and Bangladesh Brand Forum are the strategic partners of the event.

M Shohiduzzaman, head of trade finance, and Talukdar Noman Anwar, head of marketing and communications of HSBC, also spoke.

Inam Ahmed, deputy editor of The Daily Star, and Shariful Islam, founder of Bangladesh Brand Forum, were also present.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 29th March 2012

Prime Bank Limited launched its Mobile Banking Service "Easy Cash" recently at the Bank's Corporate Office premises. Deputy Managing Director of the Bank Ahmed Kamal Khan Chowdhury launched the Service as the chief guest. Deputy Managing Directors I B Chowdhury, Md. Golam Rabbani, Muhammad Yasin Ali and Kanti Kumar Saha, and Managing Director & CEO of the partner of the project SMG Infocom Ltd. Kamrul Islam were present.

Financial Express/Bangladesh/ 28th March 2012