Railways Minister Suranjit Sengupta yesterday sought more financial assistance from Asian Development Bank (ADB) for construction of railways from Dohajari to Gundum near Myanmar boarder via Cox’s bazar.

“The ADB expressed keenness to provide assistance supporting reform programmes of Bangladesh Railway (BR) to make it a modern outfit in the region,” he told newsmen after a meeting with a high level ADB delegation in his ministry.

The seven-member ADB delegation headed by its Vice- president Xiaoyu Zhao along with the country director M. Teresa Kho met the minister and emphasised taking institutional and financial reform programmes.

The minister also sought ADB’s financial help for land acquisition for laying 128 km line from Dohajari to Gundum.

The cost estimated for construction of railway on this section is $ 450 million in which ADB will provide $ 350 million and the remaining $ 100 million will be arranged by Bangladesh.

“The ADB delegation has assured help for upgrading the railway network including the ongoing projects,” Suranjit said.

The minister said: “ADB is a major development partner of Bangladesh especially of Bangladesh Railway and it is also supporting reforms in the railway sector.

The 128-kilometre railway will link the tourist destination Cox’s Bazar with the existing railway network in Bangladesh and join the country with Trans- Asian Railway network.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 16th March 2012

Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman has recently been awarded with the prestigious Indira Gandhi Gold Plaque 2011 by the Asiatic Society, Kolkata, in recognition of his significant contribution to international co-operation towards human progress.

The award will be handed to Rahman in a ceremony at the Vidyasagar Hall of the Asiatic Society in Kolkata on May 7, Professor Mihir Kumar Chakrabarti, general secretary of the Society, said in a letter.

Rahman is the second Bangladeshi to get the award after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who received the same recognition in 2009.

The award was first introduced in 1985, the central bank said in a statement.

Past Gold Plaque recipients include Nobel Laureates Mother Teresa (1987), Nelson Mandela (1989), Rev Desmond Tutu (1990), Yasser Arafat (1993), Professor Amartya Sen (1994), Aung San Suu Kyi (1995), Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1998), musician and composer Pandit Ravi Shankar (2001), and Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee (2008).

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 16th March 2012

Most of the directors of Bangladesh Bank are worried over the plan of floating too many new banks as the central bank is under pressure from the government to give nod to around 12 newcomers.

Rather, they stressed the need for ensuring quality of the new banks, and said approving more than 3-4 banks will be unwise in the present situation.

BB Board of Directors discussed the issue of allowing new banks at a long meeting with Governor Atiur Rahman in the chair.

Proposals for setting up three banks sponsored by non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) were placed in the meeting but there were no proposals for allowing local private banks.

A member of the board said threadbare discussions were held on allowing both NRB-backed and local private banks. He said the central bank has been under heavy pressure from the government high-ups to approve around 12 new banks including both NRB-backed and local private banks.

Also, there are pressures on the central bank for giving quick approval to the banks, he said.

The board members said, taking into consideration the present economic condition and the liquidity pressure faced by the existing banks it will not be wise to approve more than 3 to 4 banks.

The board told the central bank management to place the proposals for approving the new banks in the next meeting after strictly scrutinising the merits of the proposals.

Some of the board members told the meeting that it will not be proper for the central bank to approve any bad bank bowing to political pressure, according to officials present at the meeting.

The board member said the central bank must uphold its independence.

A board member said, it should be reviewed strictly and completely professionally whether the criteria set for the proposed banks were met in toto.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith also admitted yesterday that the central bank was under pressure.

Earlier Muhith said, only one NRB bank would be approved but now the central bank is under pressure from the government high-ups to allow three NRB banks. However, Muhith said, “Some pressure may be there.”

NRB banks will have to provide Tk 400 crore as capital in foreign currency, the board said.

The board asked the central bank management to bring together the proposals for the NRB banks and the local private banks.

A central bank official said another board meeting may be held within this month.

On allowing new banks, Muhith at his secretariat office said licences for setting up new banks may be given in the next two months, but a minimum of six months will be required for them to go into operation.

However, about the number of banks to be approved the finance minister said the central bank will decide on that.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 16th March 2012

Atiur Rahman, Bangladesh Bank governor, launches Bank Asia's e-wallet service in partnership with AlertPay at Hotel Purbani in Dhaka yesterday, while A Rouf Chowdhury, chairman of the Bank , looks on. Md Mehmood Husain, president and managing director, was also present.

Freelancers and IT exporters will now receive their payments from foreign buyers without any hassle, as AlertPay yesterday made foray into Bangladesh by launching online payment service in partnership with Bank Asia Ltd.

The tie-up with the Canada-based firm has helped the local bank become Bangladesh's first financial institution to introduce an easy online payment gateway service that analysts say will revolutionise e-commerce in the country.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman inaugurated the service at Hotel Purbani in the city.

The service, first of its kind in Bangladesh, will allow the country's growing IT freelancers to bring their dollars deposited in the accounts with AlertPay in any of their bank accounts in the country through Bank Asia at a low cost.

Md Mehmood Husain, president and managing director of Bank Asia, said a huge number of youth are now earning foreign currencies through outsourcing as freelancers.

They work for different international organisations, mainly on data entry, data processing, offshore IT services, and business process outsourcing.

He said their earnings are deposited in the accounts of different online payment gateway service providers. Till now, institutional channel for inward remittance for the freelancers was limited.

"We hope this facility will help induce the potential freelancers to work earnestly and encourage other talents to venture for such freelancing, thereby increasing the inflow of foreign remittance, and that too through banking channel," said Husain.

The central bank governor said, through the online service people or institutions would be able to bring their export proceeds easily against exporting non-physical services.

Such services include data entry, data processing, data digitisation, animation and multimedia, software developing and customisation, web-design, mobile application developing, and freelance outsourcing of graphic design.

Rahman said they have taken various steps so that the freelancers and IT service exporters can bring the money they have earned through outsourcing.

He said freelancers would primarily be able to bring $500 at a time to the country through online payment gateway service provider like AlertPay.

"But if necessary, we will consider extending this limit on observation of real income flow," he said.

There are 8,000 to 10,000 IT freelancers in the country, earning $7 million to $8 million a year. They accounted for 20-25 percent of the country's software exports, said Anir Chowdhury, policy adviser of the Access to Information project under the Prime Minister's Office.

Bangladesh earned $15.51 million in the first quarter of the current fiscal year through IT-enabled services, according to Export Promotion Bureau.

He said the AlertPay service would revolutionise e-commerce in the country.

At the same event, Bank Asia also launched Express Cash, a mobile-based money transfer service, to help people send and receive cash within the country.

It makes Bank Asia the 10th private commercial bank to launch the system, which, officials said will bring the country's 80 percent unbanked people under the umbrella of modern banking.

Husain said “Express Cash” is easier and faster domestic remittance service. "It is independent of any specific mobile companies. This is fully web-based, secured and quick to deliver."

A Rouf Chowdhury, chairman of Bank Asia, said the Bank wants to change the scenario of the country's banking system, as Bangladesh's 80 percent people still cannot take banking services.

"How much we will profit is not the main objective of the Bank. We really want to take services to the people," he said.

Dasgupta Asim Kumar, executive director of the central bank, said the central bank has allowed 17 banks to introduce mobile banking.

The rest seven banks will have to launch the service by March this year, he said.

He said mobile banking has not lived up to the expectation. "Only 4 lakh people have registered so far for mobile banking, whereas the country has more than 8.5 crore mobile phone users."

The banker urged banks to keep the service charge at a level that encourages people to transact money through mobile phone.

The BB governor also asked Bank Asia to open 'Express Cash' service points in remote areas.

Md Ahsan Ullah, another executive director of the BB, Rumee Hossain, audit committee chairman of Bank Asia, and Syed Nazimuddin, senior executive vice president of the Bank, were also present.

The Daily Star/Bangladesh/ 16th March 2012

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) Wednesday launched Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) for its income tax and VAT offices in the city to help both taxpayers and taxmen resolve disputes fast.

In the first phase, two Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) under income tax and VAT wing, Dhaka south VAT office and income tax zone-1 came under the ADR for out-of-the-court settlement of tax-related disputes.

The NBR launched the ADR system with the support of International Finance Corporation (IFC), a wing of World Bank (WB).

Currently, a total of Tk 150 billion in revenue remains stuck up against 16,000 cases pending before courts.

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Barrister Shafiq Ahmed inaugurated the ADR launching ceremony as chief guest in a city hotel.

NBR member (income tax) Syed Aminul Karim delivered the welcome speech and presented paper on ADR process for income tax. Md. Abdur Rouf, first secretary VAT, presented a paper on ADR process for VAT wing.

Shafiq Ahmed said both the parties should keep confidence in facilitators.

ADR should benefit both taxpayers and taxmen. It should not be imposed on anybody.

He suggested the NBR to amend the rules on the proportionate fees of the facilitators and fix a lump sum amount on the basis of the disputed amount.

International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh (ICC,B) President Mahbubur Rahman said foreign investors seek protection of their investment under the law of a country.

ADR can ensure protection of investment of both foreign and local investors, he said.

Financial Express/Bangladesh/ 15th March 2012