Govt to instal 45 Land Information Service Centre (LISC) at upazila level

The government has taken a project to instal Land Information Service Centre (LISC) at 45 upazilas in seven districts for providing quality land related services to the people through introducing Digital Land Management System (DLMS).

"The project aims to ensure good governance in land administration management by introducing DLMS," said Md Abdul Mannan, Director General of Department of Land Record and Survey.

He informed that people will get the opportunity to collect all kinds of computerized land related data from the information service centres.
News Source: BSS

Bangladesh Govt allocates over Tk 3.08b to BSCIC projects

The government has allocated more than Tk 3.08 billion to the implementation of nine projects under Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC), officials said.

Industries Minister Dilip Barua told the FE, "We have started working on land acquisition, earth filling, construction, training and loan disbursement. More than Tk 3.08 billion has been allocated to implement all the nine projects."

The nine projects are Leather Industrial Estate at Savar, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) Park at Munshiganj, Benarasi Palli Development Project at Rangpur, Mirsarai Industrial Estate, Gopalgonj Industrial Estate Extension, Satranji Industry Development Project at Rangpur, Comilla Industrial Estate Extension, BSCIC Special Economic Zone at Kushtia and Sirajganj Industrial Park.
News Source: The Financial Express

Dipu Moni for boosting trade with Egypt

Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni underscored the need to further tap the unexplored avenues of cooperation between Egypt and Bangladesh particularly in the field of trade and investment.

The opinion came when the outgoing Egyptian Ambassador to Bangladesh Mostafa Fayez Noseir paid a courtesy on Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni today(Thursday).

During the call on the Foreign minister expressed satisfaction over the existing friendly bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Egypt and appreciated the active role played by the Ambassador in strengthening the relations during his tenure.

The Foreign Minister said that the two countries are deeply connected by the elements of commonality in history and culture. She mentioned the recent surge in bilateral trade and export of Bangladeshi manpower to Egypt.

The Ambassador expressed his warm appreciation for the guidance and support provided by the Government of Bangladesh during his tour of duties.

Describing his four year stay in Bangladesh as ‘wonderful experience’ he mentioned that Bangladesh’s progress towards attaining economic and social development is most encouraging.

News Source: UNB

Dhaka, Delhi closer to inking deal on textiles, jute

Bangladesh is set to sign an agreement with India as both countries seek to broaden cooperation in cotton, jute, silk, handlooms, clothing and fashion industries.
The five-year agreement between textile and jute ministries of the two neighouring nations could be nailed down during next month's visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Dhaka, officials said.
News Source: The Financial Express

BB puts on hold decision about new private banks

The board of directors of Bangladesh Bank (BB) has kept in abeyance a proposal to issue lincences for new private commercial banks (PCBs), officials said Wednesday.

The decision came at a meeting, held in the central bank Wednesday with the Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Atiur Rahman in the chair.

"The issue has been discussed but no decision was taken at the meeting," a BB senior official told the FE, adding that the central bank has provided a study report, along with the existing Bangladesh Bank Order and Bank Company Act 1991, to the directors for taking a concrete decision in this connection.

"The Board may take a final decision on setting up of new commercial banks in its next meeting which will he held next month," the central bank official stated.

The central bank has placed a study report to its Board meeting seeking a decision on issuing new lincences for setting up PCBs.

The study report was prepared, incorporating all necessary information including the growth of the country's banking industry, considering its population, another BB official said.

"The board will have to take a fresh decision on the issue as there is a bar to establishing new banks. The Board imposed the bar in 2005 considering the country's socio-economic condition," a central banker told the FE earlier.

Besides, the central bank has already finalised a fresh guideline, spelling out details that the intending sponsors will have to follow while filing applications for setting up new banks.

"We'll publish the guideline along with advertisement, inviting fresh applications from interested entrepreneurs to establish new banks, if the board gives its approval for allowing new PCBs to operate," the BB official added.

Earlier, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said issuing of licences for new banks is a "political decision" of the government, by-passing the reservation of the central bank over the move, in view of the country's banking sector being already "over-saturated".

"It is our political decision to issue licences for new banks in the country, despite reservation made by the BB," Mr. Muhith told economic reporters in Dhaka on July 24 last at a post-budget discussion on challenges of the new fiscal year.

Asked then whether the decision is aimed at favouring political leaders, the minister said, "it might be".

"We'll be guided by our board," BB Governor Atiur Rahman told reporters on July 30 last while replying to a query relating to the government's political decision to issue licences for new banks.

On June 29 last, the finance minister told Parliament that the government would invite applications from entrepreneurs willing to establish new banks and life insurance companies.

Currently, a total of 47 commercial banks are in operation in Bangladesh.
News Source: Financial Express

Bhutan wants to import purchase tech from Bangladesh

The Bhutanese government has expressed keen interest in taking support from Bangladesh on capacity development for its public procurement.

Chief Programme Officer of the Public Procurement Policy Division (PPPD) of Bhutan Dhenden Dhondup expressed the interest while visiting Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU) of IME Division of the Ministry of Planning in the city Wednesday, according to a press release.

The four-member e-GP study team of PPPD under the Ministry of Finance of Bhutan is now on a two-day visit in Bangladesh to learn and take stock of reforms being implemented in the process of public procurement here.

The CPTU has been implementing the Public Procurement Reform Project-II with the assistance from the World Bank since 2007. Institutionalising procurement capacity, improving procurement management, electronic government procurement (e-GP) and social awareness on public procurement are now being implemented by CPTU under the PPRP-II.

During the meeting with the CPTU officials, Mr Dhondup said the Kingdom of Bhutan has also taken up a project to improve capacity of its procurement officials, raise awareness among stakeholders and introduce electronic procurement.

The team extensively came across the e-tender initiatives taken up by CPTU. It has visited the Central e-GP Data Centre established by CPTU, e-GP Guidelines and other facilities in this connection.
News Source: The Financial Express

BR will introduce commuter trains

Bangladesh Railway will introduce commuter trains on different routes within the next 15 months to facilitate short-distance passengers.

Communications minister Syed Abul Hossain made the announcement on Thursday after signing a deal with China's Tangshan Railway Vehicle Company to procure commuter trains.
News Source: bdnews24.com

SEC plans to bring discipline in Omnibus Accounts

The Securities and Exchange Commission has planned regulations for the Omnibus Accounts in two weeks as they were the "real culprits" behind the December-January stock market crash, an SEC member said.

"We'll take decision within next two weeks regarding the Omnibus Accounts," SEC member Helal Uddin Nizami told on Monday evening.

Nizami, a professor of Accounting and Information System Department of Chittagong University, said merchant banks and state-run investment bank ICB have huge number of Omnibus Accounts, which are not under the surveillance of the SEC.

He said this kind of accounts is the real culprit behind the recent share market debacle, which saw the benchmark Dhaka Stock Exchange General index plunging 45 per cent in just six weeks, wiping out savings of thousands of investors.

An omnibus account is a specific stock holding account that involves multiple investors. The individual investor does not have his or her name attached to the account, but still they are actual stock holders.

Such accounts only show the aggregate volume of shares that are posted into those accounts. As a result, it is not possible to trace out the issue-wise or client-wise transactions of actual number of shares.

The newly appointed SEC member said the regulator would bring discipline to these accounts in an effort to stabilise the market and avert future crash.

"A vested group is there who favour continuing such accounts, but we are determined to bring discipline in this kind of accounts," he said.

He said the SEC is helpless to track down transaction made through the Omnibus Accounts as these are not under the jurisdiction of the regulator.

"It is very difficult to find out the records of these accounts from the Central Depository Bangladesh Limited (CDBL) and it takes a lot of time to figure out their transaction," he said.

"You can find out every individual's BO (Beneficiary Owner) account information from the CDBL. If a single BO account holder transact crores (one crore= 10 million) of taka this can be figured out," he said. "But this is not easily possible in case of the Omnibus Accounts," he added.

The SEC member said the Omnibus Accounts would have to be operated like the other BO accounts. "They'll be just like the other BO account holders, nothing else." His comments echoed the findings of the government-appointed share scam probe body, which revealed that at least Tk 2,500 crore ( Tk25 billion) was traded from the hidden or omnibus accounts ahead of the market crash.

The committee has found that these hidden accounts were used as a major tool of stock market manipulation. According to the probe body's report, Tk2,348 crore (Tk23.48 billion) was traded from nine omnibus accounts of the ICB alone.

The committee held responsible 30 big traders including the ICB for the share market debacle and said most manipulators did trading through the Omnibus Accounts. The probe body headed by an ex deputy governor of the central bank, however, could not identify the traders who were suspected of using Omnibus Accounts in a bid to elude detection of their foul-play.

The report says most big players chose omnibus accounts to gamble in the market, as it is not possible to find out issue-wise or client-wise transactions of actual number of shares from the Omnibus Accounts. There was no transparency in transactions made from these hidden accounts and the account holders, although well-known figures, had traded through Omnibus Accounts, not beneficiary owner (BO) accounts, said the probe report.

News Source:

The Financial Express

Govt clears way for India’s use of Ctg port for transit

A government committee has cleared the way for use of the available facilities at Chittagong port by India as a transit point.

It found the facilities in the sea-port sufficient at this stage for taking any extra load because of the additional requirements on account of transit.

The approval by the committee has come at a time when domestic port-users have been complaining about frequent congestion in the terminals and depots at Chittagong port because of a steadily growing volume of sea-borne cargo, to, and from, Bangladesh.

The volume has been increasing at an annual rate of 15 per cent over the years.
News Source: Financial Express

Bangladeshi company to invest $ 8.2m in Comilla EPZ

A Bangladeshi company will set up a garment-manufacturing industry in Comilla Export Processing Zone.

M/s Lyceum Fabrics Limited, a sister concern of Legend Group, will invest about 8.2 million US dollars in setting up their unit and will manufacture all kinds of garment item, a BEPZA press release said.

"The company will also create employment opportunity for 2000 Bangladeshi nationals," it said.

An agreement to this effect was signed between the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) and M/s Lyceum Fabrics Limited at BEPZA Complex on Sunday.

Md. Moyejuddin Ahmed, Member (Investment Promotion) of BEPZA
and S.M. Abdul Hai, Managing Director of M/s. Lyceum Fabrics Limited, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations.

Major General A T M Shahidul Islam, Executive Chairman of BEPZA, was present on the occasion.
News Source: BSS

Bangladesh rank 114th in attracting FDI: Report 2011

Bangladesh's position has been upgraded to 114 from 119 among 141 countries in terms of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), according to the World Investment Report (WIR). In 2010, inflows to Bangladesh, an increasingly important low-cost production location in South Asia, jumped by 30 per cent to $913 million, according to World Investment Report 2011 which titled as 'Non-Equity Modes of International Production and Development'.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) overview (million of Dollars)

FDI Flows	1995-2004 (Annual Avg)	2005-07 (Annual Avg)	2008	2009	2010
Inward	386	768	1086	700	913
Outward	6	9	09	29	15

FDI Stocks	1995	2000	2008	2009	2010
Inward	600	2162	4816	5279	6072
Outward	48	69	80	119	100

Source: UNCTAD, World Investment Report 2011; www.unctad.org/wir or www.unctad.org/fdistatistics.

Bangladesh is becoming a major low-cost production location in South Asia. The rapid growth of the garment industry in countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia, China and Viet Nam owes much to the participation of foreign contract manufacturing firms producing locally for international clients, at least initially (UNIDO, 2009; McNamara, 2008), said in the report. In Bangladesh and Cambodia the garment industry accounted for some 70–80 per cent of total national exports in 2008–2009.

The use of micro-franchising as a distribution channel to the poor or low-income segments of a market is common in developing countries, with telecom services a widespread example, e.g. in Ghana, India, Indonesia, Senegal or Thailand; while in some countries like Bangladesh and Peru a similar franchising model is used to broaden internet access.
News Source:
http://economy-bd.blogspot.com/2011/07/bangladesh-rank-114th-in-attracting-fdi.html

Bangladeshi shipbuilders to export 30 vessels to fetch $300m by 2012

A couple of leading shipbuilders of the country will deliver 30 small ocean-going ships to fetch $300 million from their clients mostly in Europe by the end of the next calendar year, shipbuilders said on Tuesday.

More Bangladeshi made ship to be delivered by 2012

To meet the delivery deadline the shipyards are busy building the ocean going and ice-class vessels for their clients also in Africa and Asia.

The Western Marine Shipyard Limited (WMSL), one of the leading shipbuilder, will deliver 20 ocean-going ships worth $200 million to firms in the Holland, Denmark and Singapore. The deals also included two passengers vessels for Karachi Port Trust.

Two ships, each with 5,200 DWT (deadweight tonnage), a passenger ferry, two passengers floating vessel have already been delivered to Germany, Finland and Pakistan.

"We are building the rest seven and a couple of ships with a DWT between 4,100 and 4,800 are complete and will be floated soon," Shakawat Hossain, managing director of Western Marine Shipyard Ltd, told the FE.

WMSL, based in at Kolagaon in Chittagong, on the bank of the river Karnaphuli near the country's main port, some 300 km (188 miles) southeast of the capital Dhaka, is likely to complete its delivery by the end of the current year or early next year.

"The Ananda Shipyard and Slipways Limited (ASSL), the country's pioneer ship exporter, will deliver 10 other ships worth $110 million to European buyers, mainly in Germany and Denmark," said Eng. Saiful Islam, technical director of Ananda Shipyard said.

WMSL is currently negotiating with shipping companies in several European and Middle Eastern countries for building dozens of ships worth $400 million in the coming years.

Ananda Shipyard and Slipways Limited, located at Meghnaghat on the river Meghna, was a pioneer in the sector and has so far won deals to build 26 small ships worth $400 million. The orders came from Denmark, Mozambique and Germany.

Ananda already exported 10 smaller ships to Germany, Mozambique and Maldives, worth $18 million so far after exporting the first-ever Bangladesh-built ship to Denmark in 2008.

News Source:

The Financial Express

Bangladesh’s FDI position notches up to 114 from 119

Highest at South Asia last year, FBCCI welcomes it
Bangladesh has attracted US$ 913 million in foreign direct investment in 2010 calendar year, a leap by 30 per cent, upgrading the country's position to 114 from 119 out of 141 nations, according to the World Investment Report (WIR).

BoI Chairmn briefing at conference

The Board of Investment (BoI) revealed this while launching the WIR 2011 at its office Tuesday.

In 2009, Bangladesh attracted $700.16 million in FDI and ranked 120th among 141 countries, while in 2008 the country's ranking was 117th with a total inflow of $1.086 billion.

The trend of FDI inflow showed that Bangladesh performed well in the context of South Asian countries, said M Ismail Hossain, professor of economics at Jahangirnagar University, at a press conference at the Board of Investment (BoI) office while launching the report.

The data showed that the inflow of FDI in India declined to $24,640 million last year from $34,613 million in 2009. The inflow of FDI also declined in Pakistan last year, the data showed. In 2010, Pakistan could attract $2,016 million, down from $2,387 million in 2009.

FDI sectoral investment

But, FDI inflow increased in Sri Lanka to $478 million in 2010 from its previous $404 million in 2009. BoI executive chairman Dr SA Samad, chairman of Privatisation Commission of Bangladesh (PCB) Dr Mirza Abdul Jalil, member (engineering) of Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) Abu Reza Khan, representatives from Bangladesh Bank (BB) and officials concerned of different agencies were present during the launch of the report. It was held at the BoI board room.

The telecom sector alone received $360 million FDI, while the manufacturing sector $238 million in investment from abroad, the report said.

"If a country has sustainable growth rate, the FDI flow will automatically grow up. Bangladesh's annual FDI ratio is not enough. I think this should be 5.0 to 6.0 billion dollars from the existing less than one billion dollars," The BoI executive chairman said.

FDI of past years

"The FDI inflow increased in 2010 for arrival of energy companies in the country, during the period a total of $6,276.80 million was estimated as local investment in 1,600 projects, with a 142.55 percent rise compared to the previous year." he added.

Singapore ranked top by investing $317.19 million in Bangladesh in 2010, while UK second with $105.68 million investment, the Netherlands third with $64.92 million, Hong Kong fourth with $63.84 million, USA fifth with $56.95 million and India sixth by investing $43.19 million.

The FDI inflow is low also due to non-expansion of export processing zones (EPZs) as the government plans to construct economic zones to facilitate both local and foreign investors, he said.

News Source:priyo.com

First ever solar-powered ATM launched in Bangladesh

The first ever solar-powered ATM [automated teller machine] of the country was launched today aiming at making banking services eco-friendly and saving non- renewable energy.

Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr Atiur Rahman inaugurated the ATM booth at headquarters of Al Falah Islami Bank in the city's Gulshan area, which would be using solar power instead of consuming grid power.

"This is part of the central bank's initiative of making banking sector more environment-friendly," the governor said and expected that more banks would soon join in the similar activities.

He said the central bank would provide necessary support to the banks to make their operation eco-friendly.

Al Falah Bank's country head SAA Masrur and country operation head Shahab Khattak attended the programme.
News Source: BSS

Dhaka, New Delhi set to sign Teesta Pact

Indian Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said his country was set to reach an interim agreement with Bangladesh on Teesta and Feni rivers during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Dhaka visit next month, media reports said in New Delhi today.

"We expect an agreement on Teesta and Feni rivers," the Indian Express quoted him as telling a press conference also joined by Bangladesh premier's economic affairs adviser Moshiur Rahman after a meeting between the two.

Bansals said he was expected to visit Bangladesh to finalize the details of the agreement ahead of the Indian premier's Dhaka tour. His comments came two weeks after Indian external affairs minister SM Krishna told newsmen after talks with his counterpart Dipu Moni in Dhaka that two countries nearly finalised an interim agreement on the common Teesta and Feni rivers.

According to the Express report the water sharing issue gathered urgency in New Delhi as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged India to extend its hands for an early resolution on water sharing to pave the way for her country to take up projects downstream in Teesta.

It said Singh placed this issue on top priority and sent
National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon to Kolkata recently
to take West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee into
confidence over various options of the agreement.

The report said the West Bengal's concurrence particularly on
the Teesta was important as it already undertook irrigation
projects using the Teesta waters while the central government
needed to protect the interests of Bengal while meeting the
legitimate demands of Bangladesh.

"Mamata has indicated a forward looking approach and told the
Centre that she was more focused on an outcome instead of
dragging the matter for long" as the issue has been hanging fire
for about two decades the Express said quoting "highly placed
government sources".

Bangladesh and India in January this year issued a joint
statement in Dhaka saying they "removed differences" in reaching
an interim deal as top bureaucrats of water resources ministries
of the two neighbours joined a crucial meeting on sharing waters
of Teesta and Feni rivers.

The development was expected as protracted negotiations on
the Teesta since 1952 eluded a solution while the two neighbours
only exchanged papers to resolve the issue in the past decades.

The water of Teesta is crucial for Bangladesh, especially in
the leanest period from December to March. Sometimes in December
and January, the water flow comes down to less than 1,000 cusec
from 5,000 cusec.

Drastic fall in the water flow of Teesta during the lean
season, especially in February and March, seriously hampers
irrigation in Bangladesh while JRC sources said the flow of the
river weakened significantly in the last 24 years for Gajoldoba
barrage and some dams built in the upstream Indian region.

Bangladesh and India had inked a landmark treaty on sharing
of the Ganges water during Hasina's previous 1996-2001 tenure
removing a major irk in the bilateral ties. Deltaic Bangladesh is
crisscrossed by 230 major rivers, 54 of them mostly originating
from India.
News Source: BSS

BD Power purchase agreement with India in Sept

Finance Minister AMA Muhith Wednesday said that the power purchase agreement (PPA) to import electricity from India will be signed in September next.

Power purchase from India soon

State owned Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) will sign the PPA with Indian NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN) to import initially around 250 megawatt (mw) of electricity to ease the country's nagging electricity crisis. The cabinet committee on economic affairs chaired by the finance minister, however, did not approve signing of the PPA Wednesday.

"We have sent it back to re-examine some clauses of the draft PPA," Muhith told newsmen after the meeting. He said the termination clause of the PPA needs to be revised. As per the draft PPA, the duration for import of 250 mw electricity from Indian open market will be 25 years after signing of the agreement.

"But we may not have requirement of electricity import for long 25 years," said the finance minister. The draft deal has also provision for Bangladesh to export power to India too, if required in future. Electricity tariff would be fixed as per the Indian central energy regulatory commission.

Currently a single unit electricity cost in India is between Indian rupee 2.8789 and 2.9426 from Kahalgoan and Farakka plants respectively. Transmission charge and loss of electricity will be added with the costs.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) over import of electricity from India was signed between Bangladesh and India during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to Delhi in January, 2010. The non-signing of the PPA is, however, delaying disbursement of loan by project financier Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Bangladesh has already contracted out the task of installing overhead transmission line and setting up a power sub-station to Spanish Cobra and German Siemens respectively. Under the contract, Siemens is to build the sub-station under a project worth $107 million and Cobra Instalaciones Y Servicios SA is assigned with the task of laying the electricity transmission line for the project at a cost of around $15 million.

News Source:

The Financial Express

Private landline operato RanksTel set to resume service

Private landline operator RanksTel won back approval from the telecom regulator on Sunday to resume operations after a 16-month shutdown.

A team of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission restored RanksTel's licence and spectrum, after the operator withdrew the case it filed against the government.

RanksTel has refunded Tk 1.82 crore to the regulator in shared revenue and annual spectrum and utilisation charges. But unpaid interconnection charges with the mobile operators would be refunded after operations resume, said Abul K Shamsuddin, chief operating officer of RanksTel.

“RanksTel got back its licence after it paid all due charges,” said AKM Shahiduzzaman, director general of the legal and licensing division of BTRC.

The regulator will also return licences to four other PSTN (public switched telephone network) operators -- Dhaka Phone, National Phone, PeoplesTel and WorldTel after they meet the conditions, Shahiduzzaman said.

The licences of five PSTN operators were cancelled in March last year due to allegations of illegal call termination activities.

RanksTel had almost 3 lakh subscribers and 450 employees last year. Now the company has no subscribers, but about 150 employees are still working there, said Shamsuddin.

After the ban, RanksTel had to suspend services to banks, hospitals, multinational companies and call-centers.

“But RanksTel has never missed its loan repayment installments with the banks,” said the RanksTel COO.

The time it would take to fully get back to operations is not yet sure, he said.

The company has 250 base transceivers (BTS) in 35 districts.

News Source:

The Daily Star

Bangladesh to spend $6.17b on oil imports in the 2011-12 fiscal year

Bangladesh will spend $6.17 billion on importing oil in the 2011-12 fiscal year, more than double the previous year, as it buys more fuel at higher cost to fire up new power plants aimed at easing electricity shortages, a senior energy official said. “This year (July-June) the state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) will import 7.03 million tonnes of fuel oil, up from 5.4 million in 2010-11,” BPC chairman Mohammad Muqtadir Ali told Reuters on Sunday.
“ The cost of the import at current prices is estimated at $6.17 billion, against $3 billion last year,” he said.
The government has allocated 224.7 billion taka ($3 billion) as a subsidy in various sectors including agriculture and for fuel in the 2011-12 budget, compared with 194 billion taka the previous year, said an official of the
finance ministry.
“The import cost and subsidy are going up because of price rises in the international oil market, and for additional imports to run oil-fired power plants.”
BPC is the sole oil importer and distributor in the country.
Muqtadir said the fuel import would increase mainly due to the setting up of about 30 oil-operated power plants.
In the last two and a half years, the oil price has nearly tripled in international markets. In December 2008, oil was trading at $34 a barrel. It is now hovering around $97.
The subsidy in the energy and power sectors increased about 280 percent last year, a document of the finance ministry showed.

News Source: www.theindependentbd.com

CIB report goes online tomorrow_Bangladesh Bank

Bangladesh Bank (BB) is introducing online Credit Information Bureau (CIB) reports tomorrow to ensure transparency in the credit reporting process and bar defaulters
from getting fresh loans through any loophole in the system.

BB Governor Dr Atiur Rahman will inaugurate the online service at 6 in the evening at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel, which will be attended by senior bankers, representatives of donor agencies and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs).

The online system will bring an end to the manual, time consuming and cumbersome process of sharing the important credit information among banks and financial institutions.

All the 47 banks and 29 NBFIs of the country will be able to collect the online CIB reports from tomorrow. The banks and financial institutions would also be able to collect the CIB reports from the central bank physically if they want, the central bank officials said.

"This is a part of the continuous process of digitizing the central bank and the country's banking sector to ensure efficient, faster and transparent services to the people," Dr Rahman told BSS earlier.

He said the online service will make the CIB reports only a click away, which now takes five to seven days. The report,however, used to take at least three months before Dr Rahman was made the governor.

The Election Commission (EC) and other government organizations and agencies can also get necessary information to determine whether any particular person is a loan defaulter or not," he said, observing that this convenient and accurate information would help combat credit related corruption.

As per the existing provisions, outstanding loans worth at least Taka 50,000 are included in the CIB reporting system.

The CIB was set up on August 18, 1992 in the central bank aiming to improve credit risks and reduce the extent of default loan in the country's banking system.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Dr ATM Shamsul Huda welcomed the central bank's new initiative and observed that the online CIB reports would help the commission to identify the loan defaulters and take prompt decision in canceling their nomination papers.

BB earlier introduced a number of automated services including automated clearing house, MIRC (magnetic ink readable cheque) and mobile phone banking to provide necessary banking services at the people's doorsteps and make the central bank a paperless organization.

News Source: BSS

Programme to popularize Ribbon Retting Method among farmers in Gaibandh

A massive programme has been undertaken to popularize the Ribbon Retting Method among farmers aimed to separate ribbon from jute sticks and to rot those in the holes properly without water bodies.

Like the previous year, Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) is implementing the programme in farmers' level in all the seven upazilas of the district during the current season, office sources said.

The method will be popularized to a large number of jute growers of the district in phases through providing them with need base training, equipments and technological support from the department.

Under this method, the raw ribbon will be separated from the jute sticks through a iron made ribboner. Then the separated ribbon will be kept under the water of polythene scattered big hole until rotting those properly, said an official of DAE.

In this process, there is no necessary of water body like pond, canal and ditch and seasonal rain to rot the ribbon. Some decomposed water and a little urea fertilizer are needed to use in the hole to rot the ribbon quickly, he also said.

In many of the places of the district the jute cultivators
face difficulties for rotting their harvested jute sticks for
want of sufficient water in the water bodies. This method will
help them significantly get desired fiber of jute.

Deputy Director of DAE AH Bazlur Rashid said Bangladesh Jute
Research Institute has innovated the method, an alternative
system for jute rotting, after long days research to help the
farmers get fine fiber of jute and its fair prices.

A total of 750 ribboners would be distributed to the 7500
jute growers of the district this month to help the jute growers
accustom with the new technology, he also said.

Training is also being provided to the farmers to make the
technology more popularized to them at the initiative of the
field level DAE official, he further said.

DAE office sources said a total of 16,850 hectares of land
out of targeted 11,875 ones from the district have been brought
under jute cultivation this year with the production target of 1,
87,225 bells of jute.

News Source: BSS