Bangladesh Bank’s deputy governor Abu Farah Md. Nasser has said despite having a credit guarantee scheme of Tk 2000 crore for cottage, micro, small, and medium enterprises (CMSME), loans of only Tk 192 crore has been disbursed so far under the facility, which he said was “disappointing”. He said proper utilization of this credit guarantee scheme is crucial for the revival of CMSMEs. Nasser said this while speaking as the chief guest at a workshop titled “Issues and Opportunities of CMSME Lending”, organized by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) on Saturday in the capital. “Though the CMSME sector is called the engine of our economy, and CMSME financing is the fuel of that engine, the financing in this sector is disappointing despite taking different initiatives by the central bank,” he added. Read more: BB revises cluster credit guidelines to boost small enterprises Nasser also said that to reach out to the CMSMEs, banks should think of establishing more sub-branches across the country rather than creating agent banking because creating sub-branches help cut extra administrative costs. “We are going through a tough time due to the Ukraine-Russia war and at this time if we try to control interest rates forcibly, it may create a recession,” he added. The manufacturing and service sector should get priority in getting loans right at this moment to control inflation, considering the global scenario, he said. The Bangladesh bank deputy governor urged the experts to think about developing an online marketplace and blockchain as alternatives to the traditional loan system. Bangladesh Bank has identified a total of 19 clusters, and Nasser urged all the banks to give CMSME loans under these clusters. Later he said that creating a Digital Bank (special focus on CMSMEs) is in the planning of Bangladesh Bank. DCCI President Rizwan Rahman said, “CMSME sector plays an important role in making our economy grow but due to lack of policy support and financial support, we cannot fully utilize this sector. Commercial banks and financial institutions sometimes sense risks in giving loans to CMSMEs.” Read more: Stimulus for CMSMEs: BB asks banks to complete loans disbursement by June Till 2022, 73.77 percent of the stimulus, or Taka 147.46 billion has been disbursed but most of it went to medium enterprises. He also said that regulators should give CMSMEs more access to information and communication technology, and financial assistance so that they can have the ability to boost manufacturing and be competitive in the supply chain process. Md. Jaker Hossain, Director, SME and Special Programmes Department of Bangladesh Bank, presented a keynote paper. Md. Nazeem Satter, General Manager, SME Foundation, in his separate keynote paper highlighted that there are more than 7.8 million CMSMEs across the country. He said only banks are not sufficient to ensure loans for CMSMEs, rather, alternative capacity of MFIs, NGO Foundation, Karmasangsthan Bank, BSCIC, SME Foundation should be utilized to disburse loan among the CMSMEs.  

Amid much discussion on the public domain over crisis-ridden Sri Lanka, Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming on Wednesday reiterated that there is no debt trap in Bangladesh. “There is no debt trap, especially no Chinese debt trap in this country. At least I can guarantee that,” he told reporters after his meeting with Foreign Minister  AK Abdul Momen  at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.    Momen also ruled out the fear of debt trap and said there is no such scope in Bangladesh. “We’re prudent (while taking loans and its subsequent management). We don’t borrow that much and when we borrow we do it with much calculation,” he said. Highlighting Bangladesh’s economic strength backed by stronger export growth and remittance inflow,  Momen said, “We are capable of (loans) repayment.” Asked about the situation in Sri Lanka, he said, “Let us see what happens. We’re yet to sit to discuss it.” READ: Chinese envoy hands over 14,280 surgical masks to BDRCS On a number of occasions in the past, the FM said there is no scope for Bangladesh to get into Chinese “debt trap,” noting that Bangladesh has borrowed the highest amount from Japan. “We remain very careful. There’s no scope that we’ll fall into debt trap. We cut our coats according to our clothes,” he told reporters earlier. Hecsaid Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina takes decisions through proper scrutiny and analyzing every aspect and in no way Bangladesh should be compared with the Sri Lankan case.