Prime Minister's Principal Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah has urged China and the International Finance Corporation (IFC)  to increase their investments in Bangladesh. Tofazzel made the call when Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen and International Finance Corporation (IFC) Country Manager Martin Holtmann paid separate courtesy calls on him at the Prime Minister's office on Thursday afternoon. NAM Summit: FM Hasan Mahmud leading Bangladesh delegation During the courtesy call, the Chinese ambassador thanked the Bangladesh government for holding the 12th parliamentary election in a free and fair manner and vowed to work with the new government in different sectors of Bangladesh. Tofazzel thanked China for its significant role in the ongoing development activities of Bangladesh and for sending observers to the 12th parliamentary elections. He urged the envoy to increase Chinese investment in Bangladesh. US rules out notion of not recognising Hasina government In a separate meeting PM’s principal secretary requested the IFC country manager to increase private sector investment in Bangladesh and sought IFC's all-out support in implementing the “National Logistics Development Policy” proposed by the government of Bangladesh. He also requested IFC's cooperation in expanding riverine accessibility in Bangladesh and construction of ports and jetties. NAM Summit: Dhaka calls for greater unity, solidarity for shared prosperity IFC Country Manager Holtmann expressed interest in providing loans to the lower and middle class people in Bangladesh's housing sector. Officials from the Prime Minister's Office, China Embassy and IFC were present during the courtesy calls.

International Finance Corporation (IFC) is providing BRAC Bank Limited a $50 million loan to aid small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.  This investment is set to contribute to the preservation of jobs and bring foreign exchange liquidity into BRAC Bank to help support the working capital and trade finance requirements of the bank’s SME importer and exporter clients. Also Read: New program by Australia, IFC to mobilise $50 million to support post-COVID inclusive growth in Bangladesh This investment, along with a similar loan to Prime Bank in February, will also send a positive signal to the market and contribute towards attracting additional international investors to support the foreign exchange financing needs of local banks and SMEs, IFC said. The financing package is part of IFC's $8 billion global COVID-19 fast-track financing facility to support companies during the ongoing public health crisis. This new investment comes under the Working Capital Solutions (WCS) program of the COVID-19 response envelope, which is providing $2 billion globally to emerging-market banks, enabling them to support struggling firms.  This project will also be supported by the International Development Association's Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility, which is also rendering aid to IFC's WCS program. BRAC Bank is Bangladesh’s third-largest private bank and the only SME-focused bank in the country. Also Read: First project under IFC’s Global Food Security Platform to tackle food insecurity in Bangladesh "Our SME and corporate clients continue to confront challenges arising from the disruptive effects of COVID-19. The insufficient availability of foreign exchange has additionally impeded their regular trading operations," said Selim R. F. Hussain, the Managing Director and CEO of BRAC Bank. The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a global economic slowdown, influenced by a series of factors, including geo-political events. “IFC has been supporting the banking sector in export-driven economies like Bangladesh, which have been facing declines in foreign exchange reserves due to various macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds,” said Joon Young Park, IFC’s Portfolio Manager for South Asia.  Also Read: Prime Bank receives $50m from IFC to support trade, forex liquidity needs in Bangladesh "IFC plans to continue providing its steadfast support to key banking partners in Bangladesh who have significant SME portfolios, such as BRAC, with whom IFC has had equity and debt commitments over the past 19 years.” IFC has invested more than $3.6 billion to promote the growth of the private sector in Bangladesh since 2010, thereby creating job opportunities for the country's citizens. And since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, IFC has provided over $360 million in working capital solutions and liquidity support to banks and companies in Bangladesh. Also Read: IFC giving $32.5 million to ensure food security in Bangladesh "After three long years of grappling with the impact of the pandemic, businesses in Bangladesh continue to face challenging market conditions,” said Martin Holtmann, IFC Country Manager for Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal. “By supporting BRAC Bank, we are continuing our efforts to help Bangladesh recover and foster a resilient post-pandemic economic landscape.” Also Read: Implement Teesta Project to save people from manmade disasters: IFC  

To improve food security in Bangladesh at a time of rising commodity prices amid a global shortfall of staple crops, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) is providing $32.5 million loan to Singapore-based agricultural commodity-trading company Agrocorp International Pte Ltd, which is a leading supplier of wheat and pulses to Bangladesh. According to IFC, the largest global development institution which is focused on the private sector in emerging markets, is providing an eight-year financing package consisting of a senior secured loan of up to $18 million as well as a concessional loan of $14.5 million from the International Development Association’s Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility. At a time when trade financing has been constrained globally amid price instability, the investment will allow Agrocorp to buy and deliver millions of tonnes of wheat and pulses from Australia and Canada to Bangladesh, providing safe, nutritious, and calorie-rich staples to the country at a time of heightened food insecurity. These staples are sold to millers and food processors, which depend on them to produce basic foods for the Bangladeshi population, a media statement by IFC said. Read more: Bangladesh Bank forms Tk 5000cr refinance scheme to ensure food security “Agrocorp plays an important role in addressing food security in Asia, which has become more vital with all the recent shocks in global food-supply chains,” said Vijay Iyengar, Chairman and Managing Director, Agrocorp International. “We are delighted to be partnering with IFC for this loan, which will allow us to scale up our work to provide an even stronger platform to secure food supplies for emerging markets such as Bangladesh,” he said. “We are pleased that IFC is able to provide financial support for Agrocorp to reinforce its position in global food supply chains, and in this instance to serve the markets in Bangladesh during these challenging times”, said Geoffrey Yeo, Assistant Chief Executive Officer, Enterprise Singapore. “We are glad that Singapore’s role as a global trade hub has enabled companies like Agrocorp to play an important role in managing global food supplies” he said. Read more: PMO counting on success of upcoming food security programs The war in Ukraine has exacerbated food inflation globally, sparked high and volatile energy and fertilizer prices and restrictive trade policies, and has also worsened supply-chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Wheat has been particularly affected, as Ukraine and Russia have traditionally accounted for over a quarter of the global-trade volumes. In addition, about a quarter of Bangladesh’s population of 165 million people face food insecurity due to the impacts of climate change and the rising frequency of natural hazards, such as flooding caused by monsoon rains. This convergence of crises threatens to drive more people into extreme poverty, magnify hunger and malnutrition, and erase hard-won development gains in the country. “This investment ensures the supply of essential raw materials to food producers and processors in Bangladesh, allowing the availability of safe, nutritious, and calorie-rich staple foods to be available”, said Hector Gomez Ang, Regional Director for South Asia, IFC. “ The IFC investment is in line with a new $6 billion Global Food Security Platform (GFSP), which aims to mobilise private investment to address the deterioration in food security, particularly in the world’s most vulnerable countries. Since 2010, IFC has invested over $3.6 billion to help private sector growth in Bangladesh.

Truck Lagbe, a trucking platform in Bangladesh, raised a $4 million Series A financing round led by International  Finance Corprotation (IFC) and co-led by IDLC Venture Capital Fund I.  Other participants in the round included Millville Opportunities Master Fund, Shorooq Partners, Colopl Next, and TRU Fund I.  Truck Lagbe connects businesses with truck drivers and fleet owners through an app-based platform. Read Truck Lagbe: Story of a Successful Digital Trucking Startup in Bangladesh Over 80,000 truck owners and drivers are registered on the platform serving thousands of customers daily.  The company operates an on-demand marketplace serving SMEs and consumers, and a brokerage serving larger companies on credit. The company will utilize the capital to expand the team, acquire drivers, expand presence in new districts, and introduce value-added services. “We are thrilled to have IFC lead our Series A,” says Truck Lagbe CEO and founder Anayet Rashid. “IFC have backed several of the leading trucking platforms globally, bringing deep knowledge, expertise, and network. They are the ideal partner for our next phase of growth.” Read Best Fire Truck Rescue, Fire Fighter Simulator Games for Android, iOS “Trucking is a huge market in any country. Everything around you was on a truck at some point, and often several times. If we can optimize logistics through technology, we can save billions of dollars for consumers and businesses, and increase earnings for drivers,” says Rashid.  “Our vision is to build a one-stop solution for the trucking industry where users can source trips through the platform, purchase trucking accessories and services, purchase fuel, send payments, or receive financing to expand their fleet. A single click will move anything.” “It is crucial for Bangladesh, which aims to become a middle-income country over the next decade, to have an efficient transport infrastructure and logistics services, which not only provides more support for the shipment of goods during the pandemic, but can also help transport exports to markets,” said Nuzhat Anwar, IFC’s Acting Country Manager for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.  Read Top 7 Truck Rental Apps in Bangladesh “In addition to its financing, IFC is providing the company with knowledge and innovative support by leveraging insights from previous investments and will be connecting Truck Lagbe to more prospective clients.” “Bangladesh’s logistics industry is transforming from manual to digital. Being in the banking industry over two decades, I have personally seen the growth of the logistics businesses and the crucial role it plays to keep the economic engine of our country thrive. So, we are extremely happy with this investment and to support the team as it directly impacts our GDP growth,” said Syed Javed Noor, Deputy Managing Director at IDLC and Partner at IDLC Venture Capital Fund I. Truck Lagbe was founded in July 2017 by Anayet Rashid and Mir Hossain Ekram where customers booked trucks through a call center. It won the “Startup Challenge 2017” competition in 2017, organized by the Information and Communication Technology Division of the government of Bangladesh. Read Uber Adds Auto-Rickshaws in Dhaka: Transportation Aggregation and Competition The company launched their app in September 2018, and raised a seed round led by Ravid Chowdhury, the former CFO of the Bangladeshi ride-hailing company Pathao. Other early investors include Betatron Venture Group, Seedstars, Mount Parker Ventures, Aria Group, Falcon Network, and Development Finance Asia.

Industries hit hard due to the onslaught of the pandemic are all set to benefit from a $30 million World Bank loan to Bangladesh's BRAC Bank. The loan from the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, will help both the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as large corporations in Bangladesh stay afloat amid the Covid-induced economic slowdown. The investment will help to keep businesses open and preserve jobs, which is critical to sustaining the Bangladeshi economy, according to a release. Also read: IFC supporting SMEs during pandemic The package is, in fact, part of IFC's $8 billion global Covid-19 fast-track financing facility to support companies during the ongoing public health crisis. This new investment comes under the Working Capital Solutions (WCS) programme of the Covid-19 response envelope, which is providing $2 billion globally to emerging-market banks, enabling them to support struggling firms. This project will also be supported by the International Development Association’s Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility, which is also supporting IFC’s WCS programme with a first-loss guarantee of up to $215 million in eligible countries. With the financing, BRAC Bank is expected to extend loans to its SME and corporate customers, supporting businesses that are now coping with a new wave of Covid-19 in Bangladesh.  “BRAC Bank promotes businesses of all sizes but as the pioneer of SME banking, we are particularly conscious of the needs of SMEs and micro-enterprises that play a vital role in driving economic growth and employment-generation,” said Selim RF Hussain, Managing Director and CEO of BRAC Bank. “The Covid scenario is challenging and at the same time difficult for both banks and their SME and corporate customers. We hope that the partnership with IFC would help us to continue supporting the Covid-impacted businesses and help them recover.” Also read: MSMEs, farmers to benefit from IFC Covid-19 support SMEs make up over 90 percent of businesses in Bangladesh and employ over 20 percent of the adult population. Their cash flows have been heavily disrupted by the ongoing pandemic. An IFC survey last October showed nearly a third of workers in Bangladesh’s micro, small and medium sized enterprises were jobless at the time, due to the Covid-induced financial downturn. “Clearly, the impacts of Covid-19 are continuing to exact a heavy toll on businesses trying to keep operating and keep staff employed,” said Wendy Werner, IFC Country Manager for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. “This finance line to our long-standing partner, BRAC Bank, is the most recent part of IFC’s effort to help Bangladesh build back better from the Covid-19 pandemic.” In Bangladesh, IFC has provided a total of $260 million in working capital solutions to banks and liquidity support to companies since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, including this new funding to BRAC Bank.

Just 1 in 20 of the women , who currently make up 18 percent of directors on the boards of listed companies in Bangladesh, are independent directors .

A study conducted by International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s commercial lending arm, reveals that Bangladesh, Nepal and Mongolia are facing immediate and significant impacts from climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, and social inequality that require urgent responses.

United Commercial Bank Limited (UCB) has been awarded as ‘2019 Best Partner for Women in Trade in South Asia’ award.

International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s commercial arm for private sector,  in a report identified access to finance and corruption  as the major impediments to private investment in the country.

International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has developed Partnership for Cleaner Textile (PaCT) web portal to calculate the resource consumption in the country’s readymade garments industry.