Amid widespread criticism and social media uproar over his son’s purchase of a goat worth Tk 15 lakh before Eid-ul-Azha, Md Matiur Rahman, President of the National Board of Revenue’s (NBR) Customs, Excise, and VAT Appellate Tribunal, has been removed from his post and shifted to the Internal Resources Division of the Ministry of Finance. According to a media release signed by Mokima Begum, Deputy Secretary of the Finance Ministry, the decision to move Matiur from NBR will take effect soon. Read more: NBR brings back individual black money whitening opportunities in next budget Allegations of amassing illegal wealth surfaced after a video went viral showing Matiur’s son, Mushfiqur Rahman Ifat, buying a goat for Tk 15 lakh. Matiur has since faced severe criticism over claims of acquiring illegal wealth amounting to thousands of crores in Bangladesh, with alleged investments in Singapore, the United States, Canada, and the UAE. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has formed a committee to investigate these allegations.

An official of the Ministry of Finance on Thursday said that 24 banks have agreed to issue bonds worth Tk 5,665 crore to help the government pay money to the owners of private power plants. The government owes more than $2 billion or around Tk23000 crore to the private power plants as bills. Bangladesh should discuss issues related to trade benefits at WTO ministerial conf: speakers at a seminar The government is unable to pay the money because of the financial crisis. As a result, the power plants are not able to pay the money taken from banks as loan. Many of such loans provided to those power plants have been defaulted. To deal with the situation, bonds of Tk 12,000 crore will be issued against the loans taken by the power plants, an official said on condition of anonymity. Bangladesh is doing well in IMF terms: Finance Minister Already, 24 banks have agreed to issue bonds worth Tk 5,665 crore, the official said, confirming that an MoU agreement has been signed in this regard in the Ministry of Finance on February 6. A letter may be sent to the Bangladesh Bank from the Financial Institutions Division, Ministry of Finance for issuing bonds this week. Electricity demand may rise to about 17,500 MW in coming summer: Nasrul After that, the Bangladesh Bank will issue this bond in 3-4 working days, the official said.

In a significant move to stabilize its power sector, the Bangladesh government has secured Tk 2,062 crore through the issuance of special bonds. This initiative, aimed at clearing outstanding liabilities to private power plants, involves a collaboration with two prominent private banks: City Bank and Pubali Bank. A comprehensive agreement was inked on Wednesday at the Secretariat, marking a critical step in addressing the financial challenges faced by the power sector. As per this agreement, the government will issue bonds worth Tk 1,985 crore to City Bank and Tk 77.50 crore to Pubali Bank, as confirmed by the Ministry of Finance. Sources reveal that the government’s inability to disburse subsidy funds had left private power plants struggling to meet their financial obligations, leading some to the brink of insolvency. Read: Bangladesh's imports drop over 18% in first half of FY2023-24  To counter this crisis, the government’s issuance of special bonds comes with an 8 percent coupon rate, mirroring the repo rate set by Bangladesh Bank. Notably, any future fluctuations in the repo rate will correspondingly adjust the bond interest rate. At the term’s end, the government will settle the bank dues along with interest, subsequently reclaiming these bonds. Unlike typical 15–20 year bonds, these special bonds have a maximum tenure of 10 years, a move tailored to the urgent needs of the power sector. Key players in the power sector, including Summit Power, United Power, Confidence Power, Baraka, Kushiara, Doreen, and Akron Power, are among the beneficiaries of this initiative. The Finance Division also disclosed plans for phased agreements with other banks, including BRAC Bank and Bank Asia, to further address the sector’s liabilities. Read: To ensure good governance in banks, chairman should be from independent directors: Dr Atiur  Reflecting on the agreement’s significance, managing directors of several banks expressed optimism. While banks can leverage these bonds with Bangladesh Bank, it provides the government with crucial financial breathing space. This strategic financial maneuver stands as a testament to the government’s commitment to ensuring the stability and sustainability of Bangladesh’s power sector.

Bangladesh has recently approved payment of USD $318 million for payment to Russia in the Chinese currency of yuan for construction of the Rooppur nuclear power plant.  A meeting held recently between the Economic Relations Division and Russian officials decided that the payment will be made in yuan at a Chinese bank account, Uttam Kumar Karmkar, head of the European affairs of Economic Relations Division (ERD), Ministry of Finance confirmed  to UNB. He said that the decision was taken to use the Chinese currency yuan for debt repayment at a meeting of the ERD last Thursday. Read more: Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project delayed by Russia-Ukraine War: Yeafesh Osman He said that although the decision has been taken to use Chinese currency to repay the loan, the transaction has not yet been completed. Payment details need to be clarified and resolved. Citing the diplomatic sensitivity of the matter, he declined to comment further. Dhaka's decision seems to have resolved the problem of making any payment to sanctions-hit Russia in the US dollar.  Read more: Return of Russian vessel carrying consignment for Rooppur won’t delay project work: Minister Last year, Western countries excluded Russia from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, or SWIFT, one of the world's payment systems, due to its military invasion in Ukraine. The Rooppur nuclear power plant is being built in Bangladesh with a loan from Russia. But due to sanctions on Russia, it is not possible to pay in US dollars.  

The Ministry of Finance has released cash incentives of Tk1,000 crore for Bangladesh's export-oriented knitwear sector. The ministry took the decision 11 days after receiving an application of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association's (BKMEA) for financial support for payment of salary and Eid bonus ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr. Read: Bangladesh Bank has revolutionised digitalisation of financial sector: Dr Atiur The request for cash assistance was made to the government on March 30 in a letter signed by the BKMEA president AKM Salim Osman. The letter stated that if the financial assistance is not given, the export sector may be in extreme trouble over the payment of salary and bonus to the workers before Eid. Bangladesh Bank has been instructed by the Ministry of Finance and the Comptroller General of Accounts to clear the amount of cash assistance. Read More: Dip in US market fails to dent apparel sector's growth momentum.

A team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is due to arrive in Dhaka on April 25 to discuss the progress in the use of the first tranche of its US$4.7 billion loan programme for Bangladesh and the release of the second installment. The Ministry of Finance sources told UNB on Wednesday that during its April 25 to May 2 visit the mission will hold meetings with the officials of the Ministry of Finance's Finance Division, Financial Institutions Division, Economic Relations Division (ERD), Bangladesh Bank, and National Board of Revenue (NBR). IMF Asia and Pacific Division Head Rahul Anand will lead the team comprising three to four members, the ministry sources said speaking on condition of anonymity. Read More: World Bank spring meeting begins in Washington today, announcement on $50bn allocation to face global crisis likely Bangladesh received the first tranche of US$476.2 million of the $4.7 billion loan approved by the IMF on January 30. The entire amount of the loan will be paid in seven installments in three and a half years until 2026. As such there are six more installments left. A senior official of the ministry said the IMF usually reviews various aspects of compliance before disbursing each tranche. Accordingly, an IMF team will come next September to review the fulfillment of loan conditions before disbursing the second tranche. Read More: Following IMF advice BBS to calculate inflation on a new base year from March Usually before each budget announcement, an IMF mission comes to Dhaka to discuss budget assistance. Now that the loan programme is going on with them, besides the budget assistance, the issues of fulfilling the loan conditions will also come up for discussion, said the sources.

The financial institution division (FID), a wing of the Ministry of Finance is formulating 'The Employment, Promotion and Posting Policy-2023' for the appointment and promotion of senior officers of state-owned commercial banks of Bangladesh. A committee led by the finance minister will appoint and promote people to these posts based on the basis of 100 marks in 8 categories, a source of the ministry told UNB on Sunday. Apart from this, the candidates will be scrutinized before the appointment. A committee of 6 members will be formed, led by the finance minister. Read: Investors’ financial literacy must to boost capital market: Commerce Minister According to the sources, contractual recruitment and posting for a maximum of three years will be made for the posts of Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) through selection from among the Managing Directors working in state-owned commercial banks, specialized banks, and financial institutions or through promotion from Deputy Managing Directors (DMDs). Sources of FID said recommendations will be made by the selection committee following the seniority, experience, report of the NSI and Anti-Corruption Commission, and the circular issued by Bangladesh Bank from time to time. Contractual appointments will be made to the posts of Managing Director and CEO with the recommendation of the committee with the approval of the Prime Minister. Read: Bangladesh earned $27.22b from exports in July-Dec amid new records A senior official of FID said apart from this, promotion, appointment, posting and inter-bank transfers to the post of Deputy Managing Director in specialized banks and financial institutions will be restricted to specialized banks and financial institutions. However, in the interest of the state, posting and inter-bank transfer can be made from among the deputy managing directors of state-owned commercial banks to the post of deputy managing directors in specialized banks and financial institutions. As per the policy, in the case of promotion, the candidates eligible for promotion-educational qualification mark 15, length of service in a bank or financial institution -5, banking diploma-5, professional degree-5, professional publications -5, employment record 5, annual confidential application -40 and interview -15), etc will be selected by the committee on the basis of their mark out of a total 100 marks. Read More: Govt to save Tk10,000 cr annually from importing edible oil: Agri Minister.

The Ministry of Finance on Tuesday said a team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will arrive in Bangladesh on October 26 to discuss the terms of a $4.5 billion loan to Bangladesh. The IMF team will stay in Dhaka for 10 days and will hold meetings with government officials of different offices, including Bangladesh Bank, and the Ministry of Finance. Meanwhile, the central bank governor Abdur Rouf Talukder said that he had received verbal assurance of getting the loan from the IMF during his recent Washington visit. Besides, the World Bank will provide another $1.0 billion separately as budgetary support for Bangladesh. However, the IMF is also expected to attach various conditions to the disbursement of the loans. Highlighting the overall situation of the economy, last July, Bangladesh wrote a letter to the IMF asking for a loan to maintain the balance of transactions and as budget support. Although the loan amount was not mentioned in the letter, sources said then that Bangladesh wanted a $4.5 billion loan as budget support.  

Speakers at a workshop on Monday called upon the government, development partners and private sector for enabling an environment for inclusive insurance and risk financing for the country’s sustainable development, leaving no one behind.  The event titled ‘Inception workshop on Country Diagnostic on Inclusive Insurance and Risk Finance for Bangladesh‘ “was organized at a hotel in Dhaka, by the Financial Institutions Division (FID), Ministry of Finance, Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Sheikh Mohammad Salim Ullah, Secretary, FID, Ministry of Finance, attended the workshop as the chief guest, while Mohammad Joynul Bari, Chairman, IDRA and Van Nguyen, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Bangladesh were the special guests.  Among others, Dr. Baqui Khalily, Chairman Risk Management Committee, Bank Asia and Abdullah Harun Pasha, Additional Secretary, FID, Ministry of Finance were also present.     Also read: Default loans cross over 126 crore: Finance Minister  Sheikh Mohammad Salim Ullah said, “There is an increasing need for decision makers to be involved in developing the insurance products. They also need to understand how climate change risks could affect their investments and how to mitigate those risks through proper planning, incentive structures and financial instruments. In this context, to achieve the mission of developing an efficient, inclusive and robust financial market and services system, FID is continuously working on many projects. Being a part of this project is another milestone for our institution to enter the groundwork in inert-related areas of insurance and risk finance. ” A.K.M. Mamunur Rashid, Climate Change Specialist, UNDP Bangladesh set the tone of the event.  He provided a brief overview of why inclusive insurance and risk financing are essential for Bangladesh to cover the risks of the most vulnerable communities. Jan Kellett, Team Leader, Insurance and Risk Finance Facility (IRFF), UNDP delivered a presentation on “Initiatives of the Insurance and Risk Finance Facility, UNDP and several best practices in the space of inclusive insurance and risk financing”.  Van Nguyen from UNDP said, “ I hope that under the leadership of FID, MoF and IDRA as the regulatory authorities, strong representation of the insurance industry and relevant key stakeholders – the country diagnostic will provide us with a clear direction for creating enabling environment for mainstreaming inclusive insurance and risk financing in the country. We are committed to continuing our support in the future to strengthen the legislative frameworks, institutional capacity and insurance industry for enhancing the resilience of the most vulnerable communities and achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Bangladesh.” Dr. M. Baqui Khalily, Chairman, Risk Management Committee, Bank Asia,  Nasir Uddin Ahmed, First Vice President, Bangladesh Insurance Association, Netai Dey Sarker, Director, Department of Disaster Management, Government of Bangladesh also spoke at the event. Also read:Commit 2% of GDP to climate finance each year: civil society organisations Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries due to its low-lying delta ecosystem that exposes the country to several disasters such as flash floods, monsoon floods, cyclones, storm surges, salinity intrusion, draught and unpredictable rainfall, said UNDP.  The government of Bangladesh (GoB) is keen to explore the insurance industry to consider it as a risk transfer mechanism. UNDP is conducting a country diagnostic that will document and assess the risks and vulnerability in Bangladesh considering the existing enabling environment and financial instruments.  The diagnostic study will highlight challenges, opportunities, and areas where UNDP can, together with partners, provide the necessary support for the government and private stakeholders to improve the enabling environment for inclusive insurance and risk financing.

Bangladesh has called on the international community for the continuation of international support measures for an extended period to make its upcoming graduation out of Least Developed Country (LDC) status smooth and sustainable.