Good morning. Here's what happened overnight and what you need to know today.
1.
WB Agrees to Lend $400m for Bankrolling Project: A latest World Bank financing worth US$400 million is expected for strengthening financial-safety net and crisis preparedness in Bangladesh, officials said about the funding that specially focuses tidying up the banking sector. The money will go for bankrolling the Financial Sector Support Project (FSSP) -II. Total tenure of the project will be five years. Under the proposal, Bangladesh will achieve at least six outcomes that include enacting Distressed Asset Management Act (DAMA) and stress test based on AQR (Asset Quality Review) for all the scheduled banks within the second and third years of the project. Non-performing loans (NPL) resolution guidelines will be issued and enforcement departments will be established at the central bank during the period under the review. (The Financial Express)
2.
A Third of NBFIs Hold Over 73% of Bad Loans: Twelve non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) out of a total 35 are holding nearly 73.5 percent of the sector's bad loans, according to Bangladesh Bank data, reflecting a precarious situation at those entities. As of June this year, soured loans at the 35 NBFIs in the country totalled a record Tk 24,711.28 crore, with Tk 18,164.5 crore concentrated in 12 NBFIs, central bank data showed. The NBFIs are Aviva Finance, FAS Finance, International Leasing, People's Leasing, Phoenix Finance, Premier Leasing, Union Capital, Bangladesh Industrial Finance Company Limited (BIFC), Fareast Finance, First Finance, Infrastructure Development Company Limited (Idcol) and Uttara Finance. According to industry insiders, the situation is dire for six of these NBFIs as nearly all their loans have soured. (The Daily Star)
3.
Saudi Recruits Highest from Bangladesh in 34 Months: Overseas employment is back on track after four months, with Saudi Arabia hiring 83,582 Bangladeshis in October, marking the highest job placement to a single country in 34 months. Around 1.04 lakh Bangladeshis travelled abroad for employment last month, according to data from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment, and Training (BMET). Foreign job placements had been in decline since June this year due to political turmoil surrounding a student-led uprising and the closure of the Malaysian labour market. (The Business Standard)
4.
Doing Business Environment Still Difficult Despite Regime Change: Japanese companies operating in Bangladesh continue to face difficulties in doing business due to procedural complexities even after the change of government. They pointed out complexities in tax systems, customs clearance, financial regulation and inconsistent policies, according to a survey conducted among the companies during September 19-29 last. Suggesting reforms in these areas, the survey report says taxation and customs are the most complicated procedures for the companies, followed by visa and work permit, financial and banking regulation, administrative procedure, inconsistent policies, corruption, and institutional problems. (The Financial Express)
5.
Govt Gears Up Efforts to Raise Rice Imports to Curb Prices: Against the backdrop of rising prices, the government has geared up efforts to buy rice from the international market to replenish stocks and ensure distributions under social safety net schemes to arrest market volatility. Since October 17, the Directorate General of Food has floated two international tenders to buy 1 lakh tonnes of rice from the international market. It also invited bids from suppliers to buy a total of 1 lakh tonnes of wheat in this fiscal year of 2024-25. (The Daily Star)
6.
AL Growth Myth: Now Per Capita Income May Drop by $500: The development myth created during the previous Awami League regime looks set to be busted as a committee formed by the interim government started revealing the tricks behind the fairy-tale data. Though the committee assigned to draft a comprehensive White Paper on the state of the country's economy has not yet made any formal disclosure, one member cited their initial findings that suggest last fiscal year's real per capita income would be $500 less than what the previous government claimed to be. Bangladesh's per capita income could stand at $2,200 in FY24, not $2,784 put by the official statistical agency in its provisional data, said the committee member. (The Business Standard)
----Saju Sarker
BBN/SSR/AD