Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The central bank has started preparations to formulate its new monetary policy aimed at curbing inflation and helping the productive sectors for the remaining six months of this fiscal to achieve maximum economic growth.

Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Atiur Rahman will sit with the country’s leading business leaders today (Monday) as part of the preparation, the central bank officials said Sunday.

“We’ve sought opinions from the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka (MCCI) in this connection,” a BB senior official told BBN in Dhaka.

The official also said the central bank has planned to exchange views with the representatives of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) and the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

“We expect that the ninth monetary policy would be released by the second weeks of January next year,” the BB official said, adding that the central bank would finalise its new monetary policy in line with the stakeholders’ opinions.

“The overall economic growth performances and possible inflationary pressures on the economy will come up for discussion at Monday’s meeting,” another BB official said, adding that credit flow to the private sector would also be discussed at the meeting.

The country’s consumers’ price index (CPI) inflation slightly increased to 4.93 per cent on a point-to-point basis in August from 3.34 per cent in July this year because of rise in prices of both food and non-food items.

On the other hand, credit to the private sector is expected to grow at 16.70 per cent during fiscal 2009-10 (FY10) from an estimated 15 per cent of the previous fiscal, according to the existing monetary program.

But the business community believes that the private sector credit flow would not be enough to achieve the projected economic growth for this year.

“We’ll request the BB governor to re-fix the private sector credit growth target to ensure achievement of optimum economic growth through boosting the country’s overall business activities,” Senior Director of the FBCCI Abdul Haque said.

The first-ever monetary policy statement was formally published in January 2006 and the central bank of Bangladesh declared that it would publish it on half-yearly basis along with a half-yearly policy review.

BBN/SS/SI/AD-16November09-1:43 am (BST)