Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Bangladesh’s overall industrial imports grew by nearly 13 per cent in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year (FY), 2013-14, as political situation has improved gradually, the central banker said.
The actual industrial imports in terms of settlement of letters of credit (LCs) increased by 12.69 per cent to US$ 21.78 billion during the July-April period of FY ’14 from $19.33 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, according to the central bank statistics.
On the other hand, opening of LCs, generally known as import orders, rose by 9.54 per cent to $23.95 billion in the first 10 months of FY ’14 from $21.87 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
“It’s a satisfactory level of industrial imports considering the country’s overall socio-economic condition,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told BBN in Dhaka.
The capital machinery imports increased by 21.14 per cent during the period under review, while import of industrial raw materials grew by 11.22 per cent, according to the BB official.
The capital machinery imports rose to $2.09 billion in the first 10 months of the FY ’14 from $1.73 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal.
The import of industrial raw materials reached $12.17 billion in the July-April period of the FY ’14 from $10.94 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
"The imports of capital machinery, particularly for energy and power, leather and tannery, steel and engineering and pharmaceutical industries have increased in the period under review to meet the growing demand for the machinery," a senior official of a leading commercial bank told BBN.
He also said environment for long-term investment is yet to prevail as businessmen still maintain a wait-and-see policy to avoid financial risks. “Uncertainty is still prevailing in the prospective investors’ minds.”
BBN/SSR/AD-20June14-11:55 pm (BST)
