Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- Foreigners have started investing in the treasury bond market after withdrawal of the one-year lock-in period for them on the government approved securities, officials said on Monday.
“The foreigners have invested their funds in both primary and secondary bond markets in Bangladesh,” a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country’s central bank, told BBN in Dhaka.
Foreigners, particularly institutions, have invested around BDT 9.0 billion in Bangladesh Government Treasury Bonds (BGTBs) since April last year through Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), Bangladesh.
Earlier on April 11 last, the government withdrew the lock-in provision on all bonds for both non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) and foreign nationals aiming to bring dynamism to the secondary securities market.
Currently, the BGTBs purchased by a non-resident may freely be resold to a resident in Bangladesh or to another non-resident.
Earlier, the BGTBs purchased by a non-resident could not be resold to a resident in Bangladesh within one year of purchase.
Three treasury bills (T-bills) are now being transacted through auctions to adjust the government's borrowing from the banking system. The T-bills have 91-day, 182-day and 364-day maturity periods.
On the other hand, five government bonds with duration of two, five, ten, fifteen and twenty years are being traded in the market.
BBN/SSR/AD-20Jan14-9:02 pm (BST)
