Rejaul Karim Byron

Private sector employers have to contribute 50 percent of their employees’ monthly instalments under the universal pension scheme, said a gazette from the finance ministry yesterday.

The banking sector’s total risky loans amounted to Tk 377,922 crore at the end of last year, in a development that makes for a sobering reading of the actual health of this vital sector of the economy.

Saved Tk 15,000cr against target of at least Tk 23,000cr last fiscal year

Bangladesh has failed to meet two of the six quantitative targets set for the first half of 2023 by the International Monetary Fund for the $4.7 billion loan, with one of them being a mandatory condition.

Inflation slowed down slightly in July but not enough to bring any relief to the urban poor and the lower middle-class in Dhaka and Chattogram, who have been battling a cost of living crisis for a good year now.

In fiscal 2019-20, the Dhaka Central Jail authorities forked out Tk 9.11 crore to procure rice for inmates. That rice turned out to be unfit for consumption.

Though the government has allocated a large amount of subsidy to the power sector, it is unable to disburse the amount as per demand due to narrow fiscal space.

Short-term foreign debt in the private sector fell to $13.66 billion in June, down 3 percent from $14.08 billion in May, as repayments outpaced new loans during the period, according to Bangladesh Bank.

The cabinet committee on economic affairs yesterday approved the draft of the production sharing contract (PSC) for offshore gas exploration that Petrobangla insists ensures a fair deal for both the government and the international oil companies (IOCs).

Global rating agency Standard and Poor’s yesterday downgraded Bangladesh’s long-term rating outlook from stable to negative on the back of a continued decline in foreign exchange reserves despite an ongoing IMF programme and lower import bills.

After the sudden drop in Bangladesh’s official foreign exchange reserves on July 13, another rude shock awaits: as per IMF conditions, the banking sector’s distressed assets will be published, in what would make for a grim reading about the industry’s health.

The private sector’s shrinking appetite for foreign loans is likely to put further pressure on the country’s strained dollar stockpile, according to bankers and experts.

The government is going to undertake a project under which modern urban facilities will reach 15 villages under 15 upazilas of as many districts.

CAG audit finds

The BSCIC suffered a loss of Tk 25.32 crore in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 as it did not realise dues related to service charges and lease money from a number of plot owners in several industrial estates, according to an audit report.

Most of the projects in the power sector are not completed on time, with some seeing as much as 300 percent cost overruns, said a recent report of the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED).

The finance ministry has prepared a draft rule for the Universal Pension Scheme (UPS) delineating four separate schemes for both local and non-resident Bangladeshis.

Says IMED in a report on the power sector

In 2012, the government took on a Tk 541 crore project to convert 8,500 post offices in rural areas to e-centres for the communities.

The government has formed a two-member National Pension Authority (NPA) to execute the Universal Pension Scheme formulated to provide pension services for the common people.