Aiming to increase environmentally-friendly initiatives, the Bangladesh Bank has announced a refinancing scheme formed for eco-friendly products, projects, and initiatives. With funding of BDT 4,00,00,00,000 , affordable loans will now be available for pre-certified green industries, green buildings, and buildings featuring green initiatives. Customers must have first obtained final certification before being eligible to apply […]

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has pledged $3.5 billion to support the expansion of Dhaka’s metro system, specifically the MRT-5 southern route. This funding includes a $2.5 billion loan from ADB and $1.0 billion in credit from other foreign lenders as co-financers. The Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) will oversee the construction of the […]

In light of the notable success achieved through the completion of the long-term financing facility (“LTFF”) program under the Financial Sector Support Project, the Bangladesh Bank (“BB”) has decided to extend its provision of long-term financing support to private sector firms, particularly those in export-oriented manufacturing industries. The primary objectives of this initiative are to […]

The State Bank of Vietnam has recently issued a new version of the regulations relating to obtaining foreign loans by Vietnamese borrowers. Several drafts of the regulation were published earlier.  This update summarizes some important terms of the new regulation as compared to such drafts and the previously effective regime.

The Department of Trade under the Ministry of Commerce (“MOC”) announced via Bulletin 11/2023 dated 28 June 2023 (“Bulletin 11”) and subsequent Bulletin 13/2023 dated 6 July 2023 (“Bulletin 13”) that starting from 1 July 2023, exporters exporting pulses, corn, sesame, and peanuts no longer have to make advance payments on their export earnings. Previously, […]

Under Notification 15/2023 issued on 13 July 2023 (“Notification 15”), the Central Bank of Myanmar (“CBM”) has lowered the percentage of export earnings that must be converted into Myanmar Kyats (“MMK”) from 65% to 50%. The original percentage of 65% was set on 5August 2022 by the CBM under Notification 36/2022, which required that exporters […]

The Bangladesh Bank has introduced a loan rescheduling facility aimed at providing relief to the country’s shipbuilding industry, which has been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the volatility in the global economy. This policy allows banks to reschedule defaulted loans for borrowers in this sector, granting them a period of 10 years, including […]

Aiming to facilitate foreign exchange transactions related to foreign investments in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Bank has decided that authorized dealers (ADs) are permitted to retain foreign currency received from foreign investors. ADs can open foreign currency (FC) accounts in the names of local companies, which will issue shares in compliance with regulatory instructions. Under the […]

The Bank Deposit Insurance (Amendment) Bill has been introduced to strengthen measures aimed at safeguarding the interests of depositors. Provisions include that if a bank or financial institution fails to pay premiums to the central bank’s Deposit Protection Trust Fund for two consecutive terms, they will be prohibited from accepting deposits. Previously, the regulation did […]

When banks send remittances of income in favor of non-resident institutions, they have been deducting tax under Section 56 of the Income Tax Ordinance 1984 at different rates for different customers. In an effort to standardize tax deductions for digital marketing (income from ads on the internet and social media) and broadcast advertising (income from […]

Under the 2020 amendment of the Companies Act 1994, all public limited companies must add “PLC” at the end of their company name. Therefore, they have to modify their memorandum and articles of association accordingly. In order to identify public limited companies, Bangladesh Bank has issued a circular based The circular issued by the Bangladesh […]

EDF loans from the Bangladesh Bank are repayable by authorized dealer (AD) banks within 180 days from the date of disbursement, which can be extended up to 270 days. The circular specifies that for loans extended beyond the 180 days, the interest rate prevailing at the time of such extension will be applicable for the […]

OBOs are allowed to place funds with their DBUs in an amount up to 25% of the total regulatory capital of the bank to settle import payments for capital machinery, industrial raw materials, and other imports by the government. The circular specifies a relaxation of the limit to bring further flexibility for external transactions, allowing […]

Bangladesh Bank stated that it has found that some companies, individuals, and firms that secured loans under the EDF against shipment orders but failed to repatriate the export proceeds were still accessing credit facilities under the EFPF. Per the circular, such companies, individuals, and firms will not be eligible for any new loans against the […]

Aiming to mitigate cyber risks and maintain the overall stability of the financial sector, the Bangladesh Bank has issued guidelines on cloud computing, which apply to banks, non-banking financial institutions, mobile financial service providers, payment and settlement systems, payment system operators, and other financial service providers. The guidelines aim to ensure business continuity, resilience, and […]

In order to stop the long delays in the repayment of EDF loans, the Bangladesh Bank will charge penalty interest (compensation under Shariah-based Islamic banking) at 4% above the prevailing interest rate to authorized dealers (“AD”) on all overdue EDF loan repayment amounts for the period they are overdue. In addition, the circular specifies that […]

Aiming to maintain an uninterrupted flow of money required for power generation to import fuel oil and other raw materials in the power sector, any organization or group generating power can borrow any amount from a bank. The central bank has waived, for the purpose of lending to electricity producers, the provision of Section 26B(1) […]

The Bangladesh Bank has instructed authorized dealer banks and money changers to verify the amount of foreign currency a customer has spent against their passport before endorsing fresh foreign currency. As per the circular, before releasing foreign currency under a traveler’s passport, banks and money changers must verify the number of dollars spent by the […]

Aiming to facilitate inward remittances, the threshold for having to declare inward remittances on Form C has been raised from US$10,000 to US$20,000 or its equivalent. In addition, no declaration is required for inward remittances sent by Bangladeshi nationals working abroad.

Banks are required to maintain a general provision of 1% on unclassified amounts for loans to brokerage houses, merchant banks, and stock dealers. Previously it was 2%.