Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recently unveiled a set of stimulus packages by allocating Tk 67,750 crore, taking the total financial assistance to address the impact of the novel coronavirus on Bangladesh’s economy to Tk 72,750 crore—nearly 2.52 per cent of the gross domestic product. Earlier, she had declared a Tk 5,000 crore emergency incentive package.
The government will simultaneously implement four programmes under the plan in phases categorised as immediate, short and long. The four programmes are: increasing public expenditure, formulating a stimulus package, widening social safety net coverage and increasing monetary supply.Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recently unveiled a set of stimulus packages by allocating Tk 67,750 crore, taking the total financial assistance to address the impact of the novel coronavirus on Bangladesh's economy to Tk 72,750 crore-nearly 2.52 per cent of the gross domestic product. Earlier, she had declared a Tk 5,000 crore emergency incentive package.#
The first of the four packages, involving Tk 30,000 crore, will be provided to affected industries and service sector organisations as working capital through banks as low-interest loan, she said in a televised address.
Commercial banks would provide the amount as loans from their own funds to concerned industries and enterprises on the basis of bank-client relations, she said.
"The interest rate of this lending facility will be 9 percent. Concerned industries and business organisations will pay 4.5 per cent interest, while the government would pay the remaining half to banks as subsidy," she was quoted as saying by Bangla media reports.
Under the second package, small and medium enterprises, including cottage industries, would get Tk 20,000 crore as working capital. "The interest rate of this lending facility will be 9 per cent and the concerned industries and business organisations will pay 4 per cent interest of that loan, while the government will provide the remaining 5 per cent as subsidy," the prime minister said.
The third package, she said, is meant to enhance Bangladesh Bank's Export Development Fund -- from $3.5 billion to $5 billion—to facilitate raw material imports under back-to-back letter of credit.
The prime minister said under the fourth package, the central bank will introduce a new credit facility of Tk 5,000 crore as ‘Pre-shipment Credit Refinance Scheme’ and its interest would be 7 per cent.
She said local products alongside the export sector would deserve special attention to cope with the possible global and domestic economic crisis caused by the pandemic.
Generating employment will be given priority in public expenditure while foreign tours and lavish expenditure will be discouraged.
Some low interest credit facilities will be launched through the banking system mainly to rejuvenate the economic activities, keeping the job of the workers and employees as well as the competitive edge of the entrepreneurs intact.
The coverage of the existing social safety net would be further widened to fulfil the basic needs of people living below the poverty line, day labourers and people who are engaged in non-formal works.
Notable programmes are distributing food materials free of cost, selling rice at Tk 10 per kg, distributing cash among targeted communities, widening the coverage of old-age allowance, widow allowance and allowance for the women oppressed by husbands at 100 most poverty-prone sub-districts, she added.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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