The central bank also extended loan tenures for institutions with existing medium- and short-term agreements to import such machinery, while prohibiting any rise in interest rates.
A circular issued by the foreign exchange and policy department of the central bank said that the directive will be applicable only to factories within export processing zones (EPZs), private EPZs, economy zones, hi-tech parks and government-declared specialised zones.
Registration with the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) and the textile department has been made mandatory to avail of the benefits.
All authorised dealer banks in the country have been instructed to take initiatives to offer additional incentives for import of capital equipment.
An earlier circular by the bank said the import-dependent industrial sector, which has borne losses due to the appreciation of the US dollar, has been given up to eight years to repay the loan. These loans can be calculated separately and repaid on a monthly or quarterly basis with a one-year break.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)