Govt raises dollar bond yield rates

The government has enhanced the yield rates of US Dollar Premium Bond and US Dollar Investment Bond by up to 2.0 percentage points to help boost inflow of the foreign currency in the country.

To this effect the Internal Resources Division under the Ministry of Finance issued a circular on Sunday.

With the enhancement, the profit rate of US Dollar Premium Bond has been raised to 6.5 per cent from 4.5 per cent after one year of investment up to $100,000, 7.0 per cent from 5.0 per cent after two years and 7.5 per cent from 5.0 per cent after three years of maturity.

On the other hand, the yield rate of US Dollar Investment Bond has been enhanced to 5.0 per cent from the existing 4.0 per cent after one year of investment up to $100,000, 6.0 per cent from 4.0 per cent after two years and 6.5 per cent from 5.0 after three years of maturity.

The yield rates on the two bonds have also been raised proportionately for their investment beyond $100,000 for one, two and three-year terms.

It is expected that the enhancement of yield rates on investment of the foreign currency would help attract expatriate Bangladeshis to invest more in the country, thus giving a boost to the country's foreign currency reserve, which has now been under pressure.