PC to take final decision on Rupali sale deal soon

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FE Report
The Privatisation Commission (PC) is likely to take the final decision soon about the sale deal on largely state-owned Rupali Bank (RB) with Saudi prince Bandar Bin Mohammad Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud, the highest bidder.
PC sources said representative of the prince Sir Frank Peters is scheduled to meet with the prince soon to inform him about the latest situation.
The PC in its last letter to the prince had urged him to inform the PC whether or not he would sign the final deal on the RB.
"The PC will not wait for an indefinite period for signing of the final deal as the stock market investors as well as the officials and employees of the bank are getting frustrated," said PC chairman Abu Solaiman Chowdhury Thursday.
"I still look at the matter positively as Sir Frank Peters has given a positive hint," the PC chairman said.
Quoting the message of Sir Fran Peters, the PC chairman told the FE that a few days ago the representative of the prince informed him that they (the prince's representatives) "have been working on fund transfer ahead of the final deal."
But, the PC will sign the final deal only when the amount worth more than US$ 458 million is received as payment for the transfer of the bank, the PC chairman said.
According to sources, the PC sent a number of letters in the recent past, but the prince, in most instances, ignored those.
The PC sources said a few days ago the Saudi prince sent a letter to the PC seeking to know about the mode of payment, but he did not elaborate further.
The final deal for handing over the largely state-owned Rupali Bank was scheduled to be completed by the end of May last.
According to a source in the finance ministry, the government is waiting for a tentative date of arrival of prince Bandar Bin Mohammad Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud to sign the final deal on his takeover of the bank.
Meanwhile, the prices of the Rupali Bank shares have declined on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) due to the delay in handing over of the ownership of the bank to the prince.
On Thursday, the Rupali Bank share was traded at Tk 1442. Its prices soared to the level of Tk 2400 following the news about the transfer of the bank to the Saudi buyer.