The government is going to issue four more foreign-currency bonds for the non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) who live in the European countries to make risk-free investment on high stakes.
Officials said the proposed Euro Premium Bond, Euro Investment Bond, Pound Sterling Premium Bond, and Pound Sterling Investment Bond are under processing.
The Ministry of Finance has already sought opinion from the central bank in this connection, a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told The Financial Express Tuesday.
"We're working on the issue," the central banker said, adding that the BB may submit its opinion to the ministry by next week.
Talking to the FE, another BB official said the government is set to issue the new bonds in the two currencies of Europe to meet the desire of NRBs in the 28 member-countries of the European Union.
"The NRBs will easily avoid currency conversion loss or gain after introduction of the new bonds," the BB official explained.
He also said the proposed foreign-currency bonds may help in boosting flow of foreign exchanges into Bangladesh in future.
"The NRBs may earn more through investing their money in the risk-free savings instruments due to their high interest rates," the central banker observed. The yield rates on deposits in the US dollar are now hovering between 0.25 per cent and 1.0 per cent on the global market.
Currently, Bangladesh maintains two types of foreign-currency bonds-US Dollar Premium Bond and US Dollar Investment Bond.
Besides, interested Bangladeshi nationals working abroad may purchase the Wage Earner Development Bonds in the foreign exchange.
The BB officials also said the government as well as the central bank is now trying to boost the sale of these bonds aiming to increase inflow of the dollar currency, which will be used in different development projects in Bangladesh.
The government earlier took a number of measures to boost sales of two dollar bonds and the local currency-denominated Wage Earner Development Bond in a bid to build up the foreign-exchange reserves.
The finance ministry has already relaxed provisions on the three bonds, allowing NRBs to buy these instruments sans attestation by any Bangladesh embassy.
The government introduced the bonds on November 1, 2002 to provide the highest profit or interest to the NRBs and also nationals having his or her origin in Bangladesh.
   siddique.islam@gmail.com
Four fresh forex bonds to hit market soon
Siddique Islam | Published: September 30, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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