LC openings rise in 15 days of Nov

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FE Report
The openings of fresh letters of credit (LCs) against imports increased, in valued terms, by 14.18 per cent during first 15-day of November '07 against first 16-day of the same month of the previous year.
The import LCs worth US$967.04 million were opened during the period as against $846.93 million of the corresponding period of the last year, according to the Bangladesh Bank (BB) statistics released Sunday.
The opening of import LCs of some essential items including rice, wheat, sugar and milk food rose during the period, official sources said.
The opening of LCs for rice increased by $0.34 million in term of value, for wheat by $6.90 million, for sugar by $4.96 million and for milk food by $1.24 million, the BB's data showed.
However, the opening of LCs against imports shot up by 19.62 per cent to $7.793 billion during the July-November 15, 2007 period of the current fiscal over that of the same period of the previous fiscal.
"We are hopeful about the rising trend of opening of LCs against imports continuing in the near future to meet domestic demands for some import items," a BB senior official told the FE Sunday.
He also said the businessmen are moving forward for opening fresh LCs against imports as the prices of commodities in the global market are maintaining a steady trend.
"The upward trend will continue due to restoration of confidence among the members of the business community following some measures taken by the government," the official explained.
On March 12 last, the BB ordered the banks to promote businesses, particularly small and medium ones, for opening fresh letters of credit (LCs) against imports to ensure sufficient supply of commodities in the markets.
The central bank also directed the banks to be flexible while opening fresh LCs for import of essential commodities.
Meanwhile, most commercial banks are trying to increase the opening fresh LCs for essential items in line with the BB's directives.