89pc of foreign grants spent in 2012-13 fiscal: Muhith

Some 89 per cent of foreign grants was spent in the last fiscal year (2012-13), Finance minister AMA Muhith told Parliament Wednesday. “Of the Tk 185 billion foreign grants allocated for 283 projects in 2012-13 fiscal year, Tk 163.95 billion could be spent, which is some 88.62 per cent of the total grants,” he said replying to a tabled starred question of Mohamma Elias MP (Cox’s Bazar-1), according to a news agency. In reply to another starred question from Hazi Md Selim MP (Dhaka-7), the Finance Minister said banks and financial institutions disbursed industrial term credits of some Tk 27.14 billion in the first nine months of the current fiscal year (2013-14). Of them, he said, 39 private commercial banks disbursed some Tk 17.51 billion, while four state-owned commercial banks Tk 220 million, nine foreign banks Tk 50 million, four specialized banks Tk 4.93 billion and 28 other financial institutions another Tk 4.43 billion. Islami Bank of Bangladesh distributed the highest Tk 9.60 billion, while Al-Arafah Islami Bank the second highest Tk 2.84 billion and specialised BASIC Bank Ltd the third highest Tk 2.68 billion.
Answering a starred question of Morshed Alam MP (Noakhali-2), Muhith said the net profit of three Bangladesh banks through their seven foreign branches is some Tk 390 million in 2013. Sonali Bank earned net profit of Tk 25.9 million through its Calcutta and Siliguri branches in India, while Janata Bank Tk 208.2 million through its four branches in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Al Ain in UAE, and AB Bank Tk 155 million through its Mumbai branch.