ADB signs deals with 12 banks to boost export-import trade
Friday, 18 December 2009
FE Report
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed deals with 12 local private commercial banks for expansion of its Trade Finance Facilitation Programme (TFFP) in Bangladesh.
Under the agreement, the banks will be able to offer more trade financing support to their clients particularly exporters and importers through international banks.
The banks are Bank Asia Ltd., BASIC Bank Ltd., Dhaka Bank Ltd., Dutch Bangla Bank Ltd., Eastern Bank Ltd., Export Import Bank of Bangladesh Ltd., National Bank Ltd., Premier Bank Ltd., Prime Bank Ltd., Southeast Bank Ltd., Standard Bank Ltd., and United Commercial Bank Ltd.
The signing ceremony was held at a local hotel Thursday morning. Chief executives and senior officials of the banks concerned were present on the occasion.
"We've taken the TFFP aiming to increase trade volume regionally as well as globally," Steven Beck, head of Trade Finance Capital Markets and Financial Sectors Division and Private Sector Operations Department of the ADB, told the FE.
The TFFP was set up in 2004 and was expanded to a $1.0 billion programme in March this year after ADB perceived a growing and urgent need to help address the lack of finance that was holding back trade, particularly in developing economies.
Under the programme, the triple-A rated ADB provides loans and guarantees through, and in conjunction with, local and international banks to back trade transactions.
"We've planned to include more commercial banks of Bangladesh under the TFFP aiming to facilitate foreign trade," Paul Heytens, country director for ADB's Bangladesh Resident Mission, told the FE.
He also said some firms in Bangladesh, particularly smaller companies, find it difficult to get hold of the trade finance they need to buy key components and final goods from overseas or to ensure timely payment for products they are selling abroad.
The TFFP is already active in Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
The TFFP is scheduled to expand in the Philippines, Mongolia and Uzbekistan in the first quarter of 2010, to be followed in Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, to be followed in all other Central Asian countries over the course of the rest of 2010, the Manila-based multilateral donor agency said.
The TFFP supports developing countries' banks by providing resources to support trade and facilitating partnerships with international banks. "It supports small and medium -sized firms by providing guarantees and loans and promotes regional cooperation," the ADB added.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed deals with 12 local private commercial banks for expansion of its Trade Finance Facilitation Programme (TFFP) in Bangladesh.
Under the agreement, the banks will be able to offer more trade financing support to their clients particularly exporters and importers through international banks.
The banks are Bank Asia Ltd., BASIC Bank Ltd., Dhaka Bank Ltd., Dutch Bangla Bank Ltd., Eastern Bank Ltd., Export Import Bank of Bangladesh Ltd., National Bank Ltd., Premier Bank Ltd., Prime Bank Ltd., Southeast Bank Ltd., Standard Bank Ltd., and United Commercial Bank Ltd.
The signing ceremony was held at a local hotel Thursday morning. Chief executives and senior officials of the banks concerned were present on the occasion.
"We've taken the TFFP aiming to increase trade volume regionally as well as globally," Steven Beck, head of Trade Finance Capital Markets and Financial Sectors Division and Private Sector Operations Department of the ADB, told the FE.
The TFFP was set up in 2004 and was expanded to a $1.0 billion programme in March this year after ADB perceived a growing and urgent need to help address the lack of finance that was holding back trade, particularly in developing economies.
Under the programme, the triple-A rated ADB provides loans and guarantees through, and in conjunction with, local and international banks to back trade transactions.
"We've planned to include more commercial banks of Bangladesh under the TFFP aiming to facilitate foreign trade," Paul Heytens, country director for ADB's Bangladesh Resident Mission, told the FE.
He also said some firms in Bangladesh, particularly smaller companies, find it difficult to get hold of the trade finance they need to buy key components and final goods from overseas or to ensure timely payment for products they are selling abroad.
The TFFP is already active in Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
The TFFP is scheduled to expand in the Philippines, Mongolia and Uzbekistan in the first quarter of 2010, to be followed in Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan, to be followed in all other Central Asian countries over the course of the rest of 2010, the Manila-based multilateral donor agency said.
The TFFP supports developing countries' banks by providing resources to support trade and facilitating partnerships with international banks. "It supports small and medium -sized firms by providing guarantees and loans and promotes regional cooperation," the ADB added.