Country\\\'s overall imports set to rise in months ahead

The country's overall imports particularly for industrial sector are expected to rise significantly in the near future with the implementation of different infrastructure projects including the Padma Bridge.
"We expect that the overall imports, particularly for industrial sector, will increase in the coming months following implementation of different infrastructure development projects across the country," SK Sur Chowdhury, deputy governor of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE Wednesday.
The deputy governor also said the central bank has already taken preparations to face such import payment pressures.
Bangladesh will be able to settle seven months' import bills with the existing foreign exchange (forex) reserve, according to the BB officials.
The forex reserve rose to $21.07 billion Tuesday last, setting a new record, from $21.03 billion of the previous working day, according to the central bank statistics.
"Our reserve has increased gradually in the recent months due mainly to higher growth of export earnings, rising trend of inward remittances and efficient fund management by the BB," Mr. Sur noted.
Talking to the FE, another BB official said the private sector, particularly corporate entities, are allowed to borrow from overseas sources aiming to ease the pressures on forex reserve in Bangladesh.
The government signed a deal with a Chinese firm Tuesday for the construction of the main part of the Padma Bridge.
Mobilisation of engineering equipment and materials for of the Padma Bridge construction is set to start within a couple of months after completing official formalities, according to the officials.
Besides, the government singed an agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Monday for US$ 1.18 billion loan package for five projects.
As per the agreement, the projects will be implemented in power, energy, city governance, flood management and agriculture productivity sectors.
Meanwhile, the country's overall industrial imports grew by nearly 13 per cent in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year (FY), 2013-14, as political situation has improved gradually, the central banker said.
The actual industrial imports in terms of settlement of letters of credit (LCs) increased by 12.69 per cent to US$ 21.78 billion during the July-April period of FY '14 from $19.33 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, the BB data showed.
On the other hand, opening of LCs, generally known as import orders, rose by 9.54 per cent to $23.95 billion in the first 10 months of FY '14 from $21.87 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
"It's a satisfactory level of industrial imports considering the country's overall socio-economic condition," the BB official noted.
The capital machinery imports increased by 21.14 per cent during the period under review, while import of industrial raw materials grew by 11.22 per cent, the BB official added.
The capital machinery imports rose to $2.09 billion in the first 10 months of the FY '14 from $1.73 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal.
The import of industrial raw materials reached $12.17 billion in the July-April period of the FY '14 from $10.94 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
"The imports of capital machinery, particularly for energy and power, leather and tannery, steel and engineering and pharmaceutical industries have increased in the period under review to meet the growing demand for the machinery," a senior official of a leading private commercial bank told the FE.
He also said environment for long-term investment is yet to prevail as businessmen still maintain a wait-and-see policy to avoid financial risks. "Uncertainty is still prevailing in the prospective investors' minds," he added.
"We believe that the entrepreneurs would be encouraged to invest on long-term basis if the government can ensure adequate gas and power supply to the industrial units," the private banker noted.