DBH to float mutual fund worth Tk 1.0 billion
Sunday, 26 July 2009
FE Report
Delta Brac Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DBH) has decided to float a mutual fund to the tune of Tk 1.0 billion subject to the approval of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
"We have recently applied to the SEC for the permission of the mutual fund with LR Global Ltd as the asset management company. In addition DBH has also recently started to maintain its own actively managed portfolio fund of marketable securities," Q. M. Shariful Ala, managing director of DBH told the FE in an interview Thursday.
DBH is the only local Financial Institution to have received a credit rating of AAA (Triple A) for the last three consecutive years. DBH was listed on Dhaka Stock Exchange and Chittagong Stock Exchange in April 2008 and is now one of the blue chip stocks.
Commenting on the future growth of the country's real estate sector, the DBH chief executive said the latest budgetary provision of whitening undisclosed money through investing in some selected sectors including the real estate will obviously bring some positive developments.
He, however, urged the Bangladesh Bank to continue its 'housing refinancing scheme' as it got a tremendous response from the general public
Mr. Shariful Ala said the demand for home loans is currently about Tk. 10.00 billion in a year which shows an increase of 20 percent each year. And this home loan demand is coming mostly from the middle class people, he added.
Mr. Ala said the basic principle of home financing is simple-lending must be done according to repayment capacity, which is on a cash flow basis and not on asset values.
"This may be conservative and cautious approach, but it pays in the long run. This is also the lending philosophy that DBH has imbibed since its inception," he said.
Looking back to early days, he said, "when there was no one else in the country in the private sector in housing finance, DBH took it as challenge to contribute to increase home ownership in the country".
Mr. Shariful Ala and his team's innovative approach have resulted in DBH becoming the leading home financing institution in the private sector. Presently, DBH had funds under management in excess of Taka 23.80 billion and remained the market leader in terms of retail home loan disbursements during the recent years.
Despite the downturn in real estate sector, DBH could increase the loan portfolio to Tk 11.47 billion at the end of 2009.
The DBH top boss said total cumulative disbursement of housing loan of the company stood at Tk. 18.62 billion at the end of 2008.
These figures grew at a rate of 55 percent over the previous year's annual disbursement highlighting the resilience of the Company in a difficult market, he said.
Mr. Ala, a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales secured first class Honours Bachelors degree from the London School of Economics, University of London.
He has more than 28 years of varied experience working primarily in financial services industry both at home and abroad.
Delta Brac Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DBH) has decided to float a mutual fund to the tune of Tk 1.0 billion subject to the approval of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
"We have recently applied to the SEC for the permission of the mutual fund with LR Global Ltd as the asset management company. In addition DBH has also recently started to maintain its own actively managed portfolio fund of marketable securities," Q. M. Shariful Ala, managing director of DBH told the FE in an interview Thursday.
DBH is the only local Financial Institution to have received a credit rating of AAA (Triple A) for the last three consecutive years. DBH was listed on Dhaka Stock Exchange and Chittagong Stock Exchange in April 2008 and is now one of the blue chip stocks.
Commenting on the future growth of the country's real estate sector, the DBH chief executive said the latest budgetary provision of whitening undisclosed money through investing in some selected sectors including the real estate will obviously bring some positive developments.
He, however, urged the Bangladesh Bank to continue its 'housing refinancing scheme' as it got a tremendous response from the general public
Mr. Shariful Ala said the demand for home loans is currently about Tk. 10.00 billion in a year which shows an increase of 20 percent each year. And this home loan demand is coming mostly from the middle class people, he added.
Mr. Ala said the basic principle of home financing is simple-lending must be done according to repayment capacity, which is on a cash flow basis and not on asset values.
"This may be conservative and cautious approach, but it pays in the long run. This is also the lending philosophy that DBH has imbibed since its inception," he said.
Looking back to early days, he said, "when there was no one else in the country in the private sector in housing finance, DBH took it as challenge to contribute to increase home ownership in the country".
Mr. Shariful Ala and his team's innovative approach have resulted in DBH becoming the leading home financing institution in the private sector. Presently, DBH had funds under management in excess of Taka 23.80 billion and remained the market leader in terms of retail home loan disbursements during the recent years.
Despite the downturn in real estate sector, DBH could increase the loan portfolio to Tk 11.47 billion at the end of 2009.
The DBH top boss said total cumulative disbursement of housing loan of the company stood at Tk. 18.62 billion at the end of 2008.
These figures grew at a rate of 55 percent over the previous year's annual disbursement highlighting the resilience of the Company in a difficult market, he said.
Mr. Ala, a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales secured first class Honours Bachelors degree from the London School of Economics, University of London.
He has more than 28 years of varied experience working primarily in financial services industry both at home and abroad.