Settle sick-industries issue as per BoI suggestions
Thursday, 19 November 2009
FE Report
Industry leaders Tuesday urged the government to settle the issue of 'listed sick-industries' following the Board of Investment's (BoI) suggestions.
Only a few listed industries among the total 2910 sick-industries have received promised government support while fate of the rest remained uncertain over a decade, they said demanding immediate solution to the issue once and for all.
"Despite several notifications and repeated promises, listed sick industry owners remained deprived of any government-promised assistance," president of Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) Shahedul Islam Helal told the FE after an urgent meeting with sick-industry leaders at his Chamber office.
A representative from the country's apex chamber body - Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) - was also present at the meeting.
The issue has been kept hanging since 1991 when a cell was formed to make a list of sick industries for rehabilitation and revitalisation. BOI in a recommendation issued in July 2006 requested the central bank to keep the owners of the listed sick-industries exempted from the loan defaulters' list.
In response, the Bangladesh Bank directed the private commercial banks to go for 'arbitration' prior to proceeding towards traditional "Bankruptcy Law" and "Artho Rin Law".
"But the directive, as like many others over this particular issue, remained on paper mostly," Mr. Helal said.
Explaining the difficulties due to the unsolved issue, Vice President of Bangladesh Sick Industries Association (BSIA) Nasir Uddin A Ferdous said their names in the defaulters' list hampers setting up of new business that could help the owners mitigate their losses.
"A vibrant industry might become sick because of many reasons, which could be political, geographical or socio-economical," he said adding that sick industry owners should be given the chance to set up new business taking advantage of available bank loan.
As a result of keeping the issue unsolved for so long, he said, the industry owners are not only facing immense financial difficulties and profit loss but the nation is also being deprived of possible industrial growth.
If the government only considers wiping off the loans of these sick industries and provide an additional Tk 5.0 billion loan, it would reactivate industry worth Tk 50 billion, providing employment to 25,00,000 people, he explained.
Industry leaders Tuesday urged the government to settle the issue of 'listed sick-industries' following the Board of Investment's (BoI) suggestions.
Only a few listed industries among the total 2910 sick-industries have received promised government support while fate of the rest remained uncertain over a decade, they said demanding immediate solution to the issue once and for all.
"Despite several notifications and repeated promises, listed sick industry owners remained deprived of any government-promised assistance," president of Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) Shahedul Islam Helal told the FE after an urgent meeting with sick-industry leaders at his Chamber office.
A representative from the country's apex chamber body - Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) - was also present at the meeting.
The issue has been kept hanging since 1991 when a cell was formed to make a list of sick industries for rehabilitation and revitalisation. BOI in a recommendation issued in July 2006 requested the central bank to keep the owners of the listed sick-industries exempted from the loan defaulters' list.
In response, the Bangladesh Bank directed the private commercial banks to go for 'arbitration' prior to proceeding towards traditional "Bankruptcy Law" and "Artho Rin Law".
"But the directive, as like many others over this particular issue, remained on paper mostly," Mr. Helal said.
Explaining the difficulties due to the unsolved issue, Vice President of Bangladesh Sick Industries Association (BSIA) Nasir Uddin A Ferdous said their names in the defaulters' list hampers setting up of new business that could help the owners mitigate their losses.
"A vibrant industry might become sick because of many reasons, which could be political, geographical or socio-economical," he said adding that sick industry owners should be given the chance to set up new business taking advantage of available bank loan.
As a result of keeping the issue unsolved for so long, he said, the industry owners are not only facing immense financial difficulties and profit loss but the nation is also being deprived of possible industrial growth.
If the government only considers wiping off the loans of these sick industries and provide an additional Tk 5.0 billion loan, it would reactivate industry worth Tk 50 billion, providing employment to 25,00,000 people, he explained.