BSC takes massive procurement plan to become profitable entity: Minister

CHITTAGONG, Mar 15: Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) has approved 10 per cent cash dividend for its shareholders for the fiscal year 2016-17.

The approval came in the 40th annual general meeting (AGM) of the BSC held in the port city today, presided over by its Chairman and Shipping Minister M Shajahan Khan.

BSC Managing Director Commodore Yahya Syed, Economic Adviser to Finance Division of the Ministry of Finance Saiful Alam Hamidi, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce AHM Ahasan, BSC Executive Director, Finance Begum Yeasmin, BSC Executive Director, Technical and Commercial (additional charge), Md Saeed Ullah, Independent Director Md Abdul Quddus, Board Secretary Nawab Aslam Habib and shareholders were present in the meeting.

In its report, the management said the BSC earned Tk 1.1799 billion in the financial year with the operational income of Tk 821.5 million and non-operational and other income of Tk 358.4 million.

On the other hand, the BSC's expenditure was Tk 1.0935 billion during the period -- operational expenditure Tk 545.0 million and, administrative and maintenance expenditure Tk 548.5 million.

The net profit of the state-owned shipping line operator was Tk 67.2 million as against that of Tk 47.9 million in the previous financial year.

Minister Shajahan Khan said that the BSC was in the process to procure six new ships - three bulk carriers and three product oil tankers -- in phases within February 2019 from China. In addition, procurement of another vessel with the money earned through RPO (Repeat Public Offering) and BSC's own fund was in the pipeline.

He said the government has undertaken a number of coal-based power plants at Rampal, Matarbari and Payra. Each of these coal-based power plants will require 0.45 million metric tons of coal every month.

Besides, the government is importing huge quantity of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to meet the national gas crisis for which construction of a floating LNG terminal is at the final stage at Matarbari.

The BSC is responsible to bring the entire coal, LNG and refined and non-refined fuel oil of the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation imported to the country.

So, Mr Khan said, the BSC has undertaken a massive procurement plan of different sizes and types of vessels which will be necessary for the country besides turning the BSC into a profitable organisation in the long term.

Father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman established BSC through the President's Order No 10 on 5 February, 1972 aimed at setting up a strong international maritime trade in the sovereign Bangladesh and since then this organisation is engaged in transportation of different kinds of cargo, food and fuel, including the very delicate goods.

Meanwhile, the government has updated the BSC Act in line with the stock market regulator, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), and fixed its price per share at Tk 10 each instead of Tk 100, and in its 39th AGM last year an independent director was elected from among the shareholders.

Mr Khan said that initially the BSC had no vessel of its own. Its journey started with doing agency business. But within only four months of journey, the BSC procured its first ocean-going vessel, "Banglar Doot", immediately followed by "Banglar Sampad".

The number of ships in the BSC fleet reached to 38 at one stage but currently it has only two vessels engaged in lightering fuel from mother tankers at the outer anchorage of Chittagong port.

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