Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) President Mahbubul Alam on Thursday said that businessmen are facing problems due to the frequent policy changes of Bangladesh Bank.
Meanwhile, the central bank assured the FBCCI that the loan interest would not cross 14 per cent.
Mahbubul Alam made the remarks after an FBCCI meeting with Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder.
The FBCCI president said, “The governor thinks that the loan interest should not exceed 14 per cent, and he hopes that we will not face any problems obtaining loans from banks.”
“The Bangladesh Bank set the exchange rate at Tk 117, and today the governor directed that banks will charge no more than Tk 118 for opening letters of credit (LCs). Every bank will have to follow this rate, and LC rates will not exceed the fixed rate as well,” he added.
“The governor said that the USD market has been improving, and by December, the market will stabilise. Food sectors have seen costs rise by Tk 100 crore to Tk 200 crore due to USD exchange rate fluctuations, and we asked the central bank to address this issue,” he mentioned.
Md Jashim Uddin, former president of FBCCI, said, “The number of defaulters will increase if the loan interest remains high, so the governor said that the interest rate will not cross 14 per cent. Businessmen faced exchange losses due to the fluctuation of the USD rate.”
Mohammad Hatem, executive president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said, “Exporters are not getting loans from the Export Development Funds (EDF), and as a result, LCs are not being opened, causing trouble for businessmen.”
“The central bank said that it is not possible to extend the EDF size now, which is currently nearly $3 billion,” he added.
