e_Paper, Sunday, May 21, 2017

8
SUNDAY, MAY 21, 2017
DT
News
Comprehensive business atmosphere
a must to upgrade credit rating
• Ibrahim Hossain Ovi
BUSINESS
Reducing energy, infrastructure
and administrative bottlenecks,
and boosting investment through
comprehensive business environment
can help Bangladesh improve
its credit rating from ‘BB-’ says
Standard & Poor’s (S&P).
However, the rater said it may
downgrade the sovereign if fiscal
slippages result in rising public
debt and external donor support
declines materially.
In its latest report released on
May 19, the global rating agency
S&P affirmed ‘BB-’ long-term and
‘B’ short-term sovereign credit ratings
on Bangladesh with a stable
outlook in its latest report.
S&P may upgrade Bangladesh
if the government significantly reduces
energy, infrastructure and
administrative bottlenecks, and
boosts investment, leading to a durable
increase in trend growth for
real per capita GDP, said the report.
It also stressed expanding the
revenue base and boosting collection
efficiency that will materially
improve Bangladesh’s fiscal performance.
In addition, the agency may raise
the ratings if the country’s monetary
flexibility strengthens as seen
in well-controlled inflation over a
sustained period and deeper capital
markets with market-based tools.
“The government is not providing
comprehensive environment
for local and foreign investment in
the country. As a result, there are
challenges in attracting new investment
from local as well as foreign
investors,” said Centre for Policy
Dialogue (CPD) Research Director
Khondaker Golam Moazzem.
“We expect Bangladesh’s gross
external financing needs to average
77% of current account receipts
plus usable reserves over 2017-
2020,” according to S&P.
If Bangladesh can ensure investment
friendly environment in the
country, it will help increase the rate,
Moazzem said, adding that the election
time uncertainty might be another
indicator to consider the rating.
In the report, S&P’s forecast
change in general government debt
will average 2.8% of Gross Domestic
Products (GDP) annually over the
fiscal year 2017-2020.
“Although Bangladesh’s external
debt is assessed as low, the country
faces the vulnerabilities of a low-income
economy, fiscal constraints,
and heavy development needs,”
said the report.
In addition, over 40% of the total
government debt is denominated in
foreign currency. Nevertheless, the
availability of official concessional
funding tempers the negative effect
of high foreign currency exposure,
it added.
Talking on the increase in government
debt, Moazzem said: “It is
not alarming, but the government
should consider the return of debt.
The government will have to think
that it is making costly debt.” •
Sultana Kamal: Relief for
haor people is insufficient
Allegation of cheque fraud of Tk134cr
against MP Harun
• Manik Miazee
DISCUSSION
Sultana Kamal
Chairperson of Transparency International
Bangladesh Sultana Kamal
yesterday said the relief allocated for
the people of flash flood affected haor
area is ridiculous and insufficient.
She made the remark at a programme
Haor Convention, jointly
organised by Communist Party
of Bangladesh (CPB) and Socialist
Party of Bangladesh (SPB), at Moni
Singh-Forhad Bhaban in Paltan area
of Dhaka.
“How can a five-member family
survive for a month just with 30kg
rice and Tk500?
“Around 25 lakh families were affected
in the natural disaster but the
government could only help three
lakh families. How would the rest of
them survive?” Sultana asked.
In the programme, the CPB and
SPB leaders have asked the government
to reopen the public fishing
in haor area within 24 hours and to
scrap the haor leasing policy. They
have also called for a protest in
Kishoreganj on June 8 and June 10.
Mujahidul Islam Selim, president
of CPB, asked the government and
NGOs to provide interest free loans
to the haor people to support them.
The convention also proposed
16-point demand for solving the
problems of Haor area. •
• Arif Mostofa, Pirojpur
CRIME
Bazlul Haque Harun, a member of
parliament under Awami League of
the Jhalokati-1 constituency, took
Tk134 crore from his business partner
through cheque forgery.
Jatiya Party central committee
Senior Joint General Secretary
Khalilur Rahman Khalil told the
Dhaka Tribune about this allegation
against the MP on May 17.
The senior joint general secretary
said he had a business farm,
Messrs Rumi Enterprise, in Shialkathi
area under Bhandaria upazila.
MP Harun was his partner.
The farm received an order to
build 15,000 homes for Cyclone Sidr
victims, funded by the Saudi government,
after the disaster struck
the south-west coast of Bangladesh
on November 15, 2007.
“I had opened an account with
Premier Bank, Bangshal branch in
Dhaka in this regard when Harun was
vice chairman of the bank,” he said.
Then Harun drew money from
the account through 388 cheques by
forging Khalil’s signature, he alleges.
When contacted, Khalil said he
had informed the Anti Corruption
Commission (ACC) and Bangladesh
Bank authorities of the matter.
According to a previous report
published in January, the court
summoned Harun in the case of
cheque fraud to appear before
the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate
Court in Dhaka on June 5, after
Khalil had filed a case against Harun
on August 22, 2016 for embezzling
Tk1 crore from him.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate
Abu Sayeed, taking cognizance of
the case, issued this order.
In this regard, the plaintiff, Khalil,
said: “The cases of three fraudulent
cheques against the convict,
Bazlul Haque Harun, have been
filed. Each of them is an embezzlement
case of Tk1 crore.”
He said: “I have taken bail from the
court, though MP Bazlul Haque Harun
filed a case of cheating and defamation
against me in the same court.”
“SM Shawkat Hossain Miah is
handling the case as my lawyer,” he
added.
Bangla Tribune reported that the
hearing of the case was supposed to
be held on May 18, but Khalil could
not reach the court and prayed time
through his lawyer. The court has
fixed July 13 for the next hearing.
According to the documents of
the prosecution, Harun took money
as a loan from Khalil on different
occasions for business purposes.
To repay a part of this lent money,
Harun gave a cheque of Tk1 crore.
The cheque was dishonored when
the plaintiff tried to withdraw the
money from the Banani branch of
Jamuna Bank in Dhaka.
When Khalil informed Harun
about this matter, Harun did not take
any steps to repay the money. •
DBCCI gets new committee
• Tribune Desk
BUSINESS
Faruque Hassan was elected as the
president of Dutch Bangla Chamber
of Commerce and Industry (DBCCI)
while Shahriar Taha as secretary
general for 2017-2018.
The 17th Annual General Meeting
(AGM) of the DBCCI was held on
Thursday, said a press release.
Outgoing president Md Anwar
Shawkat Afser chaired the meeting
and handed over the charges to the
new committee. Earlier, Faruque
served BGMEA as the elected director
for two consecutive tenures 2001-2002,
2003-2004 and vice-president for two
consecutive terms from 2009-2010,
2011-2012 and as senior vice-president
from 22nd September 2015 till date.
Hassan Mahamood Chowdhury,
managing director of Chowdhury
Associates and Rizwan-Ur Rahman,
managing director of ETBL Holding
Limited, were elected as vice-presidents
respectively.
Its new directors are Abdul Mumit,
Kazi Aftabur Rahman, Shams
Mahmud, Md Shahjahan Saju,
Kamrul Hassan Bachchu and Dr
Ahmed Robin Ispahani, read the
statement. •