World Bank to help corporatise Bangladesh banks

Dhaka, Apr 23: The World Bank will provide financial assistance to Bangladesh to modernise its banking system, including reforms to corporatise nationalised commercial banks.

''The privatization of Rupali Bank Limited is at the final stage now, and the Government has already decided to corporatize the other three NCBs, Sonali, Janata and Agrani Banks,'' said a World Bank statement released late on Sunday.

After slow progress, the bank modernisation component of the project is finally catching up under a new government restructuring plan for nationalised commercial banks, it added.

The Enterprise Growth and Bank Modernization Project (EGBMP), supported by the World Bank with a commitment of $257.63 million, is helping the private sector to create more jobs by creating a more efficient and performance oriented financial sector.

Since the start of this initiative in 2004, a Small Enterprise Fund was set up to promote private sector small enterprise growth and it has so far disbursed more than one billion taka to 1,337 small enterprises, creating additional jobs for 2,527 people.

It has converted Adamjee Jute Mills into an Export Processing Zone (EPZ), creating jobs for 34,000 people till now, while the number is likely to increase to 70,000 in future.

The Karnaphuli EPZ, being built at Chittagong, is expected to create 24,000 new jobs, and eventually will generate some 50,000 jobs when fully completed.

Through this initiative, the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) and Board of Investment have strengthened their institutional capacity in the areas of investment promotion, training, and computerisation programs.

($1 = 69.09 taka) REUTERS