89pc of foreign grants spent in 2012-13 fiscal: Muhith

 Some 89 percent of foreign grants could be spent in the last fiscal year (2012-13), Finance minister AMA Muhith told Parliament on Wednesday.

“Of the Tk 18,500 crore foreign grants allocated for 283 projects in 2012-13 fiscal year, Tk 16,395 crore could be spent, which is some 88.62 percent of the total grants,” he said replying to a tabled starred question of Mohamma Elias MP (Cox’s Bazar-1).

In reply to another starred question from Hazi Md Selim MP (Dhaka-7), the Finance Minister said banks and financial institutions disbursed industrial term credits of some Tk 2,714 crore in the first nine months of the current fiscal year (2013-14).

Of them, he said, 39 private commercial banks disbursed some Tk 1751 crore, while four state-owned commercial banks Tk 22 crore, nine foreign banks Tk 5 crore, four specialized banks Tk 493 crore and 28 other financial institutions another Tk 443 crore.

Islami Bank of Bangladesh distributed the highest Tk 960 crore, while Al-Arafah Islami Bank the second highest Tk 284 crore and specialized BASIC Bank Ltd the third highest Tk 268 crore.

Answering a starred question of Morshed Alam MP (Noakhali-2), Muhith said the net profit of three Bangladesh banks through their seven foreign branches is some Tk 39 crore in 2013.

Sonali Bank earned net profit of Tk 2.59 crore through its Calcutta and Siliguri branches in India, while Janata Bank Tk 20.82 crore through its four branches in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Al Ain in UAE, and AB Bank Tk 15.5 crore through its Mumbai branch.

Source: UNB Connect