NCCB provides Tk 400cr to power cos

Dhaka: The National Credit and Commerce Bank has lent over Tk 400 crore to companies in the power sector which are expected to add 80 to 90 megawatts of electricity to the national grid by October.

The bank lent over Tk 25 crore to Summit and GBB in two syndicated loans, about Tk invest 350 crore to Dorin Power Generation for setting up a 70 megawatt plant under the World Bank’s scheme of Investment Promotion Finance Facilities, and Tk 60 crore to Energy Prima to set up a plant of 22 megawatts, said Nurul Amin, managing director of the bank, at a meet-the-press programme on Thursday.

The power sector has great prospects but it needs a long-term finance planning, said Tofazzal Hossain, chairman of the bank, which is going to celebrate its 15th anniversary on May 17.

‘We have a couple of other loan proposals and, after analysing them, we will take the final decision,’ he said.

Black money holders can invest in this sector if the government assures them that they will not be asked any questions about the source of their money, he suggested. The bank is also lending to the agriculture sector for maize cultivation, buying tractors and fertilisers and also for tea production, he said. The board has already taken action to reduce the lending rate but he said that he is sceptical about increasing investment.

‘Successful investment depends on many factors, including the interest rate, power situation and political stability. By reducing the interest rate will not ensure higher investment if the other factors are not present,’ he pointed out.
Exports, and remittances by expatriate workers, are the two major areas which the bank emphasises, he said.

Referring to manpower export, he said many people sell their lands to go abroad but the bank has undertaken a project in which people can mortgage their properties and pay the money later, he added.
The programme was attended by SM Shamsul Alam and Golam Hafiz Ahmed, deputy managing directors of the bank, Tariqul Alam, company secretary, Moniruzzaman Tipu, assistant vice president of the public relations department, and Md Anwar Hossain, assistant public relations officer, along with others.