নর্দান পাওয়ার সল্যুশনকে বন্ড ছাড়ার অনুমোদন দিয়েছে সিকিউরিটিজ অ্যান্ড এক্সচেঞ্জ কমিশন (এসইসি)। বৃহস্পতিবার সকালে কমিশন এক বিশেষ সভায় এ অনুমোদন দেয়। নাম প্রকাশে অনিচ্ছুক এসইসির নির্বাহী পরিচালক বিষয়টি নিশ্চিত করেছেন। সভায় এমআই সিমেন্ট ও মোবিল যমুনার তালিকাভুক্তির বিষয়েও সিদ্ধান্ত হওয়ার কথা রয়েছে।
এর আগে দুই বার এসইসি বৈঠকে বসলেও নর্দান পাওয়ার সলিউশন কোম্পানির বন্ড ছাড়ার বিষয়টি অনুমোদন দেওয়া হয়নি। সোমবার তৃতীয় বারের মত এসইসির কাছে আবেদন করে কোম্পানিটি। এদিকে এসইসিতে আবেদনের পরিপ্রেক্ষিতেই এ বিশেষ সভা আহ্বান করা হয়।
BankThe country's overall bank deposits witnessed a slower growth during the second quarter (Q2) of the current fiscal -- between October and December, 2010 -- when the share market witnessed a bull-run, officials said.
The amount of currency outside the banking system also shot up during the period under review, raising questions about the use of such money, insiders in the banking sector said.
Central bank sources said the bank deposits witnessed a slightly higher growth in January-March (Q3) period of the current fiscal in the wake of the rate hike. Yet this growth is still lower than what was expected particularly after the stock market debacle, some insiders in the banking sector said.
However, there are different views about where a substantial part of the money of those who reaped the bonanza at the cost of thousands of retail investors, before the stock market crash, has gone.
The views range from hoarding currency as "mattress money", manipulation of invoices for both capital and other goods by using different techniques, purchase of foreign currency from the kerb market, to even flight of currency through informal channels.
According to sources, informal markets have been operating in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and a number of other countries, particularly involving exchanges of 1000- and 500-denominated Bangladesh taka, besides India.
However, the sources in the banking circles did not agree with the contention about the flight of Bangladesh taka for use in informal markets abroad.
But the sources did not contest the view about some amount of money, lying outside the country's banking system, being used to buy particularly the US dollar from the informal market -- known as kerb market -- during the period to avoid the hassle of taxmen as well as the existing anti-money laundering act.
The flow of greenback to the kerb market has declined because of such practices, pushing up the exchange rate of US dollar against Bangladesh Taka (BDT).
The greenback sold between Tk 75.00 and Tk 75.20 in the informal market Wednesday. It was over Tk 72 in December last.
Under the rule of thumb, the rates of US dollar normally increase in the kerb market when unofficial transactions like smuggling and manipulations of invoices take place, they added.
"We're still investigating into different aspects of foreign exchange dealings in line with the existing foreign exchange rules and regulations," an executive director of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE Wednesday.
In February last, the central bank has started a special inspection to verify reporting, holding, demand and utilisation of foreign exchange by the commercial banks.
The BB's probe team is trying to find out any undisclosed fund-holding by the commercial banks intentionally by using any devious technique, another central bank official said without elaborating.
The overall bank deposit grew by 2.20 per cent to Tk 3572.5540 billion in October last over that of the previous month while this rate of growth slowed down to 1.55 per cent to Tk 3683.9970 billion in December 2010, according to the central bank statistics.
"The amount of deposit normally increases in the closing month of every calendar year mainly due to squaring up of fund positions by the commercial banks. But the last December was an exception," another BB official said.
He also said: "We can't understand what happened during that time."
The overall bank deposit (excluding inter-bank and restricted) increased by 20.90 per cent to Tk 3368.46 billion during in the fiscal year 2009-10 (FY10) against 20.26 per cent growth during the previous fiscal.
Meanwhile, the comparatively slow growth rate of bank deposits in the second quarter of the current fiscal was also somewhat striking. This is so because there was, according to insiders in the banking sector, premature encashment of savings certificates issued by the government and also relatively lower volume of new purchases of such instruments during the period under report, following the slashing of the rate of return on the same.
Talking to the FE, former BB chief economist and currently director general of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Mustafa K Mujeri said, lower deposit rate has influenced a good number of depositors during the period to withdraw their fund from banks and invest the same in different higher income generating areas including that of the share market.
He also said the bank deposit may increase in the coming months following the rising trend about in deposit rates.
The country's commercial banks offer deposit rates up to 13.50 per cent in April 2011 from 12.00 per cent of the previous month on term deposits, while the rate for savings accounts ranged between 1.0 per cent and 9.50 per cent, the central bank data showed.
এর আগে দুই বার এসইসি বৈঠকে বসলেও নর্দান পাওয়ার সলিউশন কোম্পানির বন্ড ছাড়ার বিষয়টি অনুমোদন দেওয়া হয়নি। সোমবার তৃতীয় বারের মত এসইসির কাছে আবেদন করে কোম্পানিটি। এদিকে এসইসিতে আবেদনের পরিপ্রেক্ষিতেই এ বিশেষ সভা আহ্বান করা হয়।
BankThe country's overall bank deposits witnessed a slower growth during the second quarter (Q2) of the current fiscal -- between October and December, 2010 -- when the share market witnessed a bull-run, officials said.
The amount of currency outside the banking system also shot up during the period under review, raising questions about the use of such money, insiders in the banking sector said.
Central bank sources said the bank deposits witnessed a slightly higher growth in January-March (Q3) period of the current fiscal in the wake of the rate hike. Yet this growth is still lower than what was expected particularly after the stock market debacle, some insiders in the banking sector said.
However, there are different views about where a substantial part of the money of those who reaped the bonanza at the cost of thousands of retail investors, before the stock market crash, has gone.
The views range from hoarding currency as "mattress money", manipulation of invoices for both capital and other goods by using different techniques, purchase of foreign currency from the kerb market, to even flight of currency through informal channels.
According to sources, informal markets have been operating in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and a number of other countries, particularly involving exchanges of 1000- and 500-denominated Bangladesh taka, besides India.
However, the sources in the banking circles did not agree with the contention about the flight of Bangladesh taka for use in informal markets abroad.
But the sources did not contest the view about some amount of money, lying outside the country's banking system, being used to buy particularly the US dollar from the informal market -- known as kerb market -- during the period to avoid the hassle of taxmen as well as the existing anti-money laundering act.
The flow of greenback to the kerb market has declined because of such practices, pushing up the exchange rate of US dollar against Bangladesh Taka (BDT).
The greenback sold between Tk 75.00 and Tk 75.20 in the informal market Wednesday. It was over Tk 72 in December last.
Under the rule of thumb, the rates of US dollar normally increase in the kerb market when unofficial transactions like smuggling and manipulations of invoices take place, they added.
"We're still investigating into different aspects of foreign exchange dealings in line with the existing foreign exchange rules and regulations," an executive director of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) told the FE Wednesday.
In February last, the central bank has started a special inspection to verify reporting, holding, demand and utilisation of foreign exchange by the commercial banks.
The BB's probe team is trying to find out any undisclosed fund-holding by the commercial banks intentionally by using any devious technique, another central bank official said without elaborating.
The overall bank deposit grew by 2.20 per cent to Tk 3572.5540 billion in October last over that of the previous month while this rate of growth slowed down to 1.55 per cent to Tk 3683.9970 billion in December 2010, according to the central bank statistics.
"The amount of deposit normally increases in the closing month of every calendar year mainly due to squaring up of fund positions by the commercial banks. But the last December was an exception," another BB official said.
He also said: "We can't understand what happened during that time."
The overall bank deposit (excluding inter-bank and restricted) increased by 20.90 per cent to Tk 3368.46 billion during in the fiscal year 2009-10 (FY10) against 20.26 per cent growth during the previous fiscal.
Meanwhile, the comparatively slow growth rate of bank deposits in the second quarter of the current fiscal was also somewhat striking. This is so because there was, according to insiders in the banking sector, premature encashment of savings certificates issued by the government and also relatively lower volume of new purchases of such instruments during the period under report, following the slashing of the rate of return on the same.
Talking to the FE, former BB chief economist and currently director general of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) Mustafa K Mujeri said, lower deposit rate has influenced a good number of depositors during the period to withdraw their fund from banks and invest the same in different higher income generating areas including that of the share market.
He also said the bank deposit may increase in the coming months following the rising trend about in deposit rates.
The country's commercial banks offer deposit rates up to 13.50 per cent in April 2011 from 12.00 per cent of the previous month on term deposits, while the rate for savings accounts ranged between 1.0 per cent and 9.50 per cent, the central bank data showed.