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The Bangladesh Bank on Monday revised downward the interest rate for the pre-shipment refinance scheme loans for the export-oriented industries to 5 per cent amid a fresh surge in Covid infection cases.
Earlier, the interest rate for the loans from the scheme was 6 per cent.
According to a central bank circular issued on the day in this regard with immediate effect, it has been decided to reduce the interest rates at the consumer level in order to achieve the maximum growth in the export sector.
As per the latest revision, the BB would disburse the refinance fund to banks at 2 per cent instead of 3 per cent interest rate.
Pre-shipment credit is a loan provided by a finance provider to a seller of goods and services for the sourcing, manufacture or conversion of raw materials or semi-finished goods into finished goods and services, which are then delivered to a buyer.
The central bank in April 2020 launched a Tk 5,000 crore pre-shipment refinance scheme for the export-oriented industries as per the announcement of the government.
The BB said that the global economy was observing an unprecedented stagnancy due to the Covid outbreak.
As like other countries, Bangladesh’s exporters are also facing production fall and cancellation of export orders, hampering the export earnings, the BB said.
Prompted by the situation, the BB formed the Tk 5,000-crore refinance fund to support the export-oriented industries by the way of pre-shipment financing to expedite the country’s economy and export earnings, a senior BB official said.
Any export-oriented sector would be considered as eligible for the fund but the sanctioning of loans would depend completely on the jurisdiction of banks based on bank-customer relationship.
The tenure of the fund would be three years and would be revolved during the period while the export-oriented industries, which use local raw materials, would get funds for more than once for a maximum one year.
