Forex reserves to hit $50b in next 14 months

Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserve will hit $50 billion within the next 14 months, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said yesterday.

"We are thinking about how we can utilise this reserve to secure commercial benefits while keeping it in the country," he told reporters after a meeting of the cabinet committee on purchase at the secretariat.

Besides, the reserve which is now more than $40 billion is expected to increase further, according to the minister.

Asked about the country's economic recovery amid the Covid-19 fallout, Kamal said Bangladesh has handled the situation well.

As a result, both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have praised the country's indicators for recovery.

Kamal said the $14 billion stimulus package announced by Prime Minister Sheik Hasina helped the economy bounce back at a pace which was previously unimaginable.

During the meeting, chaired by Kamal, the purchase committee approved eight proposals involving Tk 5,664.68 crore. Of the sum, Tk 224.27 crore will come from the government coffer and the remaining Tk 5,440.40 crore will be funded by the Islamic Trade Finance Corporation and local banks.

While briefing reporters, Abu Saleh Mostafa Kamal, additional secretary to the cabinet division, said

Four of the purchase proposals were from the industries ministry, two from the housing and public works ministry, one each from the energy and mineral resources division and the Road Transport and Highways Division.

The industries ministry received nod to buy a total of 105,000 tonnes of fertilizer for Tk 235.65 crore.

As per the proposals, 30,000 tonnes of bagged granular urea will be procured from Karnaphuli Fertilizer Company Limited (KAFCO) at a cost of Tk 63.74 crore and 25,000 tonnes of bagged granular urea fertilizer form Muntajat (Qatar Chemical and Petrochemical Marketing and Distribution Company) at cost of Tk 58.88 crore.

It will buy another 25,000 tonnes of bulk prilled (optional) urea fertilizer at a cost of Tk 56.54 crore and 25,000 tonnes of bulk granular urea fertilizer at a cost of Tk 56.49 crore.

Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation will purchase 13 lakh tonnes of crude oil for Eastern Refinery Ltd for Tk 5,204.74 crore from ADNOC of Abu Dhabi, and Saudi Aramco of Saudi Arabia.

The purchase committee also approved a proposal to appoint Computer Network System (CNS) to supply the necessary machinery, hardware, installation, and maintenance, involving Tk 105.22 crore.

The appointment proposal involving Tk 55.54 crore of Padma Association and Engineers was approved as well. Under the proposal, one residential building will be constructed at the Sylhet police line.

The meeting gave its consent to the appointment of a joint venture of Hossain Construction (Pvt) Ltd and Amanat Enterprise. The JV will build two 14-storey buildings for senior officials of Bangladesh Police at a cost of Tk 63.50 crore in Gulshan.

Besides, the cabinet committee of economic affairs asked the concerned parties to provide the remaining documents required for the proposed 'Establishment of an International Standard Tourism Complex at the Existing Motel Compound at Sylhet', under public-private partnership model. 

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