NRBs may be allowed to invest in wage earner dev bond

Non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) employed by foreign airlines and shipping industries will likely be allowed to invest in the high interest Wage Earner Development Bond (WEDB), said two officials of Bangladesh Bank and the Internal Resources Division (IRD).

"We are considering whether to issue a clarification in this regard," said a senior official of the central bank.

The official shared the plan following a Bangladesh Bank circular issued in September, regarding the eligibility requirements to purchase WEDBs as outlined by the IRD, a government body operating under the finance ministry.

However, the recent notice said that pilots, cabin crew and mariners working with foreign organisations are ineligible for the scheme.

This led to the confusion among the NRBs working abroad as it did not clarify whether NRB pilots, mariners and cabin would be able to invest in the bond.

The IRD has suggested that Bangladesh Bank should issue another circular to restrict purchases by Bangladeshis who live here but earn in foreign currency by working at international agencies, such as the World Bank and the United Nations, he said.

However, NRBs will be able invest in the bond and so, IRD will ask the central bank to issue an instruction in this regard in order to clear any ambiguity.

Pilots and mariners living abroad for 180 days or longer will also be able to buy the bond, the IRD official said.

However, pilots, mariners living here would be ineligible to buy the bond, he added.

The five-year tenure WEDB has 12 per cent interest on maturity and NRBs have so far invested around Tk 15000 crore, according to data from Bangladesh Bank.