Direct banking link with Myanmar on the cards

Bangladesh will establish a direct banking link with Myanmar to boost bilateral trade between the two neighbouring countries, said a senior official of the commerce ministry.
Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Atiur Rahman will discuss the issue with the officials of the central and commercial banks of Myanmar next month at the 39th board meeting of Asian Clearing Union (ACU).
The ACU board meeting is scheduled for June 11-12 at Thimphu in Bhutan.
The Myanmar exporters now transact with Bangladesh from a third country like Singapore or Thailand.
Being a member of the ACU, the exporters of Myanmar can also transact through this union for LC (letter of credit) payment. But the Myanmar exporters face troubles in international trade for the country's complex foreign currency rules and trade policies.
In case of border trade, the Myanmar businessmen transact through bank drafts and pay orders from a branch of Sonali Bank at Teknaf in Bangladesh and a branch of Myanmar Economic Bank at Mongdu, on the Myanmar side.
The issue of establishing a direct banking arrangement between the two countries was raised in a meeting in Dhaka in October last year.
Officials of the Myanmar central bank and Bangladesh Bank agreed at the meeting that there is no barrier in overseas trade between the two countries through ACU.
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