Bangladesh PM unveils $8,573 million economic package

DHAKA: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday announced stimulus packages to the tune of Taka 72,750 crore (USD 8,573 million) to counter the adverse effects of Coronavirus on the country's economy.

"Earlier I declared Taka 5,000 crore (emergency) incentive package for paying salaries and allowances of export-oriented industry workers and employees and today I am announcing four fresh financial stimulus packages of Tk 67,750 crore," she said.

In a nation-wide, televised address from her official Ganobhaban residence on Sunday, the premier said with the fresh allocations the total amount of financial assistance would stand at Tk 72,750 crore, which is nearly 2.52 per cent of GDP.

"I hope our economy will rebound and we can reach near the desired economic growth, if the stimulus packages -- the previous and the fresh ones -are quickly rolled out," she said.

The premier said the government has simultaneously taken up four programmes under the work plan which are to be implanted in immediate, short and long" phases to increase public expenditure mainly through employment generation, introduce stimu

lus packages and widen social safety net coverage

This was Hasina's second media appearance in four days over the Coronavirus outbreak following a videoconference meeting with officials and pub

lic representatives across the country.

The premier said the first of the four packages involves Taka 30,000 crore to be provided to affected industries and service sector organisations as working capital through banks as

low-interest loans. She said the commercial banks would provide the amount as loans from their own funds to concerned industries and enterprises on the basis of bank-client relations.

The premier said the government would pay half of the interest amounts to banks as subsidies to the affected enterprises, which would pay the rest of the interest.

"The interest rate of this lending facility will be 9 per cent and the concerned industries and business organisations will pay 4.50 per cent interest, meaning half of the interest of that loan, she said. Hasina said under the second package small and medium enterprises (SMES), including cottage industries, would get Taka 20,000 crore as working capital. She said a mechanism would be devised to send the amount to the SMES as low-interest loans through banks which identically disburse amounts to the SMES on the basis of bank-client relations while the government in this case would bear the greater share of the interest amount.