Give apparel makers six more months to repay loans
The finance ministry has asked the central bank to supply an additional grace amount of half a year to garment industries so they can repay the loans of a stimulus package unveiled to pay wages to workers.
"We have received a good letter from the ministry to the end," said a Bangladesh Bank official.
The federal government declared the stimulus package amounting to Tk 5,000 crore in March this past year from its budgetary support in order to help the owners of readymade garment factories to pay wages to their workers.
The banking regulator primarily fixed a six-month grace period according to instruction of the federal government, and there is no interest, but a 2 % service charge.
The BB soon after included another Tk 5,500 crore to the scheme by method of extending its stimulus package for large borrowers.
In April this past year, the central bank in the beginning declared a stimulus bundle worthy of Tk 30,000 for large borrowers in the commercial and service sectors.
The fund in the future was expanded to Tk 40,000 crore.
The interest on fund extracted from the excess amount was fixed at 4 % as banks disbursed the money from their own sources.
The federal government and the central bank declared the stimulus package to greatly help the RMG sector, that was hit hard by the pandemic-induced demand drop.
The original facility of the grace period was scheduled to get rid of in December this past year.
"The RMG sector will enjoy the grace period until June if the central lender requires a decision positively to the end," the BB official said.
