Govt seriously interested in offloading shares of state banks: Kamal
The government hasn't discarded its intend to offload shares of several state-run banks, said Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.
"We are seriously thinking about it. We will offload some shares of Rupali Bank first. Then, the shares of other banks will be offloaded gradually," he told The Daily Star in an interview.
The decision to offload the shares of the state-run banks by September came at a gathering on February 9 within the government proceed to prop up the ailing bourses.
As per the program, yet another 15.2 % shares of state-run Rupali Bank would be offloaded first under a secondary offering.
Rupali was listed with the stock exchanges in 1986, with 9.8 % of its shares now up for trade. A second offering may be the sale of new or closely held shares by a company which has already made an initial public offering.
Bangladesh Development Bank is supposed to offload 25 per cent share and Janata and Agrani to offload 10 % to a maximum 25 per cent shares.
Kamal said some works have to be done before the plan is materialised fully.
"The balance sheets of the banks need to be prepared anew as per current market prices. The valuation of the assets must be completed to determine their actual worth and fix the cost of the share accordingly," he said.
Kamal said the federal government will review the budget following the first quarter of the fiscal year to determine the obstacles facing the implementation amid the coronavirus pandemic and take steps accordingly.
"Of course, no new thing will be introduced in the review. Every quarter, we review the budget according to laws and it is reflected in the next quarter."
The parliament passed the Tk 568,000-crore budget for the fiscal year 2020-21 on June 30, which, professionals say, may prove difficult to implement amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Kamal has set an ambitious economic growth target of 8.2 % and centered on health sector development and financial recovery. He'd face challenges to keep carefully the budget deficit in balance amid rising expenditure and dwindling earnings collection.
The entire budget deficit is Tk 190,000 crore, which is 6 per cent of the GDP. The revenue collection target is Tk 378,000 crore.
In the first month of the fiscal year, the National Board of Revenue cannot show an impressive performance on earnings collection.
This prompted the federal government to borrow around Tk 20,000 crore from the bank operating system.
The progress of the twelve-monthly development programme had not been impressive either in the first 8 weeks of the fiscal year.
Development expenditure fell 17.64 per cent year-on-year in July and 10.18 % in August as activities are yet to pick up due to the lingering coronavirus pandemic.
"We must explore opportunities during the pandemic. We need to be flexible. We will need all of the necessary steps to utilise the opportunities," Kamal said.
According to the finance minister, the federal government has developed the required infrastructure to attract investment.
Gas will be increasingly available. The federal government is purchasing liquified gas from the location market for the very first time to be able to provide gas to industries.
"We are boosting our capacity to provide gas to heavy industries. Our infrastructure is okay. Once the Covid-19 is over, the investment would start flowing in."
The finance minister said some persons criticised the federal government for reopening the economy, saying the problem would worsen.
The government had decided to resume economical activities while taking measures to support the spread of the virus.
"Ultimately, your choice of the federal government became fruitful as the economy is slowly but surely rebounding and the pandemic situation is improving," Kamal said.
"People are taking part in the economy. So, I am hopeful that people should be able to achieve 8.2 % GDP growth."
Kamal also talked about the amnesty directed at whiten the black money.
"If we don't see any progress regarding the amnesty, we will consider that there is no black profit the united states," he said.
The National Technical Advisory Committee formed to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic has advised the federal government to choose an advance payment in a bid to procure the Covid-19 vaccine quickly.
"If a booking isn't made, vaccines wouldn't normally be accessible easily as demand will be high," said Kamal.
