Staff Reporter :
The government is likely to extend the tenure of repayment of the loans from the stimulus packages for the country’s export-oriented readymade garments (RMG) sector.
The government is going to take the decision in the wake of repeated calls by the leaders of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi while addressing a panel introducing ceremony at a city hotel on Tuesday night.
The programme was arranged by the Sammilito Parishad, a faction of the BGMEA, to introduce its panel leaders for the upcoming election. Abdus Salam Murshidy, former president of the BGMEA conducted the event.
In different statements, the leaders of the BGMEA earlier had urged the government to extend the salary stimulus package by six months to save the industry from collapse amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The leaders also met the Commerce Minister several times and requested him over the same issue.
Following the request, the Commerce Minister placed their appeal to the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the PM reportedly took it positively, Tipu said.
“Prime Minister has given a positive response to our appeal and we can hope that this loan repayment period will be extended,” he said.
So far, the government has provided Tk 10,500 crore through banking channels to the
export-oriented sectors at only 2 per cent service charge for the payment of workers’ wages between April and August last year.
While disbursing the fund, Bangladesh Bank incorporated a moratorium of six months. The moratorium expired last month and exporters said some banks have already started putting pressure seeking the repayments.
Introducing Faruq Hossain as the panel leader of the parishad, the Minister said, “We want to see winning of Faruk Hossain in the upcoming BGMEA election as its president for the interest of the industry. It is not only my desire, but also the expectation of the entire industry related people.”
Faruk Hossain said, “I will dedicate myself for the next two years for this sector, if I win in the upcoming election. My one and only job will be to brand the country’s garment industry.”
Besides, Dhaka South City Corporation Mayor Atiqul Islam, Gazipur City Mayor Jahangir Alam, BGMEA former president AK Azad, FBCCI President Sheikh Fazle Fahim, BKMEA Senior Vice President Mohammad Hatem and BTMA President Mohammad Ali Khokon, among others, spoke at the event.
