BB Restriction
Tk 150cr garment export at stake
UNB, Chittagong
Uncertainties loomed large on export of readymade garments worth Tk 150 crore after Bangladesh Bank imposed restrictions on 19 branches of 13 nationalised and private banks to open LCs, BGMEA sources said yesterday.The Bangladesh Bank on April 13 imposed a ban on opening letters of credit (LCs) in branches of these commercial banks, 15 of them located in Chittagong region, as they did not deposit the Bill of Entry to the Customs authorities, BGMEA first vice-president MA Salam complained. Following the restriction, 51 garment factory owners are now at a stake with their ready garment products. Inordinate delay to relax the restriction could lead to cancellation of import orders by foreign buyers, the BGMEA leader told UNB, adding it would inflict huge losses to the exporters. Meanwhile, President of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industries Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed in a faxed message requested the Bangladesh Bank governor to withdraw the ban terming it "unwise". If the exporters fail to load their readied products on ships in time, it would create adverse impact among foreign buyers, the chamber president apprehended. There was no immediate response from the Bangladesh Bank on the problem.
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