Mustafa Kamal named finance minister of the year
He is the first Bangladeshi finance minister to receive this award
The Banker, a London-based monthly magazine, has named AHM Mustafa Kamal for the Finance Minister of the Year for Asia-Pacific and Global Award 2020 for his contribution to Bangladesh's financial sector.
The magazine is owned by the renowned Financial Times Group and has been being published since 1926, according to a press release issued by the finance ministry on Thursday.
Praising Mustafa Kamal for his contribution to Bangladesh's economy, The Banker wrote that he has been instrumental in attracting international support for the country by pushing for greater levels of foreign direct investment.
The organisation mentioned Bangladesh going into the capital markets for the first time as another ambitious move of Mustafa Kamal.
The first-ever taka-denominated bonds were issued in November 2019, and the Bangla bond was launched at the London Stock Exchange and issued through the International Finance Corporation.
The three-year bond was oversubscribed at Tk800m ($9.42m). Issuing the local currency bond has set a benchmark, and raised the possibility of a sovereign local currency bond.
The Banker also mentioned Bangladesh seeing an increase in the number of remittances made into the country; money sent home by overseas workers is one of the country's main sources of foreign exchange.
"The government had introduced a 2 percent cash incentive to encourage people to send money back home, and to do so through legitimate channels, a move that Kamal believes will see a 25 percent increase on remitted sums during the 2019-20 financial year," The Bankers report states.
Starting in 2004, The Banker began awarding finance ministers for their contributions in bringing to speed the financial sectors and ensuring sustainable development of their respective countries.
The magazine picks five finance ministers from five regions – the Asia-Pacific, America, Africa, the Middle East and Europe, and selects one of them as the best finance minister of the world.
Mustafa Kamal is the first Bangladeshi finance minister to receive this accolade. The Indonesian finance minister was given this award last year, while the Indian finance minister was selected for the award in 2018.
Finance Minister Kamal dedicated the award to the people of Bangladesh.
Expressing his gratitude to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Kamal said he achieved the award by following the instructions given by the prime minister.
Mustafa Kamal took charge of the finance ministry in January last year.
