Stimulus package will help tackle present crisis: BTMA

Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) has termed the announcement of Tk72,750-crore stimulus package by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to mitigate the economic damage caused by Covid-19 as a timely and prudent step.

In a press release issued yesterday, BTMA President Mohammad Ali Khokon thanked the prime minister for her timely initiative. He said the interest subvention in the stimulus package is unprecedented in the history of Bangladesh.

Of the stimulus package, Tk30,000 crore credit support for medium and large industries will help the textile and other capital intensive industries overcome the prevailing financial crisis created by the country-wide shutdown, Khokon said.

Lowering the interest rate to 2 per cent for Export Development Fund (EDF) is also a timely decision to regain the industry's health, he continued.

The BTMA president said $25 million worth of Export Development Fund (EDF) allocated to every export-oriented entrepreneur has already exhausted and some entrepreneurs have overdue loans as they have failed to repay.

Under this circumstance, the size of EDF has been raised in favour of the mills. As a result, BTMA believes export-oriented textiles mills will receive more EDF, which will facilitate import of more necessary raw materials, he added.

Under the declared stimulus package, the Tk30,000-crore working capital allocated for specific industries and service sectors with 9 per cent interest rate – of which the government will subsidise 4.5 per cent – will motivate the borrowers to repay their loans, Khokon hoped.