Ensure credit facility for SMEs: Tipu Munshi to banks

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Thursday urged the banks to ensure credit facility to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from the government-announced stimulus packages, in a bid to help the Bangladesh economy bounce back from the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The minister’s request came amid complaints from entrepreneurs in the sector that the banks are showing reluctance to lend money to them due to the fear of non-repayment.

To keep the country’s economy afloat, said Tipu Munshi, the government announced a total of 21 stimulus packages involving Tk121,353 crore since the coronavirus pandemic broke out in Bangladesh in March.

Such initiatives from the government were essential for a fast-growing economy like Bangladesh, said the commerce minister, while speaking as the chief guest at a dialogue in the capital styled, “Stimulus Packages for Sustainable and Inclusive Recovery from Covid-19 Fallout in Bangladesh”. This was the first of three dialogues being organised by the finance ministry.

During the pandemic time, the minister said, the government has been able to keep the production, supply and price of essential commodities of the country normal.

When necessary, commodities have been sold in the open market at cheaper prices through the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), he said.

Therefore, there was no crisis of any product in the country – even the prices did not increase much, he claimed.

Soon after the coronavirus was first detected in Bangladesh on March 8, the government took different measures, including imposing lockdowns, to overcome the crisis, the minister said.

Now trade and commerce are going on, and the government is conducting drives to make people follow health guidelines – and the economy is showing a sign of recovery, Tipu Munshi told the dialogue.

Principal Secretary to the prime minister Ahmed Kaikuas, World Bank country director Mercy Miyang Tembon, Japanese ambassador in Bangladesh Ito Naoki, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Dr Rubana Haque, South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) Executive Director Selim Raihan, and Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) senior research fellow Nazneen Ahmed, among others, were present.