Daily News Flash, 13th December, 2017

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DSEX 54.95 Gold (Ounce) $1244.00 Dollar 82.50 (Buy) 82.50 (Sell) CSCX 106.54 Oil (Barrel) $58.38 Euro 97.09 (Buy) 97.09 (Sell)

ISLAMI BANK LENDS TK 315CR BENDING RULES............................................................................................... 2

MUHITH AGAIN DEFENDS ALLOWING NEW BANKS .......................................................................................... 3

PHILIPPINE BANK ACCUSES BB OF HEIST 'COVER-UP' ....................................................................................... 4

15 AWARDED FOR SPREADING ICT SERVICES ................................................................................................... 4

APPAREL SKILLS DEVELOPMENT CENTRE NEEDS A BOOST: ANALYSTS ............................................................. 5

SME EXPO ENDS IN CHITTAGONG .................................................................................................................... 6

OIL TOPS $65, FIRST TIME SINCE 2015.............................................................................................................. 6

TRADE DEFICIT MORE THAN DOUBLES IN FOUR MONTHS ............................................................................... 6

OVERSEAS EMPLOYMENT TO CROSS 1.0M THIS YEAR ...................................................................................... 6

MUHITH CALLS FOR MORE ADB FUND ............................................................................................................. 7

INDIA'S GARMENT IMPORTS FROM BANGLADESH UP 56PC ............................................................................ 7

RMG BAGS MOST OF TK 348B IMPORT-TAX WAIVER IN FY 17 ........................................................................ 8

CAMBODIA'S GARMENT EXPORT GROWTH EXPECTED TO SLOW NEXT YEAR: GMAC ....................................... 9

BANGLADESHS RICE OUTPUT MAY DROP THIS YEAR: FAO ............................................................................ 10

POWER GENERATION COST SOARING ON RISE IN INT'L FUEL PRICES ............................................................. 10

ONION PRICES GO UP AGAIN ......................................................................................................................... 11

STOCKS REBOUND RIDING ON BANK SHARES ................................................................................................ 12

QUEEN SOUTH TEXTILE'S IPO SUBSCRIPTION TO BEGIN JAN 7 ....................................................................... 13

SQUARE PHARMA TOPS TURNOVER CHART OF PRIME BOURSE .................................................................... 14

NEW ECONOMIC CORRIDOR CAN MAKE $150B OUTPUT BY 2050 .................................................................. 15

RCBC ACCUSES BB OF COVER-UP ................................................................................................................... 16

DSE PROFITS FALL FOR 3RD YEAR IN A ROW .................................................................................................. 16

NOAB DEMANDS BRINGING FB, GOOGLE UNDER TAX NET ............................................................................ 17

FIRST EVER BDESH CO PRODUCING POLYESTER STAPLE FIBRES FROM PLASTIC BOTTLES .............................. 18

BB ASKS FIS TO PREPARE CODE OF CONDUCT BY JAN 31 ............................................................................... 19

AD UPHOLDS BTRC ORDER IMPOSING SANCTION ON ICX COS ....................................................................... 20

DHAKA STOCKS REBOUND STRONGLY AFTER 4-DAY SLUMP .......................................................................... 20

A PARTY TAKING LOAN HEAVILY FROM MARKET, SAYS MUHITH ................................................................... 21

ILLEGAL BANKING CONTINUES IN THE NAME OF COOPERATIVES .................................................................. 22

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Daily News Flash, 13th December, 2017

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ISLAMI BANK LENDS TK 315CR BENDING RULES Islami Bank Bangladesh disbursed loans amounting to Tk 315 crore to Unilliance Textiles violating rules, jeopardising the interests of depositors and shareholders, said a central bank report. Both the present and past management of IBBL have been extending undue benefits to the home textile manufacturer for the past nine years through its Gulshan branch. A major portion of the disbursed credit had become defaults but the bank went on showing the loans as unclassified to continue with its loan disbursement to the company, according to a Bangladesh Bank investigation in May. IBBL adopted the 'rescheduling trick' to extend special financing facilities to the client: soon after the loans are rescheduled fresh credit is extended to the company. Between 2015 and 2017, it rescheduled Tk 200 crore in three phases including grace periods to save Unilliance from sliding into the defaulting zone. Besides, the bank frequently violated the credit limit set by its board. But the board too was complicit: it would normalise the transgression by raising the credit limit later. For instance, in March 2009 the IBBL board had sanctioned Tk 40 crore as the credit limit for the company, which was raised several times to stand at Tk 315 crore as of May. All the while, the bank did not recover a penny from Unilliance -- although it had several openings to do so. For instance, Unilliance was allowed to transfer its export earnings amounting to Tk 211 crore to the Uttara branch of Dutch-Bangla Bank from the Gulshan branch of IBBL. IBBL should have adjusted its credit and not let the company transfer funds to another bank, the BB report said.

Daily News Flash, 13th December, 2017

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The BB wrote to the IBBL in June informing its investigation findings and called for punitive measures against the officials concerned. But the bank refuted all the misdemeanours mentioned in the report. The central bank sent another letter to the bank in August instructing it not to give further rescheduling facility to Unilliance and recover the overdue amount by December. If it fails to recover the due by the deadline, the loans must be classified. But on October 30, in a direct defiance to the central bank's directive IBBL rescheduled another Tk 61 crore of Unilliance and gave the company five years to repay the sum. The Banking Regulation and Policy Department of the central bank gave the approval to IBBL to reschedule the loans, a BB official told The Daily Star wishing not to be named. Contacted, Shah S Alam, managing