A company founded by late ruling party lawmaker Aslamul Haque tops the list of the country鈥檚 biggest loan defaulters, according to information revealed by finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in parliament on Tuesday.
According to Mustafa Kamal, there were 7,86,065 loan defaulters in the country as of November 2022.
Responding to a starred question from ruling Awami League lawmaker M Shahiduzzaman Sarker, Kamal made the list of the top 20 loan defaulters available.
Citing Bangladesh Bank鈥檚 Credit Information Bureau, Kamal said that聽 CLC Power Company Ltd is the country鈥檚 largest loan defaulter, owing banks Tk 1,640.44 crore. CLC Power is a subsidiary of Maisha Group, which was founded by Aslamul. Three-time lawmaker Aslamul died in April 2021.
Another company founded by Aslamul, Maisha Property Development Ltd,聽 was also included in the list of the top 20 with a defaulted loan of Tk 663.18 crore.
Western Marine Shipyard Limited is the second biggest defaulter in the country with Tk 1,529.74 crore. According to the company website, Mohammad Saiful Islam is the chairman of the company.
Saiful is also involved with Narayangonj Engineering & Shipbuilding Ltd, Design & Technology Center for Product Development, Subarna Bhumi Resort Ltd, Picard Bangladesh Ltd, Stella Shipping Ltd, and Sairu Hill Resort, among other companies.
Capt. Sohail Hasan is the managing director and chief executive officer of the company. Sohail, a master mariner, is chairman of Western Marine Services Ltd, the parent company of Western Marine Shipyard Ltd.
Third on the list is Rimex Footwear Ltd with Tk 1,077.63 crore. The chairman of the company, MA Aziz, is the head of Jaaz Multimedia Limited.
The other companies to make the list of top 20 loan defaulters are- Rising Steel Limited with Tk 990.28 crore, Mohammad Elias Brothers (Ptv.) Ltd with Tk 965.60 crore, Rupali Composite Leather Wear Ltd with Tk 873.29 crore, Crescent Leather Products Ltd with Tk 855.22 crore, Quantum Power System Ltd with Tk 811.33 crore, Saad Musa Fabrics Ltd with Tk 776.63, B.R Spinning Mills Ltd. With Tk 721.43 crore, S.A Oil Refinery Ltd with Tk 703.53 crore, Maisha Property Development Ltd with Tk 663.18 crore, Radium Composite Textile Mills Ltd with Tk 660.42 crore, Samannaz Super Oil Ltd with Tk 651.07 crore, Manha Precast Technology Ltd with Tk 647.16 crore, Ashiyan Education Ltd with Tk 635.94 crore, S.M Steel Re-rolling Mills Ltd with Tk 630.26 crore, Appollo Ispat Complex Ltd with Tk 623.34 crore, Ehsan Steel Re-rolling Mills Ltd with Tk 590.23 crore and Siddique Traders with Tk 541.20 crore.
In response to a question from reserved seat lawmaker Nazma Akhtar, the finance minister told the parliament that there was no plan to waive interest on agricultural loans.
Mentioning the reason for this, the minister said that banks give loans to farmers with money collected from depositors. As banks have to pay interest to depositors, it is not possible for the bank to waive the interest on the loan given to farmers.
Responding to a question from lawmaker Habibur Rahman, Kamal said that no loan has been received so far from the International Monetary Fund in the current financial year (2022-23) while negotiations with the IMF regarding a loan are ongoing.
鈥楢 loan of $300 million has been received from the World Bank in the current financial year. This loan is repayable in 30 years with a grace period of five years,鈥� he said.
In response to lawmaker Md Abdul Latif鈥檚 question, the minister said that the Japanese government has released $921.61 million for the overall development of Bangladesh until December of the current financial year.
In response to the question of Jatiya Party lawmaker Syed Abu Hussain, who referred to the fact that tax revenue was less than the target in the past financial year, Kamal said that the government failed to collect the desired revenue due to the post-Covid economic recession, the Russia-Ukraine war, global monetary policy, and austerity policy.
In response to another question from Latif, he highlighted the various initiatives of the government to reduce the dollar crisis in the parliament.
He informed the parliament that domestic banking units (local banks) have been given the right to raise foreign currency funds from their offshore banking operations, which will remain in force until June 30, 2023.
To ensure a sufficient supply of edible oil, chickpeas, pulses, peas, onions, spices, sugar, and dates at a bearable level during the month of Ramadan, all these products have been given a 90-day delay payment system to import them, said the finance minister. It will remain in force until March 31, 2023.
He said that to facilitate trade with China, the opportunity to trade with the country鈥檚 currency has been provided.