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Govt to issue bonds to raise infrastructure fund

Rejaul Karim Byron
The government will issue bonds and debt instruments to local and foreign investors in a bid to raise a fund for financing projects including those of power and infrastructure.
The finance ministry yesterday issued a circu-lar about creation of the Bangladesh Infrastructure Finance Fund (BIFF).
The circular said: "The BIFF will attract investment from local and foreign investors through internationally practised financing options such as bonds, debt instruments and equity offering. It will also invest in different companies that are implementing projects in Bangladesh's infrastructure sector."
Finance ministry officials said, of the Tk 2,100 crore kept for public-private partnership (PPP) projects in the revised budget of the current fiscal year, Tk 1,600 crore will go to the fund as its initial capital.
This is the first-ever allocation to be used for PPP projects.
The fund will soon be registered as a company.
During the formation of the company, the initial capital will remain deposited with Bangladesh Bank in the name of BIFF.
After the formation, the central bank will transfer the Tk 1,600 crore to the company as the government's' share subscription'.
A proposal will go to the cabinet soon to seek
approval of the final framework of the company. After getting the nod, the company will start functioning formally.
The finance ministry officials said there will be a provision for whitening black money for investing in the company. However, no other sectors will enjoy such a facility in the next fiscal
year.
Earlier the government planned to form Bangladesh Energy and Power Investment Fund in an effort to fix the shortage of finance in the power and energy sector.
A 12-member committee headed by Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank Ziaul Hassan Siddiqui was formed in October 2009 for this purpose.
In its report submitted to the power and
energy ministry last month, the committee said the government can form the fund of Tk 1,500 crore-Tk2,500 crore under PPP
The committee held a meeting with the finance ministry in this regard last month.
After the meeting, the finance ministry and Bangladesh Bank decided to create a fund for the entire infrastructure sector instead of the energy sector alone.
The committee recommended that the government have a 51 percent share of the fund, while the private sector own the rest.
The government will appoint a professional fund manager from the private sector to run the fund.
An 'investment committee' composed of five members will be nominated by the fund manager.
The company may invest in listed or nonlisted issuers or new projects with sponsors who have established operating track record and positive cash flow and projects sponsored by such type of entities.
The tenure of the company will be 12-14 years and after that it will be liquidated, according to the report. The projects to be financed by the company will be commercially viable and the profit accruing from it will return to the fund and the profit will be distributed as per the stake of the shareholders.