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Working on single-digit interest rate: PM

She hands over export trophies to 66 companies

Unb, Dhaka
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said steps are being taken to bring down the interest rate on lending to single digit in all banks as the high rates lead to loan defaults.
Some banks are already lending at single-digit interest rates as per the government's directive, while some are yet to follow suit.
"We are in discussions about the matter and are providing the facilities the banks need."
Investing with high-interest loans naturally creates loan defaulters, she said at the national export trophy award ceremony. The commerce ministry and the Export Promotion Bureau jointly organised the event at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka.
"We have taken appropriate measurers so that investment becomes easier. We have taken a plan for industrialisation and are moving forward with it. We have to save our agricultural lands, so we are establishing 100 economic zones across the country for local and foreign investment.”
For attracting investment to the economic zones, the government is offering special incentives, including ensuring all sorts of services in the zones, she added.
About gas supply, the prime
minister said, as the country has limited reserves, the government is importing liquid natural gas to meet the growing demand.
"We have given special attention to ensure that there will be no gas
crisis in the country in future."
Hasina urged the businesspeople to keep in mind the issues of waste management and preservation of nature at the time of setting up factories.
"You have to start proper waste management from the very beginning."
Hasina also asked them to plant trees to protect the environment. The prime minister handed over export trophies to 66 companies under 28 categories for their extraordinary export performance.
For 2016-17, some 29 companies were selected for gold trophies, 21 for silver and 16 for bronze ones. Hasina went on to urge the exporters to add new products to the country*s export basket
"You have to know the demands of various countries and manufacture products in line with that. You have to grab new markets." She also asked the businesspeople to look into the demands of non-traditional products across the globe alongside the traditional ones.
Chaired by Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, the function was addressed, among others, by Tofail Ahmed, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the commerce ministry; Sheikh Fazle Fahim, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry; Md Mofizul Islam, senior secretary of the commerce ministry; and Fatima Yasmin, vice-chairperson of EPB.
LIST OF EXPORT TROPHY
RECIPIENTS ON B3