Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) has urged Bangladesh Bank to introduce long-term financing facilities, reduce lending rates, and relax loan classification rules to support industries facing mounting financial pressure.
The proposals were presented to the central bank governor during a meeting held on Tuesday, where business leaders discussed the growing challenges confronting the country’s manufacturing sector.
In a letter submitted after the meeting, the chamber said many factories were under severe strain due to high interest rates, rising energy costs, gas shortages, inflation, political uncertainty, and weak consumer demand.
Led by its president Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury, also known as Parvez, the organisation stated that industries urgently require access to long-term financing, as Bangladesh’s capital market remains insufficiently developed to meet large-scale industrial funding needs.
The BCI proposed introducing industrial loans with a 12-year repayment tenure, including a two-year moratorium period. It also recommended refinancing facilities for importing capital machinery through offshore funding sources at lower interest rates.
The chamber further requested the central bank to encourage commercial banks to secure long-term financing from international lenders and development agencies.
According to the organisation, many industries began facing working capital shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the situation later worsening due to gas supply disruptions, higher fuel prices, and rising borrowing costs.
The letter noted that increased gas tariffs, depreciation of the Bangladeshi taka against the US dollar, and lending rates of up to 15 percent have significantly raised production costs, forcing many factories to operate below capacity.
To prevent industrial defaults, the chamber proposed converting overdue liabilities under letter of credit limits into long-term loans at subsidised interest rates, enabling affected businesses to restore normal operations.
The BCI also sought amendments to existing loan classification regulations, proposing that loans be classified after six months instead of the current three-month period.
Additionally, the organisation criticised the wide spread between banks’ funding costs and lending rates, arguing that borrowing costs of 14–15 percent are becoming unsustainable for businesses.
The chamber further called for the withdrawal of penal interest charges, reduction of banking fees, and easier access to financing for cottage, micro, small, and medium enterprises (CMSMEs).
