FBCCI, StanChart team up to promote SMEs
Star Business Report
The country's apex trade body and a leading foreign commercial bank yesterday agreed to promote Bangladesh's small and medium enterprise (SME) sector.Under the deal, Standard Chartered Bank will offer loans to SMEs at 14 percent-16 percent interest rates. Masihul Haq Chowdhury, head of secured and SME banking of Standard Chartered Bangladesh, and MM Jahangir, secretary general of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Dhaka. The bank will also offer facilities including banking from office or home and complete financial products such as LC, guarantee, import loans, foreign exchanges, business loans and account services to SMEs refereed by FBCCI. The SMEs will also receive quick loan processing facility from the bank's one stop service center. FBCCI President Abdul Awal Mintoo, who was present at the signing ceremony, said the SME sector alone contribute 25 percent of GDP. He said the FBCCI- Standard Chartered initiative will help fund-strapped SMEs grow. M Sajidur Rahman, head of corporate banking of Standard Chartered Bangladesh, was also present at the function.
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