The International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh on Wednesday suggested the government implemented international factoring system as an international trade payment method in the country. The suggestion came from a training programme on international factoring for exporters organised by the chamber in Dhaka. At the programme, commerce ministry’s senior secretary Hedayet Ullah Al Mamoon and some business leaders also spoke in favour of the method to reduce additional formalities and cost of payment in the international trade. The commerce secretary said factoring was very important for international transaction as Bangladesh’s export earnings was growing rapidly. He said letters of credit were popularly used as an international trade payment method in Bangladesh but because of more formalities and costing, importers were becoming less interested to import under LC system. ICCB president Mahbubur Rahman said the commerce ministry had already included factoring as a method for international trade payment in the Export Policy-2015 and suggested the Bangladesh Bank implemented the method. Banking Commission chairman of ICC Bangladesh Muhammad A (Rumee) Ali said export payment system must be smooth and modern to achieve the export target of the country and hopefully international factoring would minimise the export cost. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association vice-president Mohammed Nasir, Factor Chain International director for Asia Lee Kheng Leong, Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management director Prashanta Kumar Banerjee and ICCB secretary general Ataur Rahman also spoke at the inaugural session. As many as 118 participants from export houses attended the training.
