The country’s apex apparel body has called for government intervention to address banking disputes with China to save the reputation of the local financial sector, officials said. It has sought commerce ministry’s cooperation in facilitating talks with the agencies concerned in Dhaka and Beijing. According to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Chinese banks have reservations against some commercial banks here due to their poor financial performance. Referring to some media reports, the clothing platform said China has reportedly ‘blacklisted’ some Bangladeshi banks. Several of the banks have already clarified their stance. To highlight the matter of great import, BGMEA president Dr Rubana Huq has recently sent a letter to commerce minister Tipu Munshi. “You’re certainly aware of the banking issues that China has raised against certain commercial banks in Bangladesh that ultimately tarnish the reputation of its financial sector,” she writes. “A good number of state-owned and private banks have been classified by their internal credit departments as weak, citing higher advance-deposit ratio, inadequate capital, bad governance and management problems.” In the letter, Ms Rubana claimed that there was no serious allegation behind blacklisting Bangladeshis commercial banks by the Chinese authorities. She said, “I’ve gathered information from a few commercial banks in Bangladesh. It appears that local banks are operating with Chinese banks smoothly.” The BGMEA chief informed senior representatives of some banks of the issues and met the trade counsellor of the Chinese embassy in Dhaka two months ago. She found that there was no serious allegation raised by the embassy that might lead to ‘blacklist’ banks. In the letter, Mr Rubana said, “I’ve enquired and found that there is no pending or overdue import bill to any bank in China.” “However, such issues are not helpful for inter-bank and country-to-country relationships.” China is the largest partner of Bangladesh having bilateral trade grown by 14.47 per cent of the compound annual growth rate in the past 10 years. The Sino-Bangla trade accounted to $12.40 billion in fiscal year 2017-18, reads the letter. The BGMEA leader said, “We should look into the issues seriously and resolve them to avoid any future hiccups in our trade.” She called for discussing the matter with the management of the listed banks by China, get it clarified and settled without delay. Ms Rubana was contacted for comment, she SMSed this reported to inform her stay in New York now. When asked, BGMEA senior vice-president Faisal Samad said there was no problem over the payment issue. It was mainly the communication gap between the Bangladeshi and Chinese bank authorities concerned, he told the FE. Mr Samad claimed the china authorities too have problems.
