The New Nation - Internet Edition

BUSINESS REPORT

BASIC Bank Ltd has declared cash dividend of Tk 6.273 crore for 2007 in addition to stock dividend to its sole shareholder, the Bangladesh government in its 19th Annual General Meeting held on April 24 last.

The AGM was presided over by Chairman of the Board of Directors of the bank Dr Md Nurul Amin, Secretary, Ministry of Industries.

Mohammad Mahbub Ahmed, Director and Additional Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mahbubur Rahman, Director and Chairman, BSCIC and Managing Director AH Ekbal Hossain also attended the meeting.

Md Nazrul Islam, Deputy Secretary and Md Shawkat Mostafa, Senior Financial Analyst attended the meeting as the representatives of Ministry of Finance. M Maniruzzaman, FCA, Partner ACNABIN, the external auditors of the bank, was present in the meeting.

It may be mentioned that BASIC Bank Ltd earned an operating profit of Tk 132 crore in 2007 keeping the non performing asset to a minimum level of 3.25 per cent with healthy capital adequacy ratio of 12.91 per cent.

It is also worth mentioning that the bank since its inception has been earning profit with high growth. Though the bank started with small amount of paid-up capital Tk 8 crore its present capital and reserve stands at Tk 294.79 crore. Besides, the bank so far paid cash dividend Tk 53.8 crore and income tax Tk 279.10 crore to the Bangladesh government.

The bank is very much on track towards fulfillment of its mandate in financing small and medium" industries. More than 60 per cent finance of the Bank accounts for small and medium industries while 91 per cent of total finance is for small and medium enterprises. Employment opportunity for more than threelakh persons has been created so far through establishing more than 1,000 small and medium industrial projects. The bank is also providing loans to urban/semi urban poor people through NGOs for poverty alleviation.