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Saudi
Prince issues ultimatum on handover of Rupali Bank
Saudi
Prince Bandar on Tuesday issued an ultimatum for the Privatization
Commission to resolve all pending issues on the handover of Rupali
Bank by Thursday, reports bdnews24.com
In
a letter to the commission, the prince said he could withdraw the
offer to purchase the bank’s 93.26 per cent government stake for
$458 million.
Officials
with the Privatisation Commission however said the ultimatum would
not hamper the handover of the bank to Prince Bandar bin Mohammad
bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud.
“Privatisation
Commission chairman Abu Solaiman Chowdhury went to the chief
adviser’s office after receiving the Saudi prince’s letter,”
an official told bdnews24.com asking not to be named. The chairman
also talked to the finance adviser on the issue, the official said.
Contacted,
the Saudi prince’s senior adviser Frank Peters in Dhaka said that
he would not comment on the issue at the moment.
“He
(Frank) informed me that no comments could be received from him at
this point,” according to an email to bdnews24.com.
An
official with the Saudi prince’s Dhaka office said the prince’s
latest letter reached its destination Tuesday.
Prince
Bandar, who won the purchase bid of 67.26 per cent share of the bank
at $330 million last year, also offered to buy the remaining 26 per
cent government stake for $128 million.
The
government on Feb 22 agreed in principle to sell its 26 per cent
shares to the prince at his offered price.
The
new purchaser of the bank urged the government in December last year
to address 22 issues including blocked loan, voluntary retirement
scheme, non-performing loan of the state owned enterprises, which
are apparently delaying the agreement, PC officials said.
“The
delay has irked the prince who has been making repeated queries
through his nominated consultant in Dhaka,” the official of the
Saudi prince’s Dhaka office said.
Although
the government and the new management have assured that there would
be no retrenchment, both the parties are yet to agree on the
voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for the employees above 50.
“VRS
policy has been prepared and sent to finance ministry Monday for its
circular to Rupali employees,” another PC official told
bdnews24.com requesting anonymity.
According
to senior officials in the PC, the main difference between the two
parties is rooted in the state-owned enterprises’ (SOEs) loans to
the bank.
The
SOEs loan to Rupali was calculated at Tk 946 crore. But after
deduction of government’s dues in the bank, the balance stands at
Tk 851 crore. The Saudi prince’s representatives do not see eye to
eye with Bangladesh government on this point.
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