The cabinet has approved the final draft of the Foreign Exchange Regulation (Amendment) Act 2015 and the draft of the Rabindra University Bangladesh Act 2015 in principle.
The acts were okayed at the regular weekly meeting of the cabinet held at the Secretariat yesterday.
Cabinet Secretary Muhammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told reporters after the meeting that the Bangladesh Bank and Financial Institutions Division had finalised the draft of the Foreign Exchange Regulation (Amendment) Act by including two new provisions.
“One of the provisions is that Bangladesh Bank will have the discretion to ask the foreigners staying in Bangladesh and also Bangladeshi migrants working in other countries to submit their wealth statements.
“The other is that multinational firms and liaison offices of such firms will have to obtain permission from the Board of Investment (BOI) to operate in Bangladesh,” he said.
Foreign companies in Bangladesh previously needed separate permissions from both Bangladesh Bank and the BOI but the BOI from now on will be the only authority to give the permission and will have to send relevant documents to the central bank within 30 days.
The government in the past approved two amendments to the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act in 2003 and 1976.
The cabinet secretary said Rabindra University Bangladesh would be established at Shahjadpur in Sirajganj.
He said studies at the university would chiefly focus on subjects related to the arts and culture. “But business, law, science and engineering courses will also be offered.”