Demand for industrial loans went up during the third quarter of the ongoing fiscal year (January-March FY23) as economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic drove private sector credit growth.
Companies had to spend more to import capital machinery from the international market.
The credit growth in the first 11 months of the current fiscal is, however, below the Bangladesh Bank's ceiling of 14.80% for the entire year.
Industrial loan disbursement registered 33.75% growth in the quarter of the current fiscal compared to the corresponding period last year, according to data released by the central bank on Wednesday.
According to the data, the country's industrial sector borrowed Tk127,671 crore in January-March period, while the bank borrowing was Tk90,966 crore in the same quarter last year marked by pandemic-led business slowdown.
As banks lent Tk124,865 crore to the industries in the October-December quarter last year, January-March industrial loan disbursement rose by Tk2,806 crore compared to previous quarter.
Industry insiders said many factories were closed in March last year due to Covid, while construction of new industrial units hit a snag, which affected the industrial loan growth. Subsequently government stimulus and waned Covid rates improved the overall credit flow.
According to the latest data, loan recovery in January-March was Tk101,877 crore – up by 20% compared to the corresponding period last year.
Working capital loans to both small and big industries early this year rose by more than 41% compared to previous year.
