Political Unrest in Bangladesh Makes Investment Activities SluggishFear of political unrestand clashes centering the upcoming election has made investment activities in the country sluggish, according to banking sector sources Sunday.Commercial banks in the country are facing problems with a huge amount of invisible funds in their hands. The commercial banks are holding now about 35 billion taka (about 600 million U.S. dollars) as surplus fund in their hands. They are not finding viable investment areas as business and industry people show less interest in borrowing fund to invest in business and industrial enterprises. The banking sector as a whole is now enjoying a highly comfortable liquidity. There is also strongly active market due to a high demand for cash in normal transactions. Medium term and long-term investment demands, however, have declined as businessmen and industry people are taking a cautious attitude towards investment. The sources said that most of the banks are now searching for alternatives avenues to invest. The present trend of sluggish investment is likely to continue till the formation of the next elected government. The fear of political clashes will have its adverse impact on investment as investors will hardly take any risk in an uncertain situation. Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds injured in clashes among rival political parties in the country since the Awami League government was dissolved on July 15 after completing its five-year term. |
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