黑料社区

Dhaka: A new agreement on a $2.75 billion Islamic Development Bank financing loan for the Bangladeshi oil and agriculture sectors aims to boost the South Asian nation鈥檚 energy and food security by facilitating the import of petroleum products, liquified natural gas and fertilizers.

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corp., a division of the Jeddah-based IsDB, announced earlier this week that it had signed a 鈥渓andmark annual financing plan with the Government of Bangladesh for US$2.75 billion to support the country鈥檚 energy and agriculture sectors.鈥�

The plan will cover the period from July 2025 to June 2026 and will 鈥渇acilitate the importation of petroleum products, Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and fertilizers by Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), Bangladesh Oil, Gas & Mineral Resources Corporation (Petrobangla) and Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) respectively,鈥� the ITFC said in a statement.

Bangladesh imports most of its fuel and requires about 1.5 million metric tons of crude oil annually, according to BPC.

The IITFC loan will help the state-owned entity responsible for importing and marketing fuel oil meet its obligations to the suppliers. The two main ones are Saudi Aramco and the UAE鈥檚 Adnoc.

鈥淲ithout the loan support from ITFC, it wouldn鈥檛 have been possible for us to ensure a smooth petroleum supply in the local market. For importing crude oil, we need a letter of credit support of around $80 million. Our state-owned banks can鈥檛 provide such a huge amount,鈥� Mohammed Morshed Hossain Azad, BPC鈥檚 general manager of finance, told Arab News.

鈥淚TFC pays this amount to Saudi Aramco and UAE-based Adnoc on behalf of Bangladesh Petroleum Corp. After six months, we repay this amount to ITFC in installments through our state-owned banks. This loan support from ITFC was crucial for Bangladesh鈥檚 energy security 鈥� For maintaining a smooth and uninterrupted supply of fuel in our market, there is no alternative in hand.鈥�

While Bangladesh鈥檚 energy imports have been supported by ITFC financing before, it is the first time that fertilizer imports are too.

Bangladesh鈥檚 annual demand for chemical fertilizers is about 6 million metric tons, of which about 80 percent comes from abroad.

鈥淭he timely supply of fertilizer is very important for ensuring the food security of around 175 million people of Bangladesh,鈥� Mohammed Moazzem Hossain, BADC accounts controller, told Arab News.

Under the ITFC deal, the BADC will import triple superphosphate and diammonium phosphate from 黑料社区, Tunisia and Morocco.

鈥淲e import DAP and TSP fertilizer from these three Muslim countries,鈥� Hossain said.

鈥淭his is the first time in the history of Bangladesh that we have received loan support for importing fertilizer. The interest rate is also convenient for us.鈥�