SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF AND PARTICIPATION IN IPFF II SYNDICATED FINANCING FACILITY

SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF AND PARTICIPATION IN IPFF II SYNDICATED FINANCING FACILITY

IIDFC Limited was the lead arranger in arranging syndication facility of BDT 2,825,560,000.00 (BDT Two billion eight hundred twenty-five million five hundred sixty thousand) only for MIEZL under IPFF II Fund of the World Bank with Bangladesh Bank, as the facilitator. It was the very first disbursement under IPFF II Scheme of the World Bank where the first private economic zone of the country has been financed.

On 11th June, 2020, IIDFC received world Bank’s concurrence letter through Bangladesh Bank to extend facility loan of BDT 367.00 million to Meghna Industrial Economic Zone (MIEZ) for 12 years as participation amount out of a total syndication facility of BDT 2825.60 million raised for this client under IPFF- II. World Bank also gave its nod to disburse this syndication facility. IIDFC is the Lead PFI (Participating Financial Institution) and arranger of this syndication facility of BDT 2825.60 million. MIEZ was the first project which, with the advisory service of IIDFC, applied for this loan under IPFF II. MIEZ is the first private economic zone to receive the facility from the World Bank



AAA AWARDS FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARDS GROWTH OF BANGLADESH

American Alumni Association (AAA) recently awarded individuals for their outstanding contributions towards growth of Bangladesh with a clear influence of an American Education.

AAA arranged the award giving ceremony for the recognition at a Dhaka hotel.  HE Earl R Miller, ambassador of United States of America to Bangladesh, Salman F Rahman, private sector development adviser, Prime Minister’s Office, Gowher Rizvi, international affairs’ adviser, Prime Minister’s Office, Mashiur Rahman, economic affairs advisor, Prime Minister’s Office and co-chair, AAA and Mr. Tipu Munshi, Ministry of Commerce, was present at the ceremony.

Winners received crests as awards in several categories. Mohammad Matiul Islam, civil servant, Entrepreneur, Chairman of IIDFC, reeived award for Lifetime Achievement.

Ms. Nusrat Feroz Aman, president, AAA welcomed all the members of AAA and respected dignitaries at the programme. Mr. Tipu Munshi congratulated the awardees in his speech.

AAA AWARDS FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARDS GROWTH OF BANGLADESH


11 YEARS OF AWARDING EXCELLENCE IN BUSINESS

11 YEARS OF AWARDING EXCELLENCE IN BUSINESS

Friends and colleagues call him a “doyen of banking”. M Matiul Islam is an endearing name among his peers. He made a clear mark in the nation's financial sector and built a towering profile that dwarfs many others around him. His career that spans six decades stands out with high points of achievement. It started with the Civil Service of Pakistan in 1952. Matiul Islam, now 81, is still a taskmaster the chairman of IIDFC, a leading non-bank financial institution.

In 1972 when the shadows of the Liberation War were lingering on the economy, Matiul Islam was handpicked as the nation's first finance secretary by none other than Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He had been tasked with building a banking system, the first step to inject an impetus into the war-ravaged economy. Guided by a new government's mandate for nationalisation, he merged 12 banks into six. When many said the new country, Bangladesh that is, would not last long, he pressed on with his mission to build a strong banking system. A personal vision statement “Bangladesh will survive, if banks survive” carried him forward. Today, he does not shy away from admitting that he exerted a total control over the six banks, without appointing a chairman to any of them. Those state banks were free from political influence and performed very well, he recalls.

In the world of private banks as well, Matiul Islam is a pioneer. The first private bank, Arab Bangladesh Bank, now AB Bank, was his creation.

There was a long pause 12 years in his career in the financial sector at home, but he was active abroad, serving the United Nations, World Bank and other organisations from 1981 to 1993. When he came back home, he picked up his earlier thread in his life by setting up International Leasing and Financial Services Ltd, followed by National Housing Finance.

Matiul Islam's latest creation is Industrial and Infrastructure Development Finance Company, a non-bank financial institution. Its shareholders are banks, not greedy individuals, as he likes to put it.

“Earlier experiences taught me that 'don't give shares to individuals; give them to corporations'. So I took banks as shareholders for IIDFC.”

Dr Farashuddin, who was governor of Bangladesh Bank, had insisted that there should be some state banks as shareholders of IIDFC and Matiul Islam did so.

The IIDFC boss advises government officials to be careful about what they should and should not say because people watch them every moment. Honesty and a sense of duty should be the guiding principles for them, he said.

For him, the third principle, perhaps the most valuable, is his willingness to accept any loss or failure gracefully. He participated in bids to privatise Rupali Bank in 2005 by forming a domestic consortium of banks, but lost out to Saudi Prince Bandar Bin Mohammad Bin Abdulrahman Al-Saud, one of the bidders, because his offer fell far short. He congratulated the Saudi Prince's representative after the prince won the bid with a $330 million offer. “I accepted the loss gracefully,” he said. “I think I am a gracious loser.”

Matiul Islam still remembers the most shocking incident in his life: he was forced out of the Pakistan Civil Service in December 1969. As a senior government official, he went to Karachi to plead for relaxing the import policy which was highly controlled at the time. “You needed permission or licence from the government for anything you wanted to import. It was not like what we see today. Now, our import policy is free.”

“I was there in Karachi to plead for what we needed for East Pakistan. I was there to raise our demands. But at the meeting, I was told that 'Mr Islam, your service is no longer required'.”

“It was a big shock not only to me, but to the whole family. I faced it with courage. I always thought it was a temporary setback and I knew I would make a comeback.”

Matiul Islam, never willing to give up the fight, was determined to make a living in Karachi, away from home. And there is always a silver lining in the clouds. He was offered a job at Pakistan National Oil (now Pakistan State Oil) in Karachi and transferred to Dhaka as the country head of the company three months later.

But things changed after independence. Islam lost his job again and was about to begin a new journey to try his luck elsewhere -- again away from home -- in London.

As he was preparing to leave home for good, he received a call from a former colleague with a piece of news that he would have to take a top job on the Awami League government. Matiul Islam still remembers the date: January 11, 1972. Six days later, he took the reins as the country's first finance secretary, with so much power and authority.



BUSINESS HEROES HONOURED

It was a special nigh to honour the country's five business heroes -- institutions and individuals for taking their ventures to a greater height of achievement in their own areas. Each award is a success story and a signpost for ideas and innovations in the world of business.

On a night of triumph for business, M Matiul Islam, Chairman of Industrial and Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IIDFC), was crowned with Lifetime Achievement Award for a career that spanned six decades. He is best recognised as a doyen of banking for building a financial system to jive up the war-ravaged economy soon after the Liberation war. Matiul Islam, as the country's first finance secretary, nationalised six banks and set up Arab Bangladesh Bank, a first step in the private sector.

Commerce Minister Faruk Khan, who graced awards ceremony as the chief

guest. The minister,who gave away the awards to the winners, said it would not have been possible without the hard work of the entrepreneurs and assured the business community that all obstacles to economic development would be removed.

The ceremony was attended by 300 businesspeople, diplomats, bureaucrats, politicians, entrepreneurs, celebrities, civil society members and academics. The  award aims to acknowledge the contributions of companies and individuals in business, create an environment for entreneurship and improve the standards of corporate management.

M. Matiul Islam said his philosophy is to never look back. "I alwase look forward. That is my guiding principle. Life is nothing without productivity."

BUSINESS HEROES HONOURED


HSBC, STAR HONOUR CLIMATE HEROES

HSBC, STAR HONOUR CLIMATE HEROES

IIDFC was awarded "HSBC-Daily Star Climate change Mitigation Award-2010" for developing the best climate change mitigation project in the Country.



TERM LOAN SYNDICATION FOR WARID TELECOM INTERNATIONAL LTD.

Term Loan Syndication for Warid Telecom International Ltd. [BDT 300 Crore] signed in Abu Dhabi.

TERM LOAN SYNDICATION FOR WARID TELECOM INTERNATIONAL LTD.