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  Volume: XXII, Issue No. 21 June 16-30, 2013  
     
 
   
 
   
  BANKING & COMMERCE
  EBL offer energy-efficiency financing
 
 
  Untitled Document
-A Monitor Report
Dhaka : Eastern Bank Ltd. (EBL) has developed the first Sustainable Energy Finance loan product in the country to help companies implement energy-saving measures and boosting the competitiveness of private enterprises who take out such loans.
Eastern Bank developed EBL Green Credit with assistance from the SouthAsia En-terprise Development Facility, managed by IFC in partnership with the UK Department for International Development and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation.
EBL Green Credit was launched recently at a function, held at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel of the city. Dr. Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chow-dhury BB, Energy Adviser to the Prime Minister, Dr. Atiur Rahman, Governor of Bang-ladesh Bank, Kyle F. Kelhofer, IFC Country Manager in Bang-ladesh, Fakhrul Alam, Deputy Managing Director of Eastern Bank Ltd. industry experts, lenders, representatives from financial institutions, and multilateral donors were present on the occasion.
Fakhrul Alam, said the bank aims to finance US$20 million in sustainable Energy Finan-ce projects over the next five years, and avoid 200,000 tons of carbon emission in the process. Even though Bangladesh formulated a renewable energy policy in 2008, incentives to encourage private sector investments have been lacking.
Dr. Atiur Rahman, Governor of Bangladesh Bank, said, ?Bangladesh Bank is firmly committed to contribute significantly as a regulatory authority to the sustainable energy finance agenda in Bangladesh.?
Dr. Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury BB, Energy Adviser to the Prime Minister, said, ?Sustain-able development, including energy for all, is the strategy to go forward. The Green Credit product should help promote and finance the energy mix stipulated in the Energy Policy of the government of Bangladesh.?
Kyle F. Kelho-fer, IFC Country Manager in Bangladesh, said, ?This pioneering initiative is an important milestone in Bang-ladesh's continuing efforts to promote international best practices in climate change financing."
The power sector in Bang-ladesh relies heavily on natural gas. An acute shortfall in gas supply threatens to stall industrialisation as well as the government?s plan to electrify the entire country by 2020, highlighting the need for private sector investments in sustainable energy financing.
   
 
 
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