JEDDAH, 17 September 2006 — The Bangladeshi government has approved a deal to sell 67 percent of the state-owned Rupali Bank for $330 million (23 billion taka) to a Saudi prince, according to a source at the Bangladeshi Finance Ministry on Friday, reported the Al-Eqtisadiah daily.
The paper reported that Prince Bandar ibn Muhammad Al-Saud had offered to buy 67 percent of shares of the bank. The chairman of Bangladesh’s privatization board, Inam Ahmad, said the Saudi offer went above their expectation. According to the source, with the final approval of the country’s Ministerial Committee for Economy the last impediment in the way of the deal was removed on Wednesday and the deal went ahead.
At the same time the deal has come at a time when the Bangladesh government is facing mounting pressure from the International Monetary Fund to close all the government owned establishments that are running on loss.
