By IANS
Dhaka : The Bangladesh Government is to give a take-it-or-leave-it ultimatum to a prominent Saudi Arabian prince who purchased the state-owned Rupali Bank last August but has not taken charge.
The government is considering cancelling the lengthy negotiation process of handing over the bank’s control if Prince Bandar, a prominent businessman, does not give his final response about taking over the bank within this month, the Daily Star said Friday.
The prince purchased 67 percent of the bank’s shares for $330 million and was ready to take over the rest at the end of lengthy negotiations concluded by the Khaleda Zia Government.
Things have gone into a limbo thereafter and the bank’s work, save the routine work, “has come to a standstill”, the newspaper said.
By now, 650 of the 4,500 employees have applied for voluntary retirement and more are looking around for jobs.
The Bangladesh Privatisation Commission says the government is against leaving the Rupali Bank issue uncertain for an unlimited period.
The commission has frequently contacted the Saudi prince but he is yet to give a conclusive decision, unnamed sources told the newspaper.
The sale was conducted on the basis of advice given by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as part of the economic restructuring of the country.
Rupali Bank Limited, one of Bangladesh’s four remaining state-owned commercial banks, was established in 1972 and formed through the takeover of the Muslim Commercial Bank, Australasia Bank and Standard Bank, formerly operating in the erstwhile East Pakistan.