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Download PDF Six financial institutions including three foreign ones have submitted expression of interest (EoI) for purchasing majority shares of Oriental Bank Ltd (OBL).
Yesterday was the closing day for registering interest in the tendering. Earlier, Bangladesh Bank (BB) in an advertisement last month requested responses from firms qualified to buy the 57 percent of the Oriental Bank’s paid-up capital through an open tender.
The three foreign firms are Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank Ltd, Malaysia’s ICB Financial Group Holdings Ltd, and UK-based leading international firm East Invest Private Equity Limited. Brac Bank Ltd, Summit Group, Domestic Investors Consortium make up the local bidders.
BB sources said a short-list would be prepared based on the central bank’s Fit and Proper Test and only those on the list would be asked to take part in the bidding.
“The Bangladesh Bank reserves the right to accept or reject any application or annul the process without obligating itself to any person or entity,” said a high official of the BB.
After a severe liquidity crisis, the central bank dissolved the Oriental Bank’s board of directors, sacked its managing director and appointed an administrator to run the bank for the time being in June 2006.
Presently, the bank has 30 branches with assets totalling Tk 2,205 crore and deposits Tk 2,308 crore. A special audit was carried out to gauge its overall financial position.
As part of a special scheme, the central bank has decided to increase the Oriental Bank’s paid-up capital to Tk 700 crore from the existing Tk 57 crore. It stipulates that Tk 400 crore or 57 percent will be sold as sponsor shares and Tk 300 crore as general shares.
According to the plan, the board of directors will consist of 13 members–10 from sponsor shareholders and the remainder from general shareholders. The BB will approve the first board for three years and also appoint the first chief executive officer for the same length of time.
Formerly Al Baraka Bank Ltd, the Oriental Bank Ltd was established in 1987. It was put under temporary moratorium in January for shortfalls in capital and provision, burden of non-performing loans and weak management.
December 3rd, 2007 at 6:21 pm
I dont know what action is going to be taken by the authority or by the goverment of Bangladesh regarding the Oriental Bank.But one thing is sure that we the general people who kept deposits with the Bank is/are just getting down under deep water(disaster).PLs take anerly step to overcome the problem and let the clients of the bank to have a hassel free life as soon as possible since many of us kept an amount which was helping to run their respective family.