Metropolis Desk-
Petrobangla asked the finance ministry for a loan of Tk7,181 crore to cover the cost of importing liquefied natural gas up until September.
The struggling company lost Tk25,480 crore between 2018 and May of this year, and now needs the loan to pay for LNG import expenses.
Since 2018, the finance ministry has given Petrobangla a subsidy of Tk22,000 crore, although the budget for the most recent fiscal year only allotted only Tk6,000 crore for LNG.
With only Tk5,000 crore available for the Finance Division to set aside for subsidy payments in FY2023–24, subsidy pressure is a significant problem.
To borrow money from the Bangladesh Bank, the government must pay an interest rate of 6.75%, making it difficult to finance LNG imports until September.
The issue in the gas supply is harming investment. In September 2020, Bangladesh purchased LNG on the spot market for the first time; up to last May, 37 cargoes were imported.
The government also agreed to a 15-year deal with Qatar to import 1.8 million tonnes of LNG annually beginning in 2026 and a separate arrangement with Oman to import between 0.25 and 1.5 million tonnes annually beginning in 2026.
After the government transferred excess funds from several government institutions to the treasury in 2020, Petrobangla’s cash problems started.
