Govt to seek registration, foreign investment info from 48 Grameen concerns
The government is going to formulate a social business law to regulate non-government organisations, especially entities like Grameen Bank, aiming at preventing people from being cheated.

The Banking Division has already prepared a draft of the law and sent letters to 48 organisations, asking them to provide the division with relevant documents.

Banking Secretary Shafiqur Rahman Patwary told daily sun last week that the government is formulating a social business law to control NGOs in social business.

“Interest of credits to poor people should be monitored under a law,” he said.

Grameen Bank is now operating under the Grameen Bank Ordinance 1983 and the government owns 3 percent of its shares.

The secretary also said several subsidiary organisations of Grameen Bank are doing the same kind of business but none is regulated by any state law or regulation.

The Banking Division has already asked 48 subsidiary companies of Grameen Bank, including Grameenphone, Grameen Udyog, Grameen Dannon Food Limited, Grameen Kalyan, Grameen Telecom Trust and Grameen Shakti, to provide information about registration and amount of foreign investment since inception.

Information on these aspects may help prepare the law on operation of these social businesses, said a senior official of the Banking Division.

Dr Pias Karim of Brac University told daily sun on Monday that the country’s social business firms should be accountable to the government under a law or regulation. But the law must not be prepared by a few bureaucrats and ruling party members without discussing with the stakeholders, he added.