Bangladesh Bank yesterday declared a Tk 1,000 crore fund aimed at salvaging the country's ailing movie theatres.

Existing owners of cinemas and new entrepreneurs will be able to avail soft loans from the fund, according to a central bank notice.

The initiative comes from the banking regulator as the number of operational cinemas slumped below 100 due to a drastic fall in the number of audiences.

In its notice, Bangladesh Bank said there were around 1,400 movie theatres in the country during the 90s. The number has been on the decline over the years due to different hurdles.