69 SOEs make profits, 19 suffer losses

A total of 69 state-owned enterprises (SOEs) made profits while 19 suffered losses in the last fiscal year.

Cabinet Secretary Muhammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan disclosed this while talking to reporters after a Cabinet meeting at the Secretariat on Monday.

Annual reports on the performance of the ministries and divisions were presented before the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Bhuiyan said: “69 state-owned enterprises made profits in the 2013-14 FY. Number of profit-making enterprises has increased. During the same period, 19 public enterprises sustained losses.”

“Public enterprises sustain losses due to several reasons. Offering services is the main objective of these enterprises,” he explained.

The SOEs which attained profit include Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Co Ltd (BAPEX), Titas Gas Transmission Co Ltd, Meghna Petroleum, Jamuna Oil, Sonali Bank, Janata Bank, and Agrani Bank.

The loss-making enterprises include Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation and Dhaka Power Distribution Company.

The secretary, however, did not elaborate on the profit and losses of the enterprises.

He said every ministry or division was supposed to submit the annual report of its performances before the Cabinet. “The Cabinet has been informed of the financial reports for 2013-14 FY. There are some observations and recommendations in the reports.”

Expressing satisfaction at Bangladesh’s financial performances in the last FY, Bhuiyan said: “The per capita income (of Bangladeshis) rose to $1,190 in 2013-14 FY from $1,044 in 2012-13 FY. Exports went up by 11.69 percent and revenue collection by 8.35 percent.”

He mentioned that forex reserves increased by 40.44 percent and power generation by 14.33 percent during the period.

The secretary said point-to-point inflation declined to 6.97 percent in 2013-14 FY from 8.06 percent in the previous year. At the end of the last FY, number of mobile-phone subscribers stood at 116.2 million and internet users at 38.9 million.

Agricultural production and number of tourists increased in 2013-14 FY while all indicators of communications and health services improved, he added.

Bhuiyan said though works of 242 projects were supposed to be completed in the last FY, finally 229 could be completed.

He said: “Recommendations have been made (in the reports) to strengthen inter-ministerial coordination for implementation of policies and programmes.”

The Cabinet accepted the recommendations, he added.

The other recommendations include development of skills of project implementing authorities, invigoration of supervision, prompt appointment of officials in vacant posts, and strengthening of public hearing on government services.

Recommendations also include development of power management system, arrangement of training for volunteers to combat natural disasters, enhancement of public awareness to prevent food adulteration, retention of doctors at their workplaces, and development of e-tendering.