The loss acquired, due to the higher purchasing rate and lower selling rate
in fuel and electricity sector of our country, has caused the net losses of
Bangladesh to be doubled by the state enterprises to 16.880 crore Tk in the current financial year. Out of the 48
loss making enterprises, 36 made a profit of Tk 8,386 crore; Bangladesh
Petroleum Corporation and Bangladesh Power Development Board alone suffered 99
percent of the total loss which is estimated by the Bangladesh Economic Review,
to be about Tk 25,266 crore.
In both the cases of BPC and PDB; losses
doubled from approximately 9 crore Tk to 16 crore Tk and 4.5 crore Tk to 8.5
crore Tk respectively in just one year. An official from the finance ministry stated
that the major cause of the losses in both the enterprises is fuel-guzzling
rental power plants. He specified that the losses occurred mostly because BPC’s
power plants requires more fuel to run therefore resulting into BPC importing
more fuel than before. And also because the international rise of fuel price
was not adjusted much domestically. The official also stated that the
consumption and irregularities were also accountable for the losses that BPC
suffered. A committee was formed to analyze the income, expenditure and import
of the state enterprise.
Likewise PDB also had to purchase
electricity at higher prices from the quick rental power plants and sold the electricity
at comparatively lower prices. Even after the adjustment of electricity prices quite
a few times, now the production cost is Tk 6.80 per unit, where the average sales
value is Tk 4.02 per unit; causing PDB to suffer a loss of Tk 2.78 per unit of
electricity this year.
What is more demoralizing is the fact that
PDB also incurs "system losses". Even though the system loss has
reduced through the years, it is still at an unviable percentile of 8 %, stated
a PDB official. The official also noted
that the main cause of the losses in the current financial year is purchase of
electricity at higher prices from the quick rental power plants. From 2004 to
2010, PDB’s losses lingered between Tk 121 crore and Tk 993 crore; the rate
however started rising sharply only from the last financial year.
Both the companies have developed ways
to reduce this loss. One reduced losses and the other raised profit - significantly.
There have been also other attempts from other companies to reduce the net loss
of Bangladesh. For instance, Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation reduced
its loss by a percentile of 63 percent in the past one year. BCIC reduced its
loss from434 crore to 158 crore Tk in the past one year. And Bangladesh
Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) increased its profit by 93
percent to Tk 5,849 crore in the current financial year in comparison to the
last.
Main news link: Losses double at state enterprises
Comments
Post a Comment