Bangladesh Imports Fall, Pays $684 Million Charge

Dhaka, Bangladesh (AHN) - Bangladesh paid $684 million on Monday to the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) for imports during March-April, officials said in Dhaka.

The amount compares to $733 million for the January-February period of this year indicating lower imports from other ACU member countries.

The ACU is an arrangement between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to settle payments for intra-regional transactions among the participating central banks on a multilateral basis.

The government said the country's foreign exchange reserve fell to around $5 billion on Monday from $5.772 billion of the previous day after remitting the fund.

Under texisting provisions, settlement of the balance and accrued interests are made at the end of each two-month period among the member countries of ACU.

The organization began in November 1975 to boost trade relations among tmember countries. Bangladesh and Myanmar joined the union as sixth and seventh members in 1976 and 1977 respectively. However, Bhutan joined the ACU on December 9, 1999.