The Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently signed an agreement with Bangladesh’s Eastern Bank Ltd (EBL) to provide a $20-million loan to help improve standards and quality in Bangladesh's textile and garment sector. The loan will be used to finance socially and environmentally sustainable projects, specifically, the construction or expansion of factories.

EBL CEO Ali Reza Iftekhar and Christine Engstrom, director of ADB’s private sector financial institutions division, signed the agreement in Dhaka. The target is to meet structural, fire and electrical safety standards in factories, Bangladesh media reports cited a statement from the commercial bank as saying.

Bangladesh is currently the second largest exporter of textiles and garments, accounting for about 15 per cent of the gross domestic product and employing more than four million workers, 85 per cent of whom are women. (DS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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