Bangladesh: Analyzing Hasina era Adani Power Deal

[BananaRepublic]

Problem is how does BD get Ruppees and Yuan as it like sells only 3 billion US dollars worth to China and India but imports 10x as much from them?

80%+ of it's exports are to US, UK and EU and they will only pay in Dollars, Pounds and Euros.

As these currencies are stable and highly liquid and so both China and India will readily accept them for BD imports.

Hence, BD needs to sign currency peg and swap deals with both countries.

Yes! It can only happen if both countries guarantee a floor for their currency.

Germany did something similar to smaller European countries in return for Euro membership.

Are India and China ready to grow up and come out of the shadows of US?

Problem with dollar reliance is having to deal with uncle Sam’s financial system.

 

[UKBengali]

Hence, BD needs to sign currency peg and swap deals with both countries.

Yes! It can only happen if both countries guarantee a floor for their currency.

Germany did something similar to smaller European countries in return for Euro membership.

Are India and China ready to grow up and come out of the shadows of US?

A currency swap deal only works if both countries trade volume is similar both ways.

BD simply would not accumulate enough Rupees and Yuan to pay for the bulk of its imports from India and China.


With Germany, that is not the same as most EU countries switched to Euro.

 

[Joe Shearer]

@UKBengali

It doesn’t make sense for a country to hold reserves in a currency that it doesn’t import with.

Bangladesh imports almost everything from three countries/entities:

1. India
2. China
3. GCC

Hence bulk of our reserves should be in those currencies - to facilitate seamless trade.

Small reserves of dollars and Euro required for trade with rest of world.

@SoulSpokesman @Joe Shearer

I imagine @SoulSpokesman should have an authoritative view on this, as he is a financial expert in his day job.

 

[SoulSpokesman]

@Joe Shearer @BananaRepublic @UKBengali

@SoulSpokesman should have an authoritative view on this, as he is a financial expert

The Hon Soul Spokesman sb has no expertise in anything, barring trolling and teasing people on blogs/SM.

But to address Kola bhais' question. While in theory it seems reasonable to believe that BD should maintain its reserves in the currencies of its main import sources, the practical problem is that BD runs a huge deficit with all the three entities he mentions (IND,PRC, GCC)- so where do they get the currency from (apart from the nominal export BD has to these three). That apart its borrowings are also largely in USD. In practice, therefore it has to trade with them in USD denominated terms and therefore has to maintain its foreign reserves in USD too.

Personally, I think it would be a great idea if IND, BD, NEP, BHU, SL and MAL enter into a customs and currency union with free movement of people and investments across borders. It would require a level of trust between these nations, and I suspect it will materialise in another generations time.

Regards

 

[Cryptonian]

IND, BD, NEP, BHU, SL and MAL enter into a customs and currency union with free movement of people and investments across borders. It would require a level of trust between these nations, and I suspect it will materialise in another generations time.

What benefit does India achieve by getting into such pact with countries, most of which are financially irresponsible, inconsequential and highly susceptible to outsider forces.

 

[SoulSpokesman]

@Cryptonian

Obviously, if and when this will happen, presumably there will be certain accepted protocols on things like deficit, military alliances etc, which will require some pooling of sovereignty like in the case of EU. As I said this is something which require a level of trust and would need a generation or so.

Regards

 

[UKBengali]

@Cryptonian

Obviously, if and when this will happen, presumably there will be certain accepted protocols on things like deficit, military alliances etc, which will require some pooling of sovereignty like in the case of EU. As I said this is something which require a level of trust and would need a generation or so.

Regards

Non starter for BD.

FTA but no further.

 

[LeonBlack08]

@UKBengali @BananaRepublic @LeonBlack08

Has the IG too got Godified?

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/bangladesh-seeks-full-power-supply-restoration-adani-plant-2025-02-11/

NEW DELHI, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Bangladesh has asked Adani Power to fully resume supplies from its 1,600-megawatt plant in India, a Bangladesh official said, after more than three months of reduced sales with supplies halved due to low winter demand and payment disputes.

Adani, which signed a 25-year contract under former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2017, has been supplying power from its $2 billion plant in India's Jharkhand state. The plant, with two units each of 800 megawatts capacity, sells exclusively to Bangladesh.

The Indian company halved supply to Bangladesh on October 31 due to payment delays as the country battled a foreign exchange shortage. This led to the shutdown of one unit on November 1, resulting in the plant operating at about 42% capacity.
Subsequently, Bangladesh told Adani to keep supplying only half the power.

The state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) said it had been paying $85 million a month to Adani to clear outstanding dues and has now told the company to resume supply from the second unit.

"As per our requirement today, they have planned to synchronise the second unit, but due to the high vibration, it didn't happen," BPDB Chairperson Md. Rezaul Karim told Reuters, referring to some technical problems that stopped the unit from restarting on Monday.
"Right now, we are making a payment of $85 million per month. We are trying to pay more, and our intention is to reduce the overdue. Now there is no big issue with Adani."

BPDB and Adani officials were due to meet virtually on Tuesday following another meeting recently to work out various issues between them, said a source with direct knowledge of the matter who did not want to be named as he was not authorised to talk to the media.

An Adani Power spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In December, an Adani source said BPDB owed the company about $900 million, while Karim said at the time the amount was only about $650 million.

Regards

It appears IG reviewed the contract, did their cost benefit analysis and decided to live with it.

Hopefully they will also fully operationalize the Rampal and Bashkhali coal based power plants, as they had not been operating at max capacity since their inception. And most importantly - tear up contracts signed under the quick power rental scheme for gasoline based power plants owned by BAL affiliated businessmen.

 

[SoulSpokesman]

@LeonBlack08

It appears IG reviewed the contract, did their cost benefit analysis and decided to live with it.

Thanks for being fairminded!

So both Gautambhai and SHW stand baizzat buried (as we say in Urdu/Hindi) on this specific charge at least.

The other charges levied against SHW of course still hold and need to be disposed separately.

Regards

 

[BananaRepublic]

@LeonBlack08

It appears IG reviewed the contract, did their cost benefit analysis and decided to live with it.

Thanks for being fairminded!

So both Gautambhai and SHW stand baizzat buried (as we say in Urdu/Hindi) on this specific charge at least.

The other charges levied against SHW of course still hold and need to be disposed separately.

Regards

Those petro based power generators are from the BNP and military days. In fact there’s an ex BNP MP from sylhet division who owns one such power unit.

Bangladesh did not have an energy strategy until Hasina formulated one.

Most garment factories ran on ad-hoc power.

It’s Hasina who decided to end ad-hoc and petro based power generation - much to the crying of her detractors!

So, it’s blatant lying to blame her for those filthy power units!

 

[LeonBlack08]

Those petro based power generators are from the BNP and military days. In fact there’s an ex BNP MP from sylhet division who owns one such power unit.

Bangladesh did not have an energy strategy until Hasina formulated one.

Most garment factories ran on ad-hoc power.

It’s Hasina who decided to end ad-hoc and petro based power generation - much to the crying of her detractors!

So, it’s blatant lying to blame her for those filthy power units!

Keep your nonsense to yourself.

Provide proof that those quick power rental units were "all" from BNP era.

For instance - Summit power and their gasoline based plants were from BNP era? Summit Power is a BAL affiliated business, with the owner being brother of a BAL minister. You can go check their website to see when these plants were set up.

 

[BananaRepublic]

Keep your nonsense to yourself.

Provide proof that those quick power rental units were "all" from BNP era.

For instance - Summit power and their gasoline based plants were from BNP era? Summit Power is a BAL affiliated business, with the owner being brother of a BAL minister. You can go check their website to see when these plants were set up.

So, summit power is the only producer of petro based power?

Anyway, it’s pointless debating with you!

You are so biased and partisan!

And if Hasina was pro petro based power - she wouldn’t have formulated an strategy based on nuclear and hydro energy import from Nepal.

You are so biased - you will never see the truth even if it slapped you in the face!

At least you aren’t whining about Adani anymore lol

 

[LeonBlack08]

So, summit power is the only producer of petro based power?

Anyway, it’s pointless debating with you!

You are so biased and partisan!

And if Hasina was pro petro based power - she wouldn’t have formulated an strategy based on nuclear and hydro energy import from Nepal.

You are so biased - you will never see the truth even if it slapped you in the face!

At least you aren’t whining about Adani anymore lol

Stop crying. You claimed something baseless, I debunked it. End of discussion.

 

[uksyl]

Bangla govt not to scrap pact with Adani Power​

Bangladesh’s Minister of Power, Iqbal Hasan Mahmud, has announced that the new government will not cancel the 2017 power purchase agreement with Adani Power.​

Written by Raghavendra Kamath
March 1, 2026 22:58 IST
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Bangladesh’s New BNP Government Confirms Adani Power Deal Will Stay Intact
The new government in Bangladesh will not cancel the power purchase agreement with Adani Power. Minister of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Iqbal Hasan Mahmud said that the BNP-led government will retain the power purchase agreement with Adani Power.

In conversation with a Dhaka-based digital news and infotainment platform Deshkal News, Mahmud said that the government has no plan to cancel the deal.

Bangladesh signed the agreement in 2017, to purchase electricity from Adani Power during the tenure of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The deal drew strong criticism at the time.

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Opposition leaders and several energy analysts — including leaders from Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) — questioned
its transparency and described it as financially disadvantageous for the country. Some BNP leaders and economists even labelled it a one-sided agreement that failed to adequately safeguard Bangladesh’s national interests.

Pragmatism Over Protest​

However, after assuming office, the BNP government has taken a comparatively restrained stance.

https://www.financialexpress.com/business/news/bangla-govt-not-to-scrap-pact-with-adani-power/4159465/

@SoulSpokesman @Prince_

 

[SoulSpokesman]

@uksyl

Makes sense. Adani power will be cheaper than FO/Liquid based power plants. Till the time BD builds enough coal based or nuclear power plants to meet own capacity it should keep purchasing IND thermal (Adani included) and Nepal/ Bhutan hydropower.

Regards