The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) on Sunday said that the business environment in the country deteriorated in 2022 compared with 2021.

A new survey by the CPD said that inadequate infrastructure, bureaucratic barriers to access to credit, and inefficient administration are the major barriers to entrepreneurship development.

It said high inflation, foreign exchange crisis and makeshift policies have further complicated the business environment.

The think tank shared the findings of the survey titled ‘Bangladesh Business Environment 2022: Entrepreneurship Survey’ on Sunday.

Khandkar Golam Moazzem, Research Director of the organisation, presented the survey data at a media briefing at the CPD office in Dhanmondi in the capital. CPD’s Executive Director Fahmida Khatun was present during the briefing.

Moazzem said that corruption is a major obstacle to growing a sustainable business in the country.

The survey revealed that the business environment deteriorated in 2022 compared with 2021. About 74 percent of officials of various institutions in the agriculture, production, and service sectors of Dhaka, Chattogram, Narayanganj and Gazipur took part in this survey conducted from April to July last year. However, it says this was not a nation-wide survey.

Around 64.6 percent of the executives surveyed cited corruption as a major obstacle to doing business.

About 64 percent of the officials mentioned that corruption is taking place in paying tax, 54 percent said they face graft in getting a business licence, 49 percent said bribe is a norm for getting gas-electricity-water connection, and 75 percent said corruption is rampant in the import-export sector.

Fahmida Khatun said that the production cost of products is increasing due to corruption.

“The cost of services is also increasing. Common people must bear the brunt of this additional cost. Various levels of corruption are damaging the business environment and the economy,” she added.