Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a think tank, believes that Bangladesh’s economy lags behind Sri Lanka and Nepal, and will face three significant challenges in the next two years.
CPD Research Director Khondkar Golam Mouazzem highlighted the concerns in his keynote presentation during a dialogue titled ‘Business Environment Reform in Bangladesh: Interim Government's Agenda’ at BRAC Centre in Mohakhali on Sunday.
In addition to economic risks such as inflation, recession, poverty, and inequality, CPD also identified three pressing social risks: unemployment, fuel shortages and the increasing prevalence of chronic health issues like heart disease, cancer and diabetes, which contribute to poor health and social degradation.
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Prof Lutfe Siddiqui, Special Envoy of the Chief Adviser on International Affairs, attended the dialogue as the chief guest, while CPD Executive Director Fahmida Khatun presided over the event.
Other notable participants included Chowdhury Ashiq Mahmud Bin Haroon, Executive Chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA); former FBCCI President Abdul Awal Mintoo; FICCI President Javed Akhtar; BKMEA Executive President Fazli Shamim Ehsan; DCCI President Ashraf Ahmed; and BTMA President Shaukat Aziz Russell.
“A decade's worth of data from the services, agriculture, manufacturing, and non-manufacturing sectors has been analysed to prepare this report. It indicates that Bangladesh lags behind Sri Lanka and India in terms of business competitiveness. Compared to its economic growth, Bangladesh is far behind in business competition,” Dr Golam Mouazzem said.
The CPD’s presentation revealed 17 barriers to doing business in Bangladesh. These include corruption, bureaucratic inefficiency, foreign exchange instability, inflation, fiscal constraints, inadequate infrastructure, policy instability, unskilled labour force, inadequately educated labour force, high tax rates, the complexity of tax regulations, climate change, crime and theft, insufficient capacity for innovation, political unrest, public health risks, and labour right policy constraints.
CPD research director Moazzem said, “We think corruption is always the main problem. However, the problem of inadequate infrastructure has gradually reduced.”
Inefficient bureaucracy over the years has been another major factor. Foreign exchange volatility has become a major factor in recent years. Inflation is always a major concern. On the other hand, policy instability and lack of long-term policy are barriers for ease of doing business, said Muazzem.