“The main challenge is to maintain the economic growth. Another challenge is related to eradicating inequality,” he said adding that if the country continues its economic growth, it has to ensure the equal distribution of the benefits of the growth among all.
That means, the ICC, B President said, the government has to give more importance to social service delivery like health and education services.
He made the remarks while presenting the Executive Board Report at the ICC Bangladesh Annual Council held in the city on Tuesday.
The veteran businessman said lack of regulatory predictability businesses face regulatory uncertainty on various fronts.
He said regulatory predictability matters because it makes property rights insecure, thereby constraining investment.
Rahman said this leads to uncertainty for businesses – medium-size firms seem to bear the brunt more than large or small firms – and with inconsistencies in policy implementation, it can adversely affect employment growth.
Bangladesh’s regulatory system needs the establishment of a technical regulatory oversight body at the center of government to oversee, lead and report on regulatory reforms, mentioned the ICC,B President.
Attaining the target depends on how quickly Bangladesh can resolve the challenges experts suggest that foreign and local investments be increased and the activities of Economic Zones should start immediately, Rahman observed.
In order to become an upper middle-income country by 2031 and achieve high-income country status by 2041, Bangladesh will require huge investments in physical capital, human capital, and innovation enabled by reforms in areas such as financial sector, business regulation, and to address the infrastructure gap, according to the Council Report.
In the development update, the World Bank has noted that private sector investments in Bangladesh remain weak. Initiatives are needed to address several challenges, particularly in boosting private sector investment and diversifying exports.
In the development update, the WB expressed concern over the rise of non-performing loans (NPLs).
The practice of loan rescheduling and write-offs also increased, creating further stress on banks, said the ICC, B President.
To bring stability and discipline to the financial sector, Bangladesh has to ensure Bangladesh Bank’s autonomy on regulation, integrate risk-based supervision in the central bank’s supervisory framework, tighten rescheduling guidelines and stop ad-hoc rescheduling, he said.
The Council adopted the Executive Board Report & Audited Financial Statements of ICC Bangladesh for the year 2018.
ICC,B Vice President Rokia A Rahman; DCCI President Osama Taseer; Bangladesh Insurance Association President Sheikh Kabir Hossain; BKMEA former 1st Vice President Mohammad Hatem; FICCI Vice President Francois de Maricourt, ICC,B Board members and ICC,B Secretary General Ataur Rahman, among others, attended the council meeting.