Salman F. Rahman, adviser on the private sector to the Prime Minister and one of the country's leading businessmen, has said all export-oriented industries should get similar facilities to meet the objective of export diversification. Salman, also a first-time MP, was speaking as the chief guest at a webinar organized by the think-tank Policy Research Institute (PRI) on improving export trade facilities. The Prime Minister's private industry and investment adviser admitted that there is a problem with bureaucracy. Although the bureaucratic mentality in the administration has changed at the highest level, at the ground level it still remains the same. Every export-oriented sector can be improved if the bureaucratic complexities are reformed, he said. Read: Austerity reducing imports to $6 billion a month: Salman F. Rahman “I always say that everything was confined to high-level bureaucracy earlier. But now the problem has been reduced. There is a positive mental change at the highest levels of the bureaucracy. However, problems remain at the lower level and field level,” said Salman. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) and Commerce Ministry are working on these challenges to improve the business environment, he said. "We have to change the mindset of the bureaucracy at the field level. We all have to think about the geopolitical situation, how it is affecting the supply chain,” he added. Read Uniform rate: Tk 108/dollar max for remittance, Tk 99/dollar for export income from tomorrow Salman also focused on increasing the capacity of ports for increasing export opportunities. He said, “The capacity of Chittagong Port will be further increased. It is being worked on. Work is underway on the proposed deep sea port in the Matarbari area of Cox's Bazar district. It will be constructed as a full-fledged commercial port by expanding the coal-carrying jetty.” Once these are done, exports can be further increased, he said. State Minister for Planning Shamsul Alam also participated in the webinar. PRI Executive Director Ahsan H. Mansur, Chairman Dr Zaidi Sattar, Policy Exchange Chairman Dr M Masrur Riaz, IFC Manager Selma Rasavac, NBR Member (Customs Audit) Dr Abdul Mannan Sikder, Additional commerce secretary Hafizur Rahman, former president of BKMEA Fazlul Haque, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Enamul Hoque, Country Manager of IFC Martin Holtmann among others, also joined the program. Read Govt served legal notice to ban Hilsa export to India in 7 days

To achieve the $80 billion export target of the government for the fiscal year (FY) 2023-24, the export development fund (EDF) should be raised to at least $10 billion and made accessible to all exporters, Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) President Md Saiful Islam said Monday. As per the Export Policy 2021-2024, the export target is $80 billion for FY24, yet the current EDF is only $7.5 billion, he added. Saiful was addressing the MCCI-Policy Research Institute (PRI) post-budget discussion "Bangladesh from Vulnerability to Resilience and Rapid Inclusive Development" in the capital. Read: Reliable accreditation infrastructure crucial for strengthening export Planning Minister MA Mannan was the chief guest at the event, Dr Shamsul Alam, state minister for planning, and Dr Zaidi Sattar, chairman of PRI, were special guests. "Many areas in the proposed budget for FY23 have a lot of room for improvement as far as the business community's needs are concerned. The allocation of social safety nets is one such area," he noted. There has been an increase in the allocation from Tk107,614 crore in FY22 to Tk113,576 crore considering the twin blows of the Russia-Ukraine war and the pandemic. Read: Govt urged to provide policy support to plastic toy industry for its export-earning potential "Also, natural disasters such as floods, which we are going through right now, will also be another challenge for the country," Saiful said. "So, we are suggesting increasing the social safety net budget from the current level to a reasonable amount." "Also, the personal income tax thresholds have remained unaddressed, which we thought should have been subject to changes, especially the tax-free threshold," the MCCI president said. Read WTO Conference: Bangladesh speaks against sudden ban on food export "Considering the increase in per capita income to $2,824, we believe the personal income tax threshold should be increased to Tk400,000."

Speakers at a webinar on Wednesday said Bangladesh needs to expand its domestic car market to develop the automotive industry as the registered vehicle per capita is only 0.003 percent in the country.

Speakers at a dialogue have said labour-intensive small entrepreneurs should be given priority during the disbursement of the Tk 20,000 crore incentive package announced by the government for the small and medium entrepreneurship.

Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) and Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Sunday to facilitate research.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, highlighted the need of diversifying Bangladesh’s export basket to sustain accelerated economic growth, increase investment opportunities, and create more jobs, particularly for women.