Md Sameer Sattar, head of Sattar&Co, has been elected the President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) for the year 2023. Besides, SM Golam Faruk Alamgir (Arman) has been elected the Senior Vice President and Md Junayed Ibna Ali the Vice President. The new Board of Directors took over charge at the 61st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of DCCI held in its Auditorium on Wednesday. The newly elected Directors are Engr M A Wahab, Razeev H Chowdhury, Taskeen Ahmed, M Shafiqul Alam, FCA, Kamrul Hasan Tuhin and M Mosharrof Hossain. The newly elected President of DCCI Md Sameer Sattar is the Head of Sattar&Co, a legal consultancy firm in Bangladesh. Sattar&Co is one of the leading firms in Bangladesh and advises purely on corporate and commercial law matters, dealing with local and foreign investments. Read more: Turkiye-Bangladesh trade, investment to see high prospect in future: DCCI In Bangladesh, Sattar’s consultancy and advisory roles primarily involve, inter alia, strategic advice on matters involving company laws, corporate governance, banking and securities laws, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions. He also provides transactional and regulatory advice in the media, communications, and technology sectors. During his time in London, Sattar worked in several leading international law firms focusing on commercial/business disputes and international arbitration. He has worked on commercial arbitrations conducted in all major venues around the world arising out of a broad range of transactions including foreign investment, public concessions, energy, natural resources, mining and exploration, banking and financial services, international trade, construction and shareholder disputes. Sattar is a Barrister and an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. He is ranked and recognized by Chambers & Partners: Asia Pacific and The Legal 500 as one of the leading corporate lawyers in Bangladesh. He was chosen and featured in the prestigious Asian Legal Business (a Thomson Reuters publication) 40 under 40 list for the year 2020, as the first-ever and sole entrant from Bangladesh. In 2022, he has also been commended as one of the top 50 lawyers in Bangladesh in the A-List: Bangladesh’s Top Lawyers, awarded by the Asia Business Law Journal. Read more: DCCI underscores promotional campaigns in Turkiye to attract FDI He was also nominated and chosen by the US Government and the European Union for their Leadership Programmes. The Government of Bangladesh had also designated him to the World Bank’s Panel of Arbitrators and Conciliators. Barrister Sattar is the author of many publications in the commercial and business law sector. Newly elected Senior Vice President SM Golam Faruk Alamgir (Arman) is the Managing Director of BDCOM Online Ltd. His Company is involved in ISP, Data Communication, Vehicle Tracking and Fleet Management, IP Telephony, Software Development and Managed Services for the last 20 years. He is the founding Member of Vehicle Tracking Service Providers Association of Bangladesh. Newly elected Vice President Md Junaed Ibna Ali is the Chairman of Hitech Steel & Plastic Industries (Pvt.) Ltd, Chairman of Zaber Steel, Proprietor of JN Corporation and Trade Land International.

Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) has launched Postgraduate Diploma (PGD) courses for businesses in order to have proper knowledge of VAT and Income Tax for achieving long-term success in the competitive global market. The PGD would cover ‘Customs, VAT and Income Tax Management (CVITM)’ and ‘International Trade (Export & Import) Management (ITM). DCCI Acting President Arman Haque inaugurated the program as the chief guest. Also read: DCCI urges NBR to simplify tax policy for business growth Adequate knowledge about rules and procedures of VAT and Income Tax helps a businessman to run the business professionally, he said. He also said the world is becoming more connected and competitive than ever. The relation between different countries is getting stronger by the increasing developments in export & import business and technology, he added. Afsarul Arifeen, DCCI Secretary, Md. Joynal Abdin, Executive Secretary Farheen Hassan, head, department HRM, Course Coordinator Tamanna Sultana, Joint Executive Secretary of DBI, among others, were present at the function. Also read: DCCI, IBA sign deal for business-oriented research and innovation

Experts at a webinar on Saturday urged the government to prepare a master plan for ensuring sustainable river and canal dredging and their management in a bid to accelerate further economic advancement of the riverine country. They also said the number of rivers in Bangladesh is declining due to siltation and fall in streamflow affecting waterways that are the cheapest means of transportation. Under the circumstances, the experts called upon the government to make an adequate allocation for river dreading and proper river training. Also read: Capital dredging project: First phase set to miss deadline Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) arranged the webinar titled ‘Sustainable River Dredging: Challenges and Way Forward'. Water expert and Brac University Professor Emeritus Ainun Nishat presented the keynote paper at the programme while State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury joined it as the chief guest. Dr Nishat said there are two types of dredging like maintenance dredging and capital dredging. “A master plan should be prepared for river and canal dredging in Bangladesh.” He said dredging should be done in a sustainable manner so that the economy can be benefited as rivers not only carry water but also carry lives. “For an efficient river management, special emphasis must be put on maintenance dredging.” Stating that the private sector can play a major role in dredging operation, the water expert said also underscored the importance of investments in dredging and de-siltation works. “Private dredging operators must be trained on sustainability issues. PPP can be a useful model for river dredging, sand extraction, land recovery, land accretion and land reclamation.” Also read: Kaladumur River dying; immediate dredging needed Dr Nishat said the current practice of dredging operations, both capital and maintenance, need to be evaluated urgently. “Rules and guidelines for sand dredging from river beds should be updated and followed strictly.” He suggested establishing a river training institute to create skilled manpower for river management. Institute of Water Modelling (IWM) Executive Director Abu Saleh Khan said the total river basin system should be analysed in an efficient manner. “Dredgers are now ultramodern and highly efficient but they need proper training for skill development and capacity building.” He also focused on sustainable dredging and long-term strategic planning in the maritime sector. “For sustainable dredging, dredgers have to have the idea on soil condition, river system, stream nature and ecological system. There should have been a post-dredging evaluation system in the policy.” State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said the government has been working sincerely to ensure effective river management as per its delta plan. “We’ve a plan to make 10,000 km inland river ways navigable.” He said the capacity of Mongla Port has now increased manifolds, easing the pressure on Chittagong port. “We’ve limitations and challenges but we must have to manage our rivers through efficient dredging as these’re our natural assets.” The junior minister said the government has been working on sustainable river dredging both in the form of capital dredging and maintenance dredging and 35 more dredgers will be procured soon.” As per the delta plan, he said, the government is firmly committed to developing the riverine system in the country.  “We invited the private sector to come forward with more investments, even in the PPP format, to materialize the delta plan.”    DCCI President Rizwan Rahman said waterways play a diverse role in the economy of Bangladesh as it is a riverine country. “It’s a high time to improve the waterways for the sake of both industrial and socioeconomic development of the country as Bangladesh is poised to become a developing country by 2026. The 24,000 km of waterways come down to 6,000 km in monsoon and 3,600 km during the lean period due to dynamic characteristics of the rivers and its effect falls into the economic and ecological state of the country,” he observed. He said navigable waterways have manifold positive cascading effects on the economy as it saves container movement time and ensures comparatively cheaper goods transportation system. “Navigable and well-managed waterways help ease cross-border trade growth with the neighbouring states. But lack of maintenance, weakening upstream flow and human interventions are some of the common problems for declining navigable waterways.”

Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun on Sunday called upon the private sector and foreign investors to set up spare parts and tools manufacturing unit in Bangladesh’s Economic Zones (EZs). “The government is relentlessly working for the industrialisation of the country. Research and innovation in the sectors are more important,” he told a webinar organised by Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) titled “Automobile Industry Development: Present Situation & Future Prospects”. Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki said Bangladesh has a strong possibility to establish its own local automobile industry. “When we talk about export diversification, the automobile, light engineering and agriculture-based sector can play a vital role,” he said. Japanese Mitsubishi Motors showed interest to invest in Bangladesh in the CKD (Completely Knocked Down Units) assembling plant, he said. “Mitsubishi and Ministry of Industries came to an agreement last month to sign an MOU to conduct a joint feasibility study on the viability of investment. It’ll create technology transfer and employment opportunities for Bangladesh.” He also urged for policy support, tax benefits and incentives to grow the industry. Also read: No decision to shut down sugar mills: Industries Minister Humayun said a comprehensive policy will be pursued especially for this industry, if needed. DCCI President Rizwan Rahman said at least 5-10 years sustaining tariff policy should be taken to support the local vehicle assembling and manufacturing industry. He said that Bangladesh’s automobile sector is mainly dominated by imported reconditioned and new vehicles mostly from Japan, China, India, Europe and the USA. Considering the growing market demand, local and foreign investors are now showing interests to invest in the automobile industry. “Prior to the COVID-19, the automobile market was growing by 15 percent to 20 percent with 12 percent growth in auto parts yearly. Despite having potentials, the absence of long-term policy and consistent tax structure, lack of domestic source of raw materials and relevant skilled human resources, as well as- inadequate backward linkage limit the automobile manufacturing industry development,” he added. He also urged for a long-term policy and a minimum 5-10 years sustaining tariff policy to support the assembling and manufacturing of vehicles. Rizwan also suggested setting up a separate Automobile Zone and allowing joint ventures for parts manufacturing to create local experts. Presenting the keynote paper, Taskeen Ahmed, Deputy Managing Director of IFAD Group highlighted that Bangladesh has made a tremendous progress in the infrastructure sector in the recent past. Also read: Bangladesh to roll out its first car next year, says Industries Minister He said the completion of Padma Bridge will create high local demand for commercial vehicles. Moreover, the BBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement would boost commercial vehicle growth on regional trade dynamics shift. “After the draft Automobile Policy 2018, the market size of motorcycle industry went to a new height. Total investment in this sector is Tk 8,000 crore contributing 0.5 percent to the GDP now. Whereas, reconditioned car constitutes 50 percent of the total car market, on the other hand, 45 percent are used and only 5 percent are brand new. As per the draft, automobile policy government plans to impose a ban on used car imports give incentives to facilitate local industry,” he said. Taskeen said the commercial vehicle market is around $1 billion and the growth will be sustained in the future. In the light engineering sector, the market size of auto parts industry is about Tk 1,400 crore with an annual growth rate of 12 percent, he said. John D Dunham, Economic and Indo-Pacific Affairs Unit Chief of the US Embassy said Bangladesh was able to show tremendous growth especially during the last decade. “Bangladesh is graduating into a developing country; therefore, the government needs to tailor ideal policies like tax and investment policies. Bangladesh’s prosperity is important to the USA,” he said. Md Touhiduzzaman, Managing Director of Pragati Industries Ltd, said, “We want vehicles to be manufactured locally. The more assembler will come the more the sector will boost. Also, focus needs to be given to spare parts manufacturing locally. Every assembler should have a research and development cell for improvement.” Matiur Rahman, Chairman & Managing Director of Uttara Group of Companies said, “We’re far behind in this sector. A long-term policy and incentives will foster this sector. This is a promising sector and has the opportunity to attract private sector investment. “ Also read: Zero-accident, zero-pollution policy adopted: Industries Minister Engineer Syed Imtiaz Ahmed, President of Signal Stream Inc, Canada, said that if Bangladesh can focus on manufacturing electronic control units (ECU) in Bangladesh that are massively used by car and other vehicles manufacturers, then the country will be able to grab a portion of the world automobile industry very soon. Abdul Haque, President of BARVIDA, said that the taxation policy should be industry-friendly and the industry needs more consistent policy support. The market of three-wheelers is being enlarged in Bangladesh. He also urged for policy consistency and creating affordability of middle-class people. Hayakawa Yuho, Chief Representative of JICA Bangladesh, said an appropriate industrial policy is needed to protect and nurture the sector. “The government may think of providing investment incentives to the private sector investors from home and abroad. The automobile policy should be carefully formulated and implemented since the situation in this sector changes day by day,” he said.

To overcome the challenges and smooth transition of Bangladesh until 2026, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) on Monday suggested the government to sign FTA, PTA with potential countries or RTA with economic blocs, take preparation to implement the terms and conditions of TRIPS agreements, establish high-value product design and innovation centres.

The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) on Tuesday urged the government to create a flexible regulation to bring informal businesses into the mainstream for their record and traceability so that access to fiscal benefits can be ensured.

British High Commissioner in Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson paid a courtesy visit to Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) to discuss various bilateral issues relating to trade and commerce.

The first and largest 3-day international business-to-business (B2B) virtual conclave began Tuesday aiming to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country.

Rizwan Rahman, Managing Director of ETBL Securities & Exchange Ltd. has been elected as President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) for the year 2021.

Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB).