Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Thursday said his ministry will continue its advocacy with other ministries to simplify the process of obtaining certificates and registration, including five-year trade licences to ensure ease of business. He said this when Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) Chairperson Nihad Kabir paid a courtesy call on him at the Ministry of Commerce. As part of it, the Ministry issued a notice in November 2022 to provide Import Registration Certificate (IRC) and Export Registration Certificate (ERC) for five years rather than one, he added. Read more: Measures in place to ensure supply of essentials in Ramadan: Tipu Munshi Referring to the BUILD request for complete automation of RJSC (Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms) services, he said, “We will go for full-scale automation, and we will be going through some internal proceedings while we aspire to be a paperless office in delivering faster business registration services online.” BUILD Chair Nihad Kabir expressed concern over the high paid-up capital requirement for one-person companies (OPC). As a result of the enforcement of high paid-up capital, the nation has yet to see the predicted rise in OPC. The existing paid-up capital of Tk 2.5 million should follow the example of private limited companies. She urged the commerce minister to consider eliminating the Tk 25 lakh minimum paid-up capital requirement for one-person companies while leaving the maximum limit open. She also advocated for eliminating the necessity for a commercial address when applying for a trade licence to facilitate company operations throughout the country. “The government has extended the validity of all trade licences by five years to reduce the hardships faced during the annual renewal of these certifications, which involves considerable time and effort that, in turn, affects the ease of doing business, and we appreciate it,” said MCCI President Md Saiful Islam. “Following the examples of IRC and ERD of five-year terms, other agencies can issue licences and relevant certificates,” he commented. Read more: LCs under scanner to check money laundering: Tipu Munshi Having stressed the need to simplify obtaining a trade licence, he advised that the government could digitalise the trade licence process collecting all relevant fees five years apart and transferring the revenue under the head to pertinent agencies that earn income for providing the licences. BUILD CEO Ferdaus Ara said that the notification for five years terms trade licence is a great move, but the notification was not meant for the municipalities and union parishad, which opens the concerns of the private sectors as they issue trade licences for thousands of small businesses regularly. The commerce minister endorsed it. She further said that BUILD and the Ministry of Commerce prepared export roadmaps on plastic, leather and light engineering sectors targeting the export of USD 22 billion, USD 12.9 billion, and USD 12.56 billion by 2030, respectively. Underscoring the need to implement the roadmap’s action plans, she said that the Ministry of Commerce could take the lead and contribute to the country’s export basket. During her presentation, she appraised some research and survey-related activities and assured more collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce while the country is transitioning to a developing country. DCCI President Sameer Sattar also attended the meeting.

Nihad Kabir, former President of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), has taken over as the chairperson of the Trustee Board of Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) for the year 2022-23.  She succeeds Abul Kasem Khan, former President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), who was the Chairperson of BUILD for 2020-21, said a media release on Monday.  Nihad Kabir is a senior advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.  She is a senior partner of Syed Ishtiaq Ahmad and Associates, one of the country's prominent law firms.  Apart from her role as an independent director on the board of Square Textiles Limited, Kabir also serves as a director of the Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL).  Also raed: Bangladesh elected Chair of UN Peacebuilding Commission She has previously chaired the Boards of BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage Limited and BRAC EPL Investment Limited and has been a board member of Bkash, BRAC Bank and several other listed companies.  She is a Senior Fellow and Board member of BIDS, a member of the Board of Governors of the Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre, and Chairperson of Ain o Salish Kendra, a legal aid institution. Kabir has been a member of the National Pay and Services Commission and the National Education Policy Committee, Government of Bangladesh.  She was also the Chairperson of BUILD for 2017. Also read: BUILD Chairperson meets new FBCCI president Abul Kasem Khan, former Chairperson, BUILD, will continue as a nominated Trustee Board Member from DCCI, while Syed Mohammad Tanvir, Director, CCCI is a nominated Trustee Board Member from CCCI for the years 2022-2023.  In addition to the new trustees, the Trustee Board for 2022 includes Md. Saiful Islam, President of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI); Rizwan Rahman, President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI); Mahbubul Alam, President of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI); Farooq Ahmed, Secretary General of MCCI; Afsarul Arifeen, Secretary General of DCCI; and Engr. Mohd. Faruque, Secretary of CCCI. Ferdaus Ara Begum, CEO of BUILD, is in the Trustee Board as the Member Secretary. BUILD is a public-private dialogue platform formed by Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry .

Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) and Prime Minister’s Office jointly organised the Logistics Infrastructure Development Working Committee meeting on Saturday.  The virtual meeting was co-chaired by Md. Tofazzel Hossain Miah, Secretary of Prime Minister’s Office, and Abul Kasem Khan, Chairperson of BUILD. Md. Tofazzel Hossain Miah started by attesting that Bangladesh cannot move forward without supporting the private sector during this worldwide economic transition period.   He said, logistics needs more investment, and the existing policy needs reforms so that more investment is made. He recommended that the sector should be based on technology and skill. Adding that the private sector should also assist with value-backed data, he emphasised advocacy for logistics.  READ: Relaxation of GTF loan conditions to help private sector exporters: BUILD Abul Kasem Khan, Chairperson of BUILD informed that developing countries invest 9-10% of their GDP to improve their logistics environment.  “Success stories of China, India, and Vietnam stand out as best practices in logistics. The return on investment is one of the highest in the world. Structural reform is required to mitigate key bottlenecks of the logistics system in Bangladesh. Logistics sector should be declared as a thrust sector besides a high priority sector and proper incentives should be declared to attract local and foreign investment.” Rizwan Rahman, President, DCCI, focused on the specific solution as: (1) logistics should be included in the industrial policy as a sector, (2) privatisation of airports, seaports, railroads is the demand of time, 3) decentralisation of industrialisation should be incentivised to attract investment, (4) Special Procurement Act should be considered to prepare logistics policy.  Mahbubul Alam, President, CCCI, said that there is no policy on the in-out time of container trucks in Chattogram.  The establishment of a central truck terminal may reduce the congestion stemming from this and water connectivity may reduce over-dependency on the road, he said.  Ferdaus Ara Begum, CEO, BUILD in her presentation informed that BUILD and the Ministry of Industries are working together to include logistics as a high priority sector and declare investment incentives for logistics and its sub-sectors in a separate chapter of the upcoming National Industrial Policy 2021.  READ: India's Reliance Group to build mega chemical project in UAE Formulation and implementation of the National Integrated Logistics Policy or Master Plan could help attract investment and increase export competitiveness to realize the targets of 8th Five Years Plan and Perspective Plan 2041.  It was decided in the meeting that two issues will be presented in the 3rd meeting of LIDWC, (1) framework or position paper will be prepared to set the national target of reducing logistics cost and (2) outline to prepare National Logistics Policy/Plan/Strategy.  Tatiana Peralta Quiros, Senior Transport Specialist of World Bank Group made the keynote on Reducing Logistics Costs to Enhance Bangladesh’s Trade Competitiveness and Export Growth.  She said that logistics cost increases the overall production and business operation cost by 4.5-48%. Implementation of three initiatives like reducing dwell times at Chattogram Port and national highways congestion along with initiation of national logistics strategy would increase overall export of Bangladesh by 19%. Captain Kamrul Islam Mazumder, Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA) said that increased cost of fuel will increase the cost of doing business as well as the cost of container handling transport cost while Syed Ershad Ahmed, President, AmCham stressed on proper utilization of Pangaon Port and Dherasram Project which should be linked with temperature-controlled logistics. 98% of the freight forwards operators in Bangladesh suffers from lack of modern technology and equipment. Kabir Ahmed, President, BAFFA urged on proper utilization and equipping of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, one of the most important gateways to export for Bangladesh. Sectoral recognition and policy reform for the sub sectors of logistics should be ensured. The meeting was attended by Zubaida Nasreen, Director General-I, PMO, Anisur Rahman, Director-1, PMO and Mohammad Lutfullah, Senior Private Sector Specialist, International Finance Corporation, World Bank Group including representatives from 16 government ministries and private sector leaders.

The proposed budget deficit is above 6% of GDP amounting to Tk 2.11 trillion, which may reach to 8% as the revenue collection has been showing slow trend in pandemic period, according to BUILD, a business development platform, in its budget reaction. The Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) thinks the deficit will mainly be filled taking loan from the banking sector and foreign loan. Also read: New budget unveiled with focus on protecting lives and livelihoods The dependence on foreign financing has been increased 162% than previous fiscal which is 'alarming', it said. The social safety net will be expanded, higher than the current fiscal. Government has given enough emphasis on health safety issues, which need proper implementation. Also read: New budget: Tracking prices going up and down In terms of export diversification in Medical and Personal Protective Equipment(MPPE), extension of tax exemption benefits up to June 2022 may encourage export diversification in this sector, BUILD said. On the other hand, it seems, sluggish investment will continue as COVID uncertainty remains, and private sector credit growth is still at a lower level(8.7%), according to BUILD.

The demand for pulp, the main raw material for producing paper, has been growing and green jute-based pulp can meet the increasing local and global demand. China and European Union are closing their paper mills because of higher production costs and environmental reasons and Bangladesh can fill the void. However, the pulp is now being imported and produced locally from recycled waste paper whose quality is not satisfactory, Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) CEO Ferdaus Ara Begum said Monday. Read Will achieve self-sufficiency in jute seeds: Agriculture Minister Ferdaus Ara was addressing the online dialogue on "Paper Pulp from Whole Jute Plant: Potential and Way Forward" organized by BUILD. Mohammad Abul Kalam, additional secretary of the Ministry of Textiles and Jute, said the economic viability of using the whole jute plant needs to be considered. "Rigorous research will have to be conducted. Also, the practical scenario needs to be considered. An initiative can be taken to initiate technical assistance for public participation (TAPP) and project on whole jute plant-based paper pulping," he added. Also read: BUILD wants to assist govt in promoting recycling, sustainable business practices Dr Md Monjurul Alam, former director-general of Bangladesh Jute Research Institute, said cottage industries can be developed locally to run paper pulp manufacturing industries that will use the whole jute plant. However, Dr Sarwar Jahan, director (Pulp and Paper) at Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, said: "It is not feasible to run the small-scale pulp industries because whole jute plant-based pulp will cost more than $11,00 per tonne." Read Jute: The Greenest Alternative to Plastic Bags

Bangladesh Bank will provide a total of Tk 60,000 crore financing to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by 2023 to ensure economic resilience that will enhance GDP, employment, and inclusive development. Deputy Governor of the central bank Abu Farah Md Naser said this at the Virtual Dialogue titled “Creating Resilient Recovery for Businesses through Enhancing Investment Opportunities: A Case of Southwest Bangladesh.” Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) with support from the PROKAS program of the British Council organized the dialogue. As the Chief Guest of the programme, Md Naser also said the Bank has taken the initiative to extend the timeline of the current stimulus package by 2023. “Some Tk2,000 crore collateral-free loan opportunity for SMEs made available under the credit guarantee scheme should be utilized as much as possible,” he added. He held the example of City Bank’s Leno financing model that uses digital technology to process loan applications in the shortest possible time and encouraged other banks to follow the example. For banks operating in grassroots level, he encouraged digital technology to ensure that loan evaluation and processing can be managed in the shortest possible time. Also read: DCCI for SME act, new definition of CMSMEs Md Naser thanked BUILD for organizing the meeting to address the concerns of cottage, micro, and small enterprises from remote regions. “The central bank is also facilitating expansion of aggregate demand by nurturing Bank-MFI linkages that has a base of three crore people across the country,” he added. During the discussion, the Mayor of the Mongla Municipality of the Bagerhat District Sk Abdur Rahman, mentioned that the neediest section of the population: the cottage enterprises, fishermen and the working class have largely missed the benefits of the package. He suggested that banks should provide not only credit but also technical support to ensure that the credit is properly utilized for repayment. “Training and capacity building provided by the government at the local level should be scaled up,” he encouraged speedy completion of the Mongla airport to ensure accelerated investment and development in the region. BUILD Chairperson Abul Kasem Khan noted that the COVID-19 has affected business all around the country, especially the MSMEs. The timely initiatives by the Prime Minister and the government to prepare the country to tackle the health challenges as well as economic effects of the pandemic combined with the all-out action by the Bangladesh Bank and other government agencies were instrumental in protecting the country from the worst consequences. Also read: CMSMEs can now take term loan under stimulus package “Aside from supply side interventions, there also need to be demand side initiatives so that the income and consumption of the ordinary people can be boosted to reinject dynamism in the economy.,” he added. He requested for social safety bond for the small entrepreneurs and some tax changes in the Tax policy and extend tax incentives so that large scale industries can also sustained. BUILD’s CEO Ferdaus Ara Begum informed in reply to a point raised by BB that BUILD is working closely with the Ministry of Industries to get the definition of cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises to ensure that smaller and vulnerable businesses receive more policy priority and support. “As BUILD continues to engage in research and facilitation of the businesses in Mongla and Bagerhat the support from the central bank will be essential,” she also added. In the keynote presentation, Md. Tahmid Zami, Additional Research Director of BUILD noted that in the local BSCIC Industrial Estate of Mongla, around 50% businesses are out of operation and only 20% workers are retained in many factories. “The coconut oil mills, rice mills, small traders, and many other sectors have faced tremendous shock due to the COVID-19. Finance should be distributed to the cottage, micro and small enterprises without stringent requirements for rescuing the endangered businesses,´ Tahmid added. He referred the e-survey in the form of a KPI conducted by BUILD during February-March, 2021 covering chamber representatives, local Government and BSCIC, Bank officials and Businesses. Also read: SMEs are lifeline to country's economy: Tipu Munshi Husne Ara Shikha, General Manager of SME and Special Credits Department informed about 6% of total money disbursed for SME have gone of Southwest region, in case of women, in number it is about 5.43% of the total and noted that there are both positive signs and mixed results in distributing credit to SMEs in the region. Syed Abdul Momen, Head of SMEs of BRAC Bank mentioned that the definition of SMEs should be modified to target the cottage, micro and smaller enterprises more effectively. The decentralized credit management of BRAC and the agent banking sets a good example for the banking industry of the country for meeting the needs of the businesses in the rural level. S Humayun Kabir, Vice President of Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association requested for a proper insurance policy for the shrimp industry as well as higher incentives such as cash subsidy to ensure better development of the high-potential sector. Cold storage facility for the shrimp and fish sectors should be boosted. He further suggested to consider the sector as agro-based sector while extending support facilities. In case of getting finance Banks and FI request for higher collateral considering uncertainty of the production. Md. Mofidul Islam Tutul, Director of Khulna Chamber of Commerce and Industry stressed on the prospects of the jute sector.

Women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh are not fully aware of the scopes for them in the public procurement domain, according to a survey by BUILD.

The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) will form two new sub-committees on recycling and green growth under the existing Sustainability and Green Growth Working Committee (SGGWC).

Macro-level policy reforms and strong governance are needed for the successful completion of the targeted Economic Zones in Bangladesh, Chairman of Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) Paban Chowdhury said Tuesday.

Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD), a platform for public-private dialogue, on Thursday lauded the central bank's decision to extend relaxed foreign exchange regulation facilities for exporters across sectors till the end of this fiscal.