Experts: Boost trade facilitation to carefully turn Bangladesh into investment hub
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They mentioned that Bangladesh should focus on the Chinese, Indian, and ASEAN markets
Experts at a webinar on Monday needed boosting trade facilitation and reduced amount of customs tariffs and supplementary tasks to turn Bangladesh right into a regional transit and a great investment hub.
They mentioned that Bangladesh should focus on the Chinese, Indian, and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) markets.
The country also needs to promote the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal (BBIN) initiative to market connectivity and immediately ratify the Transports Internationaux Routiers (TIR) convention, they observed.
They made the observations at the webinar on “Ease of conducting business: Status of 2021,” organized by the International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB) and Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI).
Md Sirazul Islam, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Expenditure Creation Authority (BIDA) was present at the webinar as a guest of honour.
Jibon Krishna Saha Roy, director of One-Stop Program and Regulatory Reform at BIDA, presented the keynote paper at the webinar.
Ambassador M Humayun Kabir, president of the BEI, gave the welcome speech.
At the webinar, audio speakers as well mentioned that Bangladesh may take the benefits associated with the TIR convention only with internal reforms and readiness to serve the region as a trading hub including the Netherlands, Singapore, or Dubai.
They opined that the World Bank’s CONDUCTING BUSINESS report isn't intended as a complete assessment of competitiveness or the business enterprise environment of a country and should rather be looked at as a proxy of the regulatory framework faced by the private sector in a country.
In this globalized world, trade finance (TF) can be an essential tool to enable the trade of goods - and increasingly products and services - allowing local organizations and value chains to market to global market segments, the speakers said.
Up to 80% of trade is financed by most form of credit, assurance or insurance, they added.
Sirazul Islam said Bangladesh could go up to double-digit rankings in the World Bank’s conducting business index, but it isn't easy.
“Unless the traders talk about improving the business situation, the World Lender won't give any points. Businesses are unaware of the Environment Bank’s sub-indicators,” he said.
Bangladesh need to allow foreign direct expense (FDI) in the logistics sector by amending the relevant laws and regulations and policies, loudspeakers said.
Humayun Rashid, president of IBFB and managing director and CEO of Energypac Electric power Era, chaired the webinar.
He said some sectoral businesses demand 28 licences to start out a business.
“If the application for every licence has been lying at work for just one month, then it will take 28 months. Who'll come to do business in that situation?”
MS Siddiqui, legal economist and vice president of IBFB; Muhammad Abdul Mazid, former secretary and ex-chairman of NBR and chairman of the Finance Committee of IBFB, and AFM Matiur Rahman, past secretary and vice-chairman of the Industry Leadership Committee of IBFB, spoke as designated discussants at the webinar
Experts at a webinar on Monday needed boosting trade facilitation and reduced amount of customs tariffs and supplementary tasks to turn Bangladesh right into a regional transit and a great investment hub.
They mentioned that Bangladesh should focus on the Chinese, Indian, and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) markets.
The country also needs to promote the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal (BBIN) initiative to market connectivity and immediately ratify the Transports Internationaux Routiers (TIR) convention, they observed.
They made the observations at the webinar on “Ease of conducting business: Status of 2021,” organized by the International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB) and Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI).
Md Sirazul Islam, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Expenditure Creation Authority (BIDA) was present at the webinar as a guest of honour.
Jibon Krishna Saha Roy, director of One-Stop Program and Regulatory Reform at BIDA, presented the keynote paper at the webinar.
Ambassador M Humayun Kabir, president of the BEI, gave the welcome speech.
At the webinar, audio speakers as well mentioned that Bangladesh may take the benefits associated with the TIR convention only with internal reforms and readiness to serve the region as a trading hub including the Netherlands, Singapore, or Dubai.
They opined that the World Bank’s CONDUCTING BUSINESS report isn't intended as a complete assessment of competitiveness or the business enterprise environment of a country and should rather be looked at as a proxy of the regulatory framework faced by the private sector in a country.
In this globalized world, trade finance (TF) can be an essential tool to enable the trade of goods - and increasingly products and services - allowing local organizations and value chains to market to global market segments, the speakers said.
Up to 80% of trade is financed by most form of credit, assurance or insurance, they added.
Sirazul Islam said Bangladesh could go up to double-digit rankings in the World Bank’s conducting business index, but it isn't easy.
“Unless the traders talk about improving the business situation, the World Lender won't give any points. Businesses are unaware of the Environment Bank’s sub-indicators,” he said.
Bangladesh need to allow foreign direct expense (FDI) in the logistics sector by amending the relevant laws and regulations and policies, loudspeakers said.
Humayun Rashid, president of IBFB and managing director and CEO of Energypac Electric power Era, chaired the webinar.
He said some sectoral businesses demand 28 licences to start out a business.
“If the application for every licence has been lying at work for just one month, then it will take 28 months. Who'll come to do business in that situation?”
MS Siddiqui, legal economist and vice president of IBFB; Muhammad Abdul Mazid, former secretary and ex-chairman of NBR and chairman of the Finance Committee of IBFB, and AFM Matiur Rahman, past secretary and vice-chairman of the Industry Leadership Committee of IBFB, spoke as designated discussants at the webinar
Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com