The country’s top business leaders have commented that without an elected government, stability will not return to the business environment. According to them, economic reforms will not be effective without good governance and political stability, rather the pace of investment and exports will slow down further.
They expressed these views at a seminar on “Economic Reforms” organized by the English daily Financial Express at a hotel in Gulshan, the capital, on Monday.
The event was attended by the Chief Adviser’s Special Envoy for International Affairs Lutfe Siddiqui as the chief guest.
Financial Express Editor Shamsul Haque Zahid presided over the seminar.
Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology Md Anwar Hossain and Vice Chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) Mohammad Hasan Arif were present as special guests.
Shams Mahmud, president of the Bangladesh Thai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “There is no need to decide on labour laws and the formation of labour unions now. The elected government will come in a few months, and they will decide. There is also no progress on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) or Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA).”
Mohammad Hatem, president of BKMEA, said: “Bangladesh is not yet ready for LDC graduation. Sixteen business organizations in the country have already demanded a postponement of the transition. If the government wants, it can formally request the UN to extend the time.”
Taskin Ahmed, president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “A government elected by the people’s vote is essential for long-term stability. Without it, businessmen are unable to plan.”
Mainul Islam, president of the Bangladesh Ceramic Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said: “The business and investment environment will never improve without good governance. Now buyers are also panicking; they are losing interest in buying products.”
Lutfe Siddiqui said: “When we took charge, the ease of doing business environment was 99% bad. Now it has come down to 95%, and it is gradually improving. Through the single window system, 1.2 million direct visits of NBR have been reduced in two months, which is a big progress in ease of doing business.”
BGMEA Senior Vice President Enamul Haque Khan, BTMA President Shawkat Aziz Russell, UCB Chairman Sharif Zahir, Midland Bank Managing Director Md. Ahsan-Uz Zaman, Akij Bashir Group COO Mohammad Khorshed Alam, and Bangladesh Agro Chemical Manufacturers Association President K S M Mostafizur Rahman also spoke at the seminar.
BTMA president Shawkat Aziz Russell said: “The environment for foreign investment is still not favorable. No one will be interested in investing in a country where the airport catches fire.”
UCB Chairman Sharif Zahir said: “If the previous instability in the banking sector continued, the sector would not have survived. If the process of settling defaulted loans is not expedited, genuine businessmen will also suffer.”
