$250m WB budget aid unlikely this fiscal

Dhaka is expected to place its detailed action plan before the European Union (EU) on addressing the possible challenges after Bangladesh""s graduation from the least-developed country (LDC) in 2026, sources said.It will also seek continued trade preferences under the EU""s new Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) beyond 2029 to make the LDC graduation smooth and sustainable.A high-powered trade delegation, headed by the Prime Minister""s Office (PMO) principal secretary, will visit different EU countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark, from March 26 to April 02, they noted.Senior Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh and the presidents of BGMEA and BUILD, among others, have been included in the delegation.During the visit, the delegation will present the government""s action plan to the EU and seek necessary support from the bloc, including its policy-makers and business leaders.The visit will contribute to extending cooperation between Bangladesh and the EU in different sectors, they added.The EU is Bangladesh""s largest export destination. Bangladesh has been enjoying duty-free facility in exporting goods to the different EU countries since 2001 under its Everything But Arms (EBA) scheme.Around 50 per cent of Bangladesh""s export earnings come from the bloc. The country exported goods worth US$23 billion to the bloc.The ongoing EU GSP facility will end in this December, and a new GSP scheme will be effective from January 01 for 2024-2034. The EU parliament is now reviewing the new GSP regulation.In the new GSP, duty-free market access to the EU market might be subjected to fulfilling difficult conditions. Besides, it has also proposed to bring product graduation and rules of origin under hard conditions after 2026.After the LDC graduation, Bangladesh will have to meet strict requirements. Export of the country""s RMG items to the EU market might be affected due to the proposals."We will seek the EU""s support for continued trade preferences under its new GSP beyond 2029 - to make the LDC graduation sustainable. It is the high time to try for retaining the facility, as the EU parliament is now reviewing the new system," said an official concerned.Availing concessional trade facility under the GSP Plus window is considered important for Bangladesh after its graduation."Besides, this visit will play an important role in augmenting ties between Bangladesh and Europe - marking celebration of 50 years of diplomatic ties," he added.Currently, Bangladesh""s products have duty-free market access to 38 countries. Of the countries, 28 are the EU member-states.The EU EBA grants 46 LDCs - including Bangladesh - duty-free and quota-free market access for exporting all products, except arms and ammunition.rezamumu@gmail.com

Bangladesh""s revenue authority has begun tightening the tax-exemption regime incorporating provisions to pass on its benefits to the common people, under an overdue fiscal reform.The National Board of Revenue has tagged some new conditions, including free-of-cost services in healthcare centres, and public-welfare measures, with the tax- waiver SROs.A senior tax official says the Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs) on tax exemption usually consisted of mandatory submission of tax return which has a brief description on income and expenditure of a company."There was no such provision to compel the beneficiary to pass the benefit to the poor people," he adds.The revenue board has adopted the strategies on offering the tax benefit instead of giving it on a wholesale basis, he said.Such strategies have been implemented on a case-by-case basis to review tax-exemption applications from the private sector, he adds about the reform measures.Recently, for an instance, the government offered tax benefit on import of sugar but its prices at consumer stage increased rather than relieving the commoners with its downward adjustment.Moreover, the official said, the NBR is discouraging zero-tax benefit to the industries in a bid to promote "culture of tax payment".""The industry should start paying a nominal amount of taxes rather than enjoying a full waiver," he says about the fiscal rethink prompted by the fact that such incentives do not reach the consumer in most cases.The government revenue authority has also moved to review the existing tax expenditures or tax exemptions to phase out the benefit eating up around 2.8 per cent of tax GDP."It""s time the tax benefits were cut off from some sectors that achieved hefty growth and developed capacity to contribute to the public exchequer," he said.The IMF has suggested increasing country""s tax-GDP ratio by 0.5 per cent each in 2024 and 2025 and 0.7 per cent in 2026.In the current fiscal budget, the NBR has phased out tax exemptions from some industries, including local refrigerator manufacturers and mobile-phone manufacturers.Some more similar steps might take place in the upcoming budget for the industries graduating into full-blown capacity, sources said.The NBR officials said the tax authority would have to bring down corporate taxes, import duties and other duty taxes as Bangladesh is approaching towards graduation to middle-income-country status.It""s a two-way challenge for the NBR-to raise tax-GDP ratio and also to bring down the tax rate, they added.Economists, however, said the avenue that tax authority can overhaul is the tax benefit for some industries that became well-established availing the tax incentives.Noted economist Dr Ahsan H Mansur suggests reviewing entire gamute of tax exemptions so far offered by the NBR to make transparent statements of the facility."The NBR should conduct scrutiny of the time-bound tax exemptions, its phases of extensions, time of expiry instead of primary judgment on the facility," says Dr Mansur, Executive Director of the Policy Research Institute (PRI).The tax exemptions should come through parliament where statements on volume of net tax waiver must be written clearly, he adds.Currently, the tax-exemption facility is not given in a transparent way, he observed.Md Humayun Kabir, former president and council member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB), said statutory exemptions ( ie directive revenue leakage) or evasion or avoidance of tax with or without collaborations (systematic revenue leakage) are the reasons of low tax- to-GDP ratio."One of the ways to identify and minimise these leakages could be to use common or standard national code for tax collection and GDP calculations," he said.This will help the policymakers focus on the variations and finding the corrective measures.For example, he says, if GDP contribution of transport or apparel sector does not match the contribution of total taxes, then existing tax policies for the sectors need revision.He, however, feels that low tax- GDP ratio should not create that level of "hypo" or importance as country""s economic growth trajectory of the recent past is impressive,"Why do nation needs 17-18-percent tax of its GDP if it could achieve 7-8-percent growth with such a low tax-GDP ratio?" he posed the question.He, however, underscored the need for reforming tax administration and laws."Fiscal policy framing and implementation thereof should be separated for establishing effective accountability in tax collection," the accountancy specialist suggests." …….low tax-GDP ratio does not mean that the amount of money has remained idle and is not contributing to the GDP growth. In fact, the money in the hands of private sectors will generate more ""economic value"" than in government hands," he views.doulotakter11@gmail.com

Bangladesh""s taka now appears to be settling near its fair value after its real effective exchange rate (REER) against a 15-currency basket of global trading partners dropped significantly.The REER, measured by the central bank of Bangladesh against the currency basket, now stood at 104.8, as of December, according to official count. This high-due to higher deprecations of the BDT in recent past-has not been seen in many years before.The fair value is 100 in comparative assessment with the currencies in the basket.Steep inflation persisting in Bangladesh""s trading-partner nations is another reason as the price surges over there in the partner economies usually remain much lower than in Bangladesh.Among Bangladesh""s top trading partners are mainly China, the EU, and India. The REER considers the currencies and inflation readings of the top 15 trading partners.Such valued BDT in terms of the REER will help enhance the competitiveness of Bangladeshi-made goods on the international market, bankers and economists believe.Central bankers told the FE that such value of the BDT is due to sharp depreciation of the local currency against the US dollar, arguing that "now none can say the BDT remained overvalued"."When we talk about export-competitiveness, many economists used to say the overvalued local money impacts the international trade," said one of the bankers, who was involved with the process of preparing the index.The fair value is 100 in comparative assessment with the currencies in the basket.The REER as an index was recorded at 112.4 in September 2022, 111.34 in June 2022, and 115.5 in December in 2021, according to the latest Bangladesh Bank report.This gauge can be used to assess the equilibrium value of a currency. An increase in a nation""s REER is an indication that its exports are getting more expensive and its imports cheaper. The end result: its trade-competitiveness is on the way down. It is an indicator of the international competitiveness of a nation in comparison with its trade partners.Economists say this effective-exchange position will enhance the country""s competitiveness in external trade."Definitely, this will enhance the competitiveness," says Dr M. Masrur Reaz, chairman of local think-tank Policy Exchange of Bangladesh.He notes that the country""s export receipt has been on the rise and it will accelerate further if the REER becomes supportive.He also says the current drop in the REER is a reflection of the nominal exchange rate.The nominal exchange rate depreciated by nearly 13 per cent in nine months between June 2022 and February 2023.Dr Zahid Hussain, former lead economist of the World Bank, told the FE: "To my mind, the REER picture is not truly reflected as there are some control mechanisms in the country""s forex regime."He also mentioned that the inflation measurement raises many questions as to whether or not it is truly calculated."If we don""t have representative CPI and a controlled forex market, how the REER will be truly assessed? Dr Hussain questioned.jasimharoon@yahoo.com

Dealing with the pressure of inflation while maintaining the growth momentum will be main focus of next budget, government policymakers said Wednesday as businesses suggested taxation reforms and incentivizing economic activity.Prominent business leaders at a pre-budget meet urged the government to simplify tax system as well as widen tax net rather than burdening existing taxpayers for meeting increasing demand for revenue.The entrepreneurs called for specific policy changes in the budget for complete automation of taxation along with separation of policy and tax authority.They demanded elimination of red tape to simplify business procedures in the budget for 2023-24 for facilitating the growth of trade and investment.They also sought fiscal assistance from the government as many sectors, particularly the cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises, require financial succour to overcome the effect of the economic slowdown worldwide.The businesses said the upcoming budget should be formulated keeping mind growing inflation and effect from the global situations, including the Russia-Ukraine war.The pre-budget discussion was organised by Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and Bangla daily Samakal at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka.Speaking at the meet, Prime Minister""s Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman said everyone should pay tax or else tax net will never be wider at the expected level."We always talk about tax-net increase, but small businessmen don""t want to pay tax," said Mr Rahman, who owns a big business house.He wonders how the tax net will increase if everyone is not netted for tax payment."Business is profiting, but where is the problem of paying taxes? Where will the tax come from if exempted everywhere?"He said there is no alternative to automation to increase tax receipt and GDP (gross domestic product).Mr. Rahman, a former chief of Bangladesh""s apex trade body, FBCCI, pointed at some structural flaws in taxation, one being dependence on indirect taxes."The volume of indirect taxes should be reduced--we have to increase direct taxes."And the dependence on customs is high for revenue collection, so it should also be reduced, he suggests."If the VAT law could have been implemented in 2014, then there would not have been so many questions about this sector. The tax law should be simplified."He said inflation is a global problem, it will go away gradually.The PM adviser mentioned that many feared in June last the reserves would go out of control, Bangladesh would become Sri Lanka, the IMF would not lend etc.By June this year, caps on interest rate would go, there will be market-based exchange rate and many other things would be sorted out, he told his audience about an economic rebound on steam in the country.He admits that there challenges in macroeconomics. "But we are on the right track," he said, adding that the country has been able to maintain stable position due to agriculture, expatriate income and export sector.Salman F Rahman feels that bond market should be prioritised to strengthen the capital market.State Minister for Planning Shamsul Alam told the meet that the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, a large financial institution in a developed economy like the United States, triggered new fears in financial system across the globe.The actions that the American government takes will have some domino effects outside."Usually, we see, when America coughs, the whole world gets a fever. In short a new challenge has been added to already-critical economy," he said.The junior minister in planning gave an outlook of the upcoming budget for the fiscal year 2023-24. The main goal of this year""s budget will be to deal with the pressure of inflation."There is no scope for giving an ambitious budget," he said, adding that much attention is being paid to ensuring that the budget deficit is not too high.However, while doing these things, it is being carefully taken into consideration in the next budget so GDP is not reduced.Although the overall economy of the country is under some pressure, he said, remittances are increasing and foreign-exchange reserves also have increased.Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) President Jasim Uddin, in his address, expressed the hope that there would not be any tax on fuel as it is a raw material used for production.He urged the government to separate tax authority and the policy wing-in order to bring accountability in taxing and revenue receipt."NBR should not take policy decisions at the same time it collects tax," the apex trade-body chief said.He said capacity of the NBR should be strengthened and their offices should be expanded across the country to increase tax volume.Former FBCCI President Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin questioned why the NBR can""t create their leader from within the revenue board. He thinks such leaders can contribute to increase in tax-GDP ratio.He urged government high-ups to provide utility connections for new businesses to facilitate industrialisation and growth.Another former FBCCI president, AK Azad, said the government should be prepared from now how they would meet energy demands when the reserve of local gas dries out within few years.He points out that ""red-tape"" and high tax rates create obstruction in finding alternative energy sources, including solar plant.DCCI President Sameer Sattar moderated the discussion, held in the run-up to the next national budget.bdsmile@gmail.com

Prime Minister""s Private Industries and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman has said the process of opening letters of credit (LCs) would be eased further in coming days and foreign currency reserves would be stabilised by June this year.Regarding the shortage of foreign currency reserves in the last few months, he said that the central bank took immediate steps to address the issue, like controlling imports, especially the luxurious items for which the import bills came down at $5.0 billion in December.The adviser to the prime minister came up with the information at a pre-budget discussion of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) for the next fiscal year (FY23) held at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in the capital on Wednesday, reports BSS.He also informed that the single exchange rate would be effective by June this year, while the interest rate cap would be made market-based.Citing that the country""s tax-to-GDP ratio is still lower compared to other countries in the world, the adviser said that there is a need to further widen the tax net, for which automation is very much needed.He opined that if the revenue board could develop a uniform import duty, it would be possible to address various problems, but the revenue would fall in such a case.Noting that the small traders in the country are often reluctant to pay tax and VAT, the adviser said there is a need to change their mindset while the business community leaders should make a serious propaganda about the necessity of paying tax.About the capital market, he said that there is a basic structural defect, which is the lower number of institutional investors participating in the daily turnover in the bourses, and the participation of the institutional investors must be increased.He also suggested revitalising the bond market, giving the same facility to the other export oriented sectors apart from RMG, ensuring diversification of exportable items.Salman said that the prime minister considers the private sector as the ""driving force"" of the economy.He said the government is on the right track to maintain macroeconomic stability in the country given the way it has been reacting to the various challenges owing to global conditions."It""s true that the country""s macroeconomic situation is facing a lot of challenges." But, the way we""re reacting, we can say that we""re on the right track," he said.State Minister for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam, former FBCCI president Md. Shafiul Islam (Mohiuddin), and MP spoke as special guests. FBCCI President Md. Jashim Uddin and former FBCCI president and Managing Director of Ha-Meem Group spoke as guests of honour. DCCI president Md. Sameer Sattar moderated the discussion. The editor of The Daily Samakal, Mozammel Hossain, gave the vote of thanks.During the budget discussion, four separate sessions on taxation & VAT, financial sector, industry & trade and infrastructure were held.In the taxation & VAT session, Zaved Akhtar, CEO and MD, Unilever Bangladesh Limited; Mohammed Humayun Kabir, former president, ICAB and Panel Advisor, FBCCI; Md. Alamgir Hossain, former member, National Board of Revenue (NBR); gave their opinions.In the session on financial sector, Md. Nojibur Rahman, chairman, Capital Market Stabilisation Fund (CMSF) and former principal secretary to the Prime Minister; Mashrur Arefin, managing director, City Bank; Dr. Selim Raihan, executive director, SANEM; Arif Khan, vice chairman, Shanta Asset Management Limited and former commissioner, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) delivered their speeches.In the session on industry & trade, Asif Ashraf, director, BGMEA; Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, chairman and chief executive officer, PRAN RFL Group; and Mohammad Ali Khokon, president, Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) made their recommendations for the next budget.During the session on infrastructure, Imran Karim, vice chairman, Confidence Group; Mohammad Ariful Islam (Arif), country head, Nokia; Mainuddin Monem, managing director, Abdul Monem Limited spoke.

The government needs to spend money for supporting the country""s economic growth, the finance minister said Tuesday."How the economy will run unless money is spent," AHM Mustafa Kamal posed the question in justifying pursuance of a moderately expansionary policy so far despite suggestions for a contractionary stance in the wake of the global crisis.Although pressure was there to follow contractionary policy amid the ongoing global financial crunch, the government adopted prudent policies to supply resources to facilitate economic growth, he noted.Mr Kamal made the observations at a virtually held pre-budget meeting with editors and senior journalists of different media outlets.Editor of The Financial Express (FE) Shamsul Huq Zahid, Director and Head of News of Channel i Shykh Siraj, Editor of Daily Our Time Nayeemul Islam Khan, and editor of Bangladesh Pratidin Naem Nizam attended the event, among others.At the meeting the editors described the crises the Bangladesh""s newspaper industry presently facing and sought finance minister""s intervention to save the situation.Mr Zahid said the government is going to prepare a larger budget for the next fiscal year with subsidy set to cross Tk 1.0 trillion.Since the sale of savings instruments has been on a downturn, the government will have to borrow excessively from the banking sector to meet its increased budgetary spending."So, how the government will manage theses issues in the next budget?"He questioned.Mr Zahid said the loan defaulters were offered enough facilities which now need to be put to an end, including the recurrence of scope for rescheduling loans.He suggested lowering the fuel-oil prices in the domestic market in line with the global price reduction, to lessen inflationary pressure on the people.Mr Siraj drew attention of the minister to the spending of corporate social responsibility (CSR) fund created by realising money from 12 banks which made excessive profit during the pandemic period by ""immoral"" means.Responding to his question central bank governor Abdur Rouf Talukder said the banks must provide loans directly to the farmers from that fund. "Upon their failure to do so, the unutilised funds would be brought back from them and be utilised for same purpose." He said the CSR money in question will be used in four specific areas in agriculture.However, the finance minister expressed reservations about the money transferred to the CSR fund, saying that banks"" had earned that money as profit.syful-islam@outlook.com

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has approved a Tk 4.26 billion project to strengthen the village courts across the country in order to ensure wider access of rural poor, female, lagging behind and under privilege people in getting justice.The approval came from a meeting of the ECNEC held with its chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair at the NEC Conference Room in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area of Dhaka on Tuesday.Briefing the reporters after the meeting, Planning Minister MA Mannan said that the day’s meeting approved a total of nine projects with an overall of estimated cost of Tk 17.30 billion.“Of the total project cost, Tk 6.33 billion will come from the government, Tk 14.40 million from the concerned organisation’s own fund while the rest of Tk 10.95 billion as project assistance,” of the approved nine projects, four are new while five are revised projects.The Local Government Division under the Ministry of LGRD and Cooperatives will implement the Strengthening of village courts (3rd phase) project with a cost of Tk 4.26 billion, reports BSS.Of the total project cost, Tk 1.57 billion will come from the government fund while the rest of Tk 2.68 billion as grant from EU and UNDP.Once the project is implemented, it would be possible to fulfill the demands of rural people related to Justice side by side the capacity of the local authorities would be enhanced in delivering due legal services.The other projects approved in the meeting are: Enhancing capacity of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police in combating terrorism and ensuring public security, 1st revised with an additional cost of Tk 2.29 billion, Construction of 112 residential flats for the officials of Bangladesh Parliament Secretariat atAgargaon with Tk 982.20 million, Sustainable Coastal and Marine Fisheries, 1st revised with an additional cost of Tk 5.88 billion, Feasibility study to construct important bridges on rural roads with Tk 800 million, countrywide mobile library project, 2nd revised with an additional cost of Tk 374.70 million, Theproject for the improvement of equipment for technical education with Tk 980.10 million, establishment of Dhaka Technical Teachers Training Institute, 3rd revised, with a reduced cost of Tk 25.50 million and installation of prepaid gas meter for TGTDCL, 3rd revised with an additional cost of Tk 1.74 billion .Ministers and State Ministers attended the meeting while Planning Commission members and secretaries concerned were present.

Bangladesh and Bhutan are set to sign an agreement and a protocol to offer each other multi-modal transit facilities aimed at boosting bilateral trade.A Bangladesh delegation, led by Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, was already on its way to Bhutan where the deals are expected to be signed likely tomorrow (Wednesday), a senior commerce ministry official said on Monday.With the signing of the agreements, Bhutan would be another neighbouring country after India that will enjoy the transit facilities at nine customs points of the land, rail, air and river routes in Bangladesh.In return, Bhutan would allow Bangladesh to use its eight transit routes for the export and import of goods.The official said the National Board of Revenue (NBR) will have to issue Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) detailing the procedures for goods movement through using the transit routes.Initially, the transit facilities are unlikely to be a win-win situation as Bhutanese traders would reach the Indian market and onward, he said, but it would give a positive message to the international community about Bangladesh""s approach towards trade liberalisation.Earlier in October 2018, Bangladesh and India signed the ""Agreement on the use of Chattogram and Mongla seaports for movement of goods to and from India"" mainly to provide transshipment facilities to India for carrying goods to its Northeastern states using the Bangladeshi ports.Under the latest agreements with Bhutan, both the countries will have to follow the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to use the transit facilities. Customs would fix specific fees of documents, lock, scanner and others for using the transit.According to an existing gazette of the NBR, document processing and transit charge has been set at Tk 30 per chalan, and fees for transshipment have been fixed at Tk 20 per tonne.Charges for security have been set at Tk 100 per tonne, escort Tk 50 per tonne, and other administrative charges Tk 100 per tonne. Container scanning fee has been set at Tk 254 per container for existing Indian transit.Officials familiar with the development said the transit fees set for Indian goods in 2020 may not remain same in case of Bhutan due to its geographical location.The NBR may set the transit fees for Bhutan as per the World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.As per draft agreements that the cabinet approved last week, Bhutan would be able to use Chilmari, Nakugaon, Noonkhawa, Haluaghat, Daikhawa, Banglabandha, Burimari, Tamabil and Narayanganj as the transit points.On Bhutanese side, Bangladesh would be allowed to use Samdrup Jongkhar, Gelephu, Phuentshogling, Samtse, Pelzomthang (Nganglam), Gomtu (Phuentshogpelri), Paro International Airport and Gelephu Airport.Road routes include Samtse/Gomtu/Phuentshogling-Burimari-Rangpur-Bogura-Hatikamrul-Dhaka-Chattogram or Chattogram-Dhaka-Hatikamrul-Bogura-Rangpur-Burimari-Samtse/Gomtu/ Phuentshogling/ Gelephu.Another designated transit road route would be Samtse/Gomtu/Phuentshogling/Gelephu-Phulbari-Banglabandha-Rangpur-Bogra-Hatikamrul-Dhaka-Chattogram.Rail routes would be Mongla-Khulna-Nawapara-Jashore-Bheramara-Ishordi-Santahar-Parbotipur-Sylhet-Chilahati-Samtse/Gomtu/ Phuentshogling/ Gelephu or Chattogram-Laksam-Cumilla-Akaura-Dhaka-Sirajgaj-Bogra-Kaunia-Lalmonirhat-Burimari-Samtse/Gomtu/ Phuentshogling/Gelephu.Another rail route is Samtse/Gomtu/ Phuentshogling/Gelephu-Chilahati-Syedpur-Parbotipur-Shantahar-Ishwardi-Bheramara-Jashore-Nawapara-Khulna-Mongla.Chattogram-Laksam-Cumilla-Akaura-Dhaka-Sirajganj-Bogura-Kaunia-Lalmonirhat-Burimari-Samtse/Gomtu/Phuentshogling/Gelephu Samtse/Gomtu/Phuentshogling/Gelephu-Burimari-Lalmonirhat-Kaunia-Bogra-Sirajganj-Dhaka-Akhaura-Cumilla-Laksam-Chattogram.The transit country reserves its rights to amend or modify the designated transit routes and types of vehicles for plying through any designated routes in consultation with the contracting party any time it deems necessary.Under the agreement, river routes would be covered by memorandum of understanding (MoU) on use of inland waterways for transportation of goods under bilateral trade and transit cargo between Bangladesh and Bhutan. Air routes would be covered by air services agreement and MoUs signed between the two countries.doulotakter11@gmail.com

Bangladesh""s trade leaders demanded "logical duty-tax protection" for local industry and investment as the finance minister consulted them Monday on fiscal measures in making the coming budget amid persisting odds.At a virtually held pre-budget meeting with Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, they also sought tax waiver or bond facility to support domestic production and export diversification.The country""s apex trade body -- the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) -- placed the pleas in a package of suggestions which include keeping supply and price of essential commodities stable, expansion of tax net by modernising tax policy, and lowering economic inequality by enhancing income and employment generation."Though the national economy now stands on a strong base, the business-friendly environment of the country needs to be made further stronger to successfully face the challenges arising in post-pandemic era and from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war," FBCCI president Jashim Uddin said at the event.He also said to enhance competitiveness of Bangladeshi business the cost of doing business has to be lessened. Infrastructure development, investment protection, raising port""s capacity, investment-friendly money and duty management, lowering transportation costs, and energy and power sector also need to be given special priority.President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Faruque Hassan, at the meet, talked about circular economy, and reducing source tax as cost of doing business increased due to raising gas and electricity prices, among other issues.President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) Md. Sameer Sattar said the main challenge for next budget would be raising the tax-to-GDP (gross domestic products) ratio."And to this end, the budget for fiscal year 2023-24 has to take measures to mobilise more resources," he said.Mr Sattar made a point that some 48 per cent of economic activities of the country are taking place in Dhaka and Chittagong while a total of 90-percent tax is collected from these business heartlands.He suggests that the government should increase resources and hire smart officers and keep their works under strict monitoring to enhance revenue collection.The revenue-enhancing suggestion relates to the government move to frame an incrementally bigger budget, in an approximate size of over Tk 7.0 trillion.The DCCI president also drew attention of the central bank governor, who was present at the meeting, to supervise the scheduled banks so that cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises (CMSMEs) get funds from the government re-finance scheme to remain afloat.Heads of a number of chambers and associations also spoke at the event.According to some meeting participants, the minister did not make any comment on the demands raised by the business-community leaders. However, he said the demands "will be taken into consideration with due importance".syful-islam@outlook.com

Chairman of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) Professor Hamid Ullah Bhuiyan has said no bank in the country follows International Accounting Standards or International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in preparing financial statements.Due to this, the actual picture of the financial health of the banks does not come out in the financial reports. If IFRS is followed, it will reduce banks"" assets by 40 percent, he said.Prof Hamid said this while speaking as chief guest at a ‘Meet the Press’ organised by Capital Market Journalists Forum (CMJF), an organisation of stock market reporters, held in the capital on Monday, reports UNB.He said, "We want IFRS to be implemented, then the real financial information of the bank will appear in the financial statements."The FRC chairman said the outstanding debt is being dragged on for years. It is being rescheduled paying 2.0 per cent only. But with this 2.0 per cent interest income or principal does not return to the bank.But regularly these types of loans are rescheduled. This is being done so that defaulters can take loans from other banks, he pointed out.He emphasised coming out from this culture for the sake of the country’s financial sector.Prof Hamid said many manipulations are done in the capital market using financial statements.“Many weak companies go through initial public offerings or IPOs. Most of the time, there are three consecutive years of increasing profits prior to the IPO. But after the IPO, profits fell consistently,” he pointed out.The FRC chairman said the initiative to register auditors had been taken to ensure transparency in the audit of financial statements of listed companies. It will be completed in a few months. Henceforth no auditor not registered with the FRC can audit a company listed on the capital market.He also said that if a company has a revenue of Tk 500 million or more, that company will be considered a public interest company. There are about 3,400 such companies in the country. Apart from this, there are 2500 micro-credit institutions. These will also come under FRC.CMJF president Ziaur Rahman presided over while Secretary Abu Ali moderated the function.

The revenue collection by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) during the July-February period of the current fiscal year (FY23) witnessed an 8.92 per cent growth from income tax, VAT and customs with a collection of Tk 1.96 trillion.The revenue collection by the NBR during the same period of the last fiscal year (FY22) was Tk 1.79 trillion, reports BSS.Revenue board officials said out of the overall revenue collection of Tk 1.96 trillion during this eight-month period, Tk 591.98 billion will come from customs, Tk 764.01 billion from VAT and Tk 604.37 billion from income tax and travel tax.This overall revenue collection is, however, lower than the revenue collection target of Tk 2.19 trillion during this eight-month period.The NBR officials said that the revenue collection during the July-February period of the last fiscal year (FY22) from customs or import and export duty was Tk 567.26 billion which increased to Tk 591.98 billion during this period having a growth of 4.36 per cent.On the other hand, the revenue collection from income tax and travel tax during this eight month period witnessed a growth of 6.29 per cent while the revenue collection from VAT during this July-February period experienced a healthy growth of 15.07 per cent.The revenue collection from income tax and travel tax during July-February period of last fiscal year (FY22) was Tk 568.61 billion while the revenue collection from VAT during the same period of the last fiscal year was Tk 663.96 billion.The NBR has a target of collecting Tk 3.7 trillion in the current fiscal year.

Collection of value-added tax (VAT) registered a hefty growth of about 15 per cent in the first eight months to February of the current fiscal year (FY) over the same period of last FY, largely contributed by domestic consumption of goods.The VAT wing of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) mobilised Tk 2.37 billion less from import sources during the July-February period of FY 2022-23 than that of the same period previous FY.However, its performance was impressive as compared to the other two wings of the NBR, officials said.The income tax and travel tax collection grew by 6.29 per cent during the period under review while customs revenue rose 4.36 per cent, according to provisional data of the NBR.The aggregate tax revenue grew by nearly 9.0 per cent in the July-February period over the corresponding period of last FY. In February last, it grew by only 1.71 per cent.However, the collection fell Tk 229.78 billion short of target which is equivalent to one month""s direct tax collection.The NBR collected Tk 1.96 trillion in taxes in the July-February period against its target of Tk 2.19 trillion.Last year, the NBR collected tax revenue worth Tk 1.79 trillion in the same period.In February, the NBR collected Tk 237.27 billion tax revenue against its target of Tk 294.40 billion for the month.The VAT wing collected Tk 764.01 billion, followed by income tax Tk 604.37 billion and customs wing Tk 591.98 billion.A senior official at the NBR said that enforcement of the VAT measures geared up in recent time to check evasion and realise due revenue from the businesses."The VAT collection witnessed growth mainly due to efforts made by the VAT officials and the revenue generated from the domestic sources," he said.The revenue collection scenario was different in the same period of last FY, with 17.50 per cent growth achieved by income tax wing, 22.68 per cent by customs wing and 10.69 per cent by VAT wing.In the current FY, VAT collection surpassed the growth of the two other wings, said the official.The average tax revenue collection growth was 12.12 per cent in the last five FYs.However, the three wings of the NBR lagged behind their respective targets in the July-February period of the current FY.The VAT collection fell short of target by Tk 57.38 billion while income tax by Tk 34.25 billion and customs by Tk 138.14 billion.The government has set Tk 3.70 trillion tax revenue target for FY 2022-23. The NBR will have to collect around Tk 1.73 trillion in tax revenue during the remaining March-June period to achieve the target.NBR officials said that achieving the annual target would be a huge challenge due to the decline in imports and the government""s austerity measures on different development projects.A senior VAT official said the large taxpayers"" unit has so far kept the revenue collection growth in a positive trajectory. VAT collection from beverages grew by 15 per cent, mobile phone users by 18 per cent and gas consumers by 20 per cent during this period."The NBR is trying to realise huge arrears lying with the state-owned Petrobangla," the official said.On poor growth of direct taxes, Dhaka University Economics Professor Dr M Abu Eusuf, who is also Executive Director of the Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID), said there is no visible step by the government to widen the direct tax net to increase the number of taxpayers and boost revenue collection.The tax offices should be set up in the upazila level to tap the potential taxpayers in the growth centres, he said, adding that the number of taxpayers is still low compared to that of the size of the population in the country.The NBR collects 60-70 per cent of the direct taxes from import sources as the Advance Income Tax (AIT).Dr Syed Aminul Karim, former income tax member of NBR, said the recent higher collection from VAT would be reflected by higher collections of income tax in the following year and later years as it is an outcome of higher production or sales of the industries."Income tax payments have been affected by the current liquidity crisis while the VAT collection may have witnessed positive outcomes from the recently introduced online collection system," he said.He also pointed out manpower shortage in the remote growth centres and absence of proper efforts by field-level tax offices as the weaknesses of the revenue collection system.doulotakter11@gmail.com

The government gets tightfisted in framing the annual development programme (ADP) for the next fiscal as a prolonged global economic crisis gives it limited choice in spending, officials said.In an order the Planning Commission (PC) has asked all ministries to avoid taking fresh projects and keeping the ongoing projects on their list in the ADP for the fiscal year 2023-24, they said, evidently as the government had to trim the current recipe for fund constraints."The global economic crisis could not end soon. So, we will take cautious approach in framing the development budget for the upcoming fiscal," State Minister for Planning Prof Dr Shamsul Alam told the FE."We have to pass through a ""tightrope"" in the next fiscal, too," the minister said.Meanwhile, the PC in an order for all the ministries has urged them to be cautious in taking development projects and prioritise food security and agricultural production-related schemes.Besides, the commission has also advised them to undertake projects related to agriculture industry, power and human-resource development, and tackling natural calamities."Not only the ADP, the entire budget for the next fiscal will be framed based on the cautious approach so that inflation and less-important expenditures can be checked. Simultaneously, we will also try to keep higher GDP-growth momentum," Prof Alam says about the next budget outlook and priorities.He rules out complacency with their better economic condition, as he reminds of financial pains worldwide. "Two US banks suddenly collapsed last week. It means the global economic turmoil will not be over too soon," he cites for reality checks.A senior Ministry of Finance (MoF) official said the size of the ADP for the FY2023-24 would not be increased much compared to the current one as the government has taken a cautious approach to spending in view of the global scenarios.In the current FY, the government framed a Tk 2.46-trillion ADP. And early this month the government downsized the development programme to Tk 2.27 trillion amid the national and international realities.A senior PC official says: "We have asked ministries not to take fresh projects rather to give more stress on completing the ongoing projects in the development budget. We will not entertain fresh projects in the upcoming ADP except for some highly-priority ones.""We have also warned the ministries that the PC would not carry over those projects in the upcoming ADP which are kept for completion in the current Revised ADP."Also, the slow-moving projects will not get priority in fund allocation. "Rather we will recommend the ministries to scrap those. We will divert the funds from the slow-moving ones to the priority projects."The planning commission will also give highest priority to the foreign aid-supported projects in the next ADP as Bangladesh needs more external funds to cushion the economy, the official adds.Ministries also have been asked not to give any fresh project list for inclusion in the upcoming ADP for projects whose DPPs have yet to be formulated.Only lists of those projects will be incorporated into the upcoming ADP the DPPs of which have already been formulated by the ministries or are under process in the PC for approval.Meanwhile, the global economic crisis has hit hard Bangladesh""s economy as its economic growth rate could fall even below 6.0-percent mark from an impressive over 7.0-percent trajectory maintained over the last few years.kabirhumayan10@gmail.comandrezamumu@gmail.com

Over half of the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), mostly of private companies, in Bangladesh fear inflation, macroeconomic volatility and geopolitical tensions to stay as top threats to their business growth over next 12 months.In ratings, inflation in domestic and global economies stands as the highest headwind against business growth as price rises erode people""s purchasing power.The company kingpins consider inflation to be about 47-percent threat while macroeconomic volatility to pose 34-percent and geopolitical tensions 22-percent threat during the timeline covered in a survey conducted by PwC Bangladesh (PricewaterhouseCoopers Bangladesh)."Some 69 per cent of the CEOs said they didn""t have any plan for reducing workforce size to manage business challenges, demonstrating their resolve to retain talent," says a PwC press statement on its findings in the wake of prolonged multipronged global crises.PwC Bangladesh published Thursday the Bangladesh perspectives of PwC""s 26th Annual Global CEO Survey, which polled 4,410 CEOs in 105 countries between October and November 2022, including 32 CEOs from Bangladesh.The global report, launched at the World Economic Forum""s Annual Meeting in Davos earlier this year, offers insights into how CEOs are navigating the most pressing issues of the day.CEOs in Bangladesh felt the need for transformation to make their organisations economically viable after 10 years.In the survey, the PwC found CEOs confident that their business would grow by next 12 months as well as in the medium term or next three years.The survey has found less than half of the CEOs in Bangladesh optimistic about long-term economic viability of their businesses with current business model expecting it to be viable for next 10 years while 59 per cent of CEOs worldwide believe that businesses will last more than ten yearsThe respondents in Bangladesh have lesser degree of concern on climate change and cyber-threats.However, over the next 12 months, CEOs in Bangladesh see climate risk impacting their cost profile and supply chain more than the safety of their physical assets.Around 66 per cent of the CEOs in Bangladesh feel that global economic growth will decline over the next 12 months while 53 per cent of them have shown confidence that their own businesses will grow in the year ahead.The survey reveals that the chief executives of firms in the country today are very focused on dealing with economic challenges through diversifying their products and services, reducing operating costs, and increasing the prices of their products and services.Four out of five CEOs surveyed here stated that they were either already doing these/had done these or were considering doing these in the next 12 months.Sanjeev Krishan, Chairperson, PwC in India and Bangladesh, said: "From my various interactions with business leaders in Bangladesh, I continue to see growing levels of optimism and confidence in the market potential. This has been reiterated by our survey findings with more than half of the CEOs who participated telling us that they are confident about the growth of their own businesses in the short term and in the medium term (between 12 months and 3 years)."Despite the looming threat of global headwinds, this level of certainty highlights the resilience of the region."In contrast with their global peers, CEOs in Bangladesh are more concerned about the ongoing global supply-chain disruption than regulatory changes due to the country""s significant reliance on import of raw materials as well as strong dependence on exports and remittances.Technological disruption, regulatory changes, labour/skill shortages, the threat of new entrants and transition to new energy sources are also believed to have significant impact on business profitability.Arijit Chakraborti, Director and Office Managing Partner, PwC Bangladesh, said: "Business leaders in Bangladesh have been investing in transformation programmes for their businesses in the recent past and have acquired new capabilities to help them develop good foresight in visualising the short-to medium term outlook of their own businesses. These transformation programmes have also helped them to develop the resilience to weather any short-term turbulence in their businesses."Climate change gains prominence as a cause of concern for Bangladesh CEOs with 66 per cent expecting a limited to moderate impact on their cost profiles, 63 per cent on their physical assets and 56 per cent on their supply chains due to climate-related disruptions.However, despite CEO awareness about their businesses"" exposure to climate risks, most of these companies have yet to take satisfactory interventions to mitigate those risks, the survey report says.Mamun Rashid, Managing Director, Country Clients and Markets Leader, PwC Bangladesh, said CEOs continue to prioritise short-term business growth over the long-term benefits of investing in greener operations."However, in Bangladesh, their near-term priorities are efficiency improvement and technology adoption. With CEOs driving the agenda, we expect climate risk management plans to become more holistic and inclusive, as well as an integral part of business strategies in the future, such as plans for relocation of production facilities from areas that are prone to frequent flooding."Interestingly, while global CEOs prioritise business benefits for ecosystem development, their peers in Bangladesh focus more on addressing societal issues. For example, about 22 per cent of the CEOs responded that they would like to collaborate with the business consortia to address societal issues as opposed to 12.50 per cent who stated that they would do the same to create value for their business.doulotakter11@gmail.com

Bangladesh has the potential to raise its readymade garment (RMG) export earnings to US$11 billion to the UK by 2030 as the country will continue to get duty-free market access after LDC graduation.Bangladesh earned US$4.5 billion from RMG exports to the UK in the last fiscal year which could be raised to US$11 billion by 2030, according to the projection of Research and Policy Integration for Development (RAPID).“It is still unsettled if Bangladesh’s garment exports after LDC graduation will continue to receive duty-free market access in the European Union (EU) but, under the UK Developed Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), Bangladesh apparel exports will continue to get duty-free access in the UK”, said Dr MA Razzaque chairman of RAPID.UK will continue to provide the existing duty benefit to LDCs including Bangladesh until 2029 including three years transition period, while its enhanced DCTS preferences remove the 32 international conventions ratification and implementation requirement which is mandatory to sustain GSP plus facility in the EU, he noted.Non-RMG exports could be reached US$ 1.3 billion by 2030 from the existing US$700 million, he said adding that the potential is much higher for non-RMG export growth in the UK.He said these while presenting study findings at a stakeholder consultation meeting titled ‘Expanding and Diversifying Exports to the UK Market’ on Thursday at BRAC Center Inn in the city.Senior Secretary of Commerce Ministry Tapan Kanti Ghosh was present as chief guest while Export Promotion Bureau Vice Chairman AHM Ahsan and Chairman of Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission Md Faizul Islam, Deputy Development Director at Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Dr Duncan Overfield spoke at the meeting.RAPID Executive Director Dr M Abu Eusuf moderated the event.munni_fe@yahoo.com

Lauding highly the socio-economic progress and capacity of Bangladesh, visiting Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa has said that the lending agency would continue to stand beside Bangladesh in the coming days like in the past.The ADB has been continuing to stand beside Bangladesh in its stride toward socio-economic recovery from the pandemic and would continue to support Bangladesh in the future also, he said.The ADB President said this as he met Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal at a city hotel on Monday, said a Finance Ministry press release.The ADB president has been visiting Bangladesh on March 12-17 marking the 50 years of partnership of ADB and Bangladesh, reports BSS.The Finance Minister lauded the role of ADB as one of the leading development partners since 1973 in the development journey of Bangladesh.He informed that in the last 50 years, ADB made a commitment of $28.4 billion to Bangladesh of which it made a disbursement of $21.1 billion till date. Bangladesh also made a repayment of $6.5 billion as principal amount during this period.Kamal said that the outstanding loan of Bangladesh with ADB is now $14.6 billion which is also 24 percent of the country""s overall foreign loans. Over the last few years, Bangladesh has become the 3rd largest loan recipient country from ADB.The Finance Minister apprised the ADB President that Bangladesh has become the 35th largest economy of the world with a GDP size or $460 billion.Besides, he expressed his belief that Bangladesh would become one of the top 20 economies of the world by 2041."Now our goal is to turn Bangladesh into a smart country by 2041 under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in line with Vision 2041," he added.The Finance Minister also expressed his firm belief that the ADB would play an important role in materializing "Smart Bangladesh," in the coming days.Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder, NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem, Finance Division Senior Secretary Fatima Yasmin, Financial Institutions Division Secretary Shaikh Md Salim Ullah, ERD Secretary Sharifa Khan, Kenichi Yokoyama, Director General, South Asia Department, ADB, Azizul Alam, Alternate Executive Director (AED), Edimon Ginting, Country Director for Bangladesh, ADB were present, among others, on the occasion.

Investment under public-private partnership as a latest development model is government""s priority in a paradigm shift from depending on loans in bankrolling economic uplift, investors were told Sunday.Government high-ups at the ongoing Bangladesh Business Summit-2023 also told investors and economic policymakers from home and abroad that Bangladesh""s prime sectors promise plenteous returns on investment.A priority list of potential sectors was presented at the meet in Dhaka on the second day. Agro-business and food-processing, software and IT-enabled services, healthcare, medical devices, automobiles and accessories, shipbuilding, light engineering, and leather and leather goods top the investment inventory.The potential investors were also apprised of government move to strike long-term energy contracts with overseas suppliers for uninterrupted energy supply to businesses.Salman Fazlur Rahman, Private Industry and Investment Adviser to the Prime Minister, urged the investors to come under PPP availing a wide range of investment opportunities, including workforce and competitive energy prices.He was speaking as a keynote speaker at the summit""s plenary session on ""Investment opportunities in key sectors: Bangladesh US$100 billion investment opportunities in key sectors for investors to leverage"".The three-day meet kicked off Saturday at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC). It has been organized by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI).Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi was special guest of the programme, moderated by FBCCI president Md Jashim Uddin.Mohammad Tofazzel Hossain Miah, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, was session chair while Anne-Marie Trevelyan, State Minister (Indo-Pacific) of the UK, was guest of honour.State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam, AK Azad, former FBCCI president, Ki-Hak Sung, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Youngone Corporation, Masumi Kakinoki, President and CEO of Marubeni Corporation, Jong Won Kim, Director-General of Green Growth Department of Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), and Rosie Glazebrook, chief executive of Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC), attended the programme as panel discussants.The commerce minister invited foreign investors to investment in the country""s Special Economic Zones (SEZs) where the government has put on offer various investment incentives."Bangladesh has the potential to have an investment of more than $100 billion," the commerce minister told his business audience.Mr Salman F Rahman said the Prime Minister has vowed to break bureaucratic delays and concentrate more on PPP projects.Mr Tofazzel Hossain Miah said investors could choose Bangladesh as a potential investment destination for getting adequate financial returns due to resilience of its economy.The top official at the PM office invited investment in to agro-based and food-processing industries, software and IT-enabled services, healthcare and medical equipment devices, automobile and accessories, shipbuilding, light engineering, leather and leather products.AK Azad requested the government to build container port in Economic Zones to send goods directly to the Matarbari deep-sea port.He said manmade fibre and recycling are the potential investment sectors in Bangladesh.Ki-Hak Sung, chairman of Youngone, wanted implementation of government""s assurances on uninterrupted supply of gas to the industry.Jong Won Kim of KOTRA suggested that Bangladesh should improve investment climate to grab the opportunity of the factories relocating from China.Rosie Glazebrook, chief executive of CWEIC, said trusted multilateral investment network such as Commonwealth Enterprise Investment Council could help in ensuring market access of Bangladesh to the developed countries.doulotakter11@gmail.com

The general point-to-point inflation rate increased slightly to 8.78 per cent in February mainly because of the slight rise in food inflation, according to the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).The inflation rate was 8.57 per cent in January and 8.71 per cent in December, reports BSS.In February, the point-to-point food inflation increased to 8.13 per cent, which was 7.76 per cent in the previous month.The point-to-point non-food inflation declined slightly to 9.82 per cent in February down from 9.84 per cent in January.Talking to the reporters after the day""s ECNEC meeting, State Minister for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam said the inflation rate has been falling in the country from September last until January while the wage rate is also increasing.He said although the inflation rate witnessed a slight increase last month, it is not uncomfortable.Dr Alam said that currently, the BBS is calculating CPI index based on the average of 412 commodities, but the number would be increased to 700.Citing that the price of vegetables is now on the downtrend, he hoped that the prices of commodities would come down also.Considering the ensuing Holy Month of Ramadan, the state minister said there would be an additional demand among the consumers. "But, there has been sufficient import of essentials for which I believe the prices of commodities will remain in a tolerable state."The BBS data showed that the national wage index rate was 7.11 per cent in February up from 7.06 per cent in January.

Bangladesh has suggested exploring the possibilities of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Nepal to increase two-way trade.Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen made the proposal while addressing a seminar titled ‘Celebrating 50 Years of Bangladesh-Nepal Friendship: Shared Vision of Peace, Progress and Prosperity’.Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) organised the seminar on Sunday.The foreign minister mentioned that energy, tourism, education, migration, and connectivity between the two countries have many untapped potentials for mutual cooperation.He pointed out that both Nepal and Bangladesh are graduating from LDC in 2026, thus, both countries have enormous opportunities to work together for a smooth LDC graduation.Ghanshyam Bhandari, Ambassador of Nepal to Bangladesh, Dr Swarnim Wagle, Chair, The Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS), Kathmandu and Ambassador Mashfee Binte Shams, Rector, Foreign Service Academy, Bangladesh and Major General Sheikh Pasha Habib Uddin, Director General, BIISS also spoke on the occasion.Ghanshyam Bhandari highlighted that Nepal and Bangladesh share a common commitment to global peace, have avenues for further expansion of trade and investment opportunities, have scope for exploring hydropower potential, and a great potential for tourism together.The Nepalese Ambassador also emphasised on sharing mutual experiences, lessons, and best practices for planning a better future.Major General Sheikh Pasha Habib Uddin said the two countries have a vast scope of cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, connectivity, energy cooperation, education, and tourism.“Bangladesh and Nepal have enormous scope to work and enhance cooperation under the sub-regional and regional platforms” he said adding that Bangladesh and Nepal can also work to take the bilateral relationship forward and enhance collaboration in hydropower and infrastructure development.Senior officials from different ministries, ambassadors, high commissioners, former diplomats, senior military officials, media personalities, researchers, business people, teachers, and students from various universities, and representatives from different think tanks, and international Organisations were present in the programme.mirmostafiz@yahoo.com

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has directed Bangladeshi diplomats to be more active in strengthening economic diplomacy aiming to maintain the country""s graduation as a developing nation through increasing trade and export."You (diplomats) will have to be active in strengthening economic diplomacy alongside brightening the image of the country," she told a regional envoy conference at her place of residence here on Monday evening.Bangladeshi diplomats stationed in the Middle East countries joined it, reports BSS.Since Bangladesh is going to graduate as a developing country, she said attention needs to be paid to those countries, where, Bangladesh could enhance its trade and business and be benefited as a developing country."You will have to discuss and negotiate with all the countries keeping eyes open. So we can survive as a developing country, move forward further and can finally graduate as a developed country," she said.Mentioning that once diplomacy was a political matter, Sheikh Hasina said now it is an economic matter means economic diplomacy as well."So, you, who are working (in different countries) will have to identify the countries where we can do trade and business as well as we""ve scope to export our products, and the countries, from where, we can import goods at lower prices and fair prices," she said.She also said the most important thing is that it is very essential to enhance business and trade further."Identify the places where our products have demand and where we have scope for the marketing of our goods," she added.Referring to the policy of Bangladesh to maintain good relations with different countries, the premier said the cornerstone of the country""s foreign policy is "friendship to all, malice towards none.""At least I can claim that Bangladesh is following this policy properly," she said.She said Bangladesh would maintain friendly relations with everyone but when any unjust thing is seen, Bangladesh will definitely speak out maintaining the friendly relations as it did with Myanmar."When the incident happened in Myanmar, we gave shelter to the Rohingyas on humanitarian ground, but we did not engage in conflict with Myanmar. Bangladesh is making diplomatic efforts to send the Rohingyas back to their homeland," she added.Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni and Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, among others, were present in the conference.The prime minister is now visiting Qatar to attend the fifth United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC-5).She arrived here on Saturday last at the invitation of Qatar""s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.The prime minister is scheduled to leave here for Dhaka on Wednesday.

Unutilised foreign aid piles up in the pipeline, year on year, as project-implementation capacity of the public agencies in Bangladesh fails to match higher fund release, officials said Monday, indicating a paradox.A recently published report of the Economic Relations Division (ERD) shows that the confirmed development assistance swelled to US$50.35 billion as of the last fiscal year (FY), 2021-22.Till the previous FY2021, the unutilised funds in the inflow channel were $1.71 billion lower than in the last fiscal at $48.82 billion, according to the ERD data.The ""Flow of External Resources into Bangladesh"" report said the aid was getting stuck due mainly to slow implementation of projects.Economists say lack of accountability of the project-implementing agencies and those involved in facilitating is to blame for the aid buildup in pipeline."Although the disbursement growth was higher in the last fiscal year, the aid utilisation from the pipeline has yet to get on a higher trajectory as the agencies failed to use the confirmed external resources," said a senior ERD official.He said different bilateral and multilateral development partners, including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, Japan, AIIB, and China, had confirmed the loans over the years.Overseas development assistance (ODA) is usually confirmed by the development partners for specific projects and programmes in Bangladesh through signing loan or grant deals. Then they release the funds against the development works undertaken by government agencies.According to the ERD reckonings, the foreign-aid disbursement during FY2022 as a percentage of pipeline-opening balance was 21.79 per cent. In FY 2020-21, the disbursement percentage increased by 5.5 percent over the last financial year.On July 1, 2021 of the FY2022, the pipeline opening was with $50.35 billion in stock. During July 2021-to-June 2022 period, fresh aid commitment was worth $10.17 billion and total disbursement during the period was $10.97 billion.The closing pipeline, as of 30th June 2022, accounted for about US$ 45.17 billion after cancellation/adjustment, which is 10.28-percent lower than that of the previous year, the ERD data showed.The ERD report says: "Slow implementation of projects results in slow disbursement of aid, which leads to time and cost overruns."It negatively impacts the balance of payments, leading to increased borrowing from domestic sources. Factors creating difficulties in speedy implementation of projects or utilisation of economic assistance are manifold."The ERD in its report focused on fault-lines on the execution side. "Projects are often designed without proper planning or feasibility study. Also, people engaged in the project preparation are not properly trained. In many cases, fault results in slow disbursement of aid, which leads to time and cost overruns even before the commencement of the project."Executive Director of the Policy Resource Institute (PRI) Dr Ahsan H Mansur thinks government""s reluctance in making those involved with projects accountable is prompting the growth of unutilised aid."It is interesting that the government has been cutting the project aid (foreign aid) every year in the revised budget. It never asks the project directors or public agencies to account for their failure in utilising the confirmed assistance."I think if the government does not bring those people under accountability or ensures reward or punishment for the foreign-aid utilisation, the pipeline size within next few years will touch $100 billion," Dr Mansur, who had once worked with the IMF, said about what may turn out to be a paradox like foreign-exchange crunch and abundance near hand.kabirhumayan10@gmail.com

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged oil-rich Qatar to make investment in Bangladesh’s energy sector, especially in renewable energy.“We remain open to investment proposals in our infrastructures and logistics sectors. We believe there is scope for Qatari investment in the energy sector, including in renewable energy,” she said on Monday.The premier was addressing the Doha Investment Summit 2023 titled ‘The Rise of Bengal Tiger: Potentials of Trade and Investment in Bangladesh’ held at Grand Ballroom of The St. Regis Doha.She mentioned that Bangladesh could benefit from Qatar’s expertise in offshore gas exploration and energy distribution system, reports UNB.She urged the business people from Qatar to look at certain thrust sectors in Bangladesh and invited a delegation of Qatari business people to visit the country soon.“I also urge the non-resident Bangladeshis based in Qatar to invest in Bangladesh. We need your participation in our nation-building efforts,” she said.PM Hasina said that Bangladesh’s bilateral relations with Qatar should be readjusted based on a mutually beneficial economic partnership as there are immense untapped potentials.“Bangladesh and Qatar are bound by strong brotherly ties and friendship. Our two nations need to reposition our ties based on a mutually beneficial economic partnership,” she said.She also put emphasis on setting up a Joint Committee on Trade and Investment and a Joint Business Forum to bring private sectors on a single platform.“Our two governments should work on setting up a Joint Committee on Trade and Investment. There should also be a Joint Business Forum to bring our private sectors on a single platform,” she said.She mentioned that Bangladesh’s agricultural growth also creates scope for cooperation in agro-processing industries, with buy-back arrangements to Qatar.“We have plans to set up three special tourism zones, where Qatar can engage in both real estate and hospitality sectors,” she said.The PM said that Bangladesh aspires to have at least ten Unicorns in ‘Smart Bangladesh’, and country’s vibrant start-up scene is ready to draw Qatari investment.In addition, she said, Qatari investors can consider portfolio investment in Bangladesh.“Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission is working hard to further develop our capital markets. We have taken several steps to establish our bond market on a solid footing. We are soon going to include derivative products in our capital markets,” she said.PM Hasina said that the disruptions in international fuel market due to the war in Ukraine have pushed countries like Bangladesh into a hard spot.In order to meet the growing energy need, she said, Bangladesh is interested in increasing its LNG imports from Qatar.She also requested Qatar to explore opportunities for increasing import of goods from Bangladesh.She said that Bangladesh is now well on track to graduate from the UN LDC Group in 2026 which has been achieved by 168 million people through their hard work and commitment.She said that just before the pandemic, country’s economy reached a growth rate of 8.15 percent, and even during the pandemic, it posted a growth rate of 6.94 percent.She said that Bangladesh is now the world’s 35th largest economy with a GDP of USD 460 billion while projected to become the 24th largest by the first half of the 2030s.“It was during my first tenure in 1996-2001 that our government fully opened up the door of trade and business for the private sector. Now our private sector is flourishing and our government is working as a facilitator. Together, we hope to take Bangladesh to the next level of development,” the PM said.Sheikh Hasina mentioned that Bangladesh has one of the most liberal investment regimes in the region.She mentioned that the incentives being offered include tax holiday, concessionary duty on machinery import, remittance of royalty, technical know-how and fees, allowing 100 percent foreign equity, unrestricted exit policy, full repatriation facilities of dividend and capital on exit, etc.“The Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) is offering a number of services to foreign investors under one roof.”She mentioned that the government is setting up 100 Special Economic Zones with coordinated facilities and there are so far five country-specific Economic Zones in the making.“We are investing heavily in our infrastructures fit for a regional connectivity and logistics hub. Our mega-projects like the Padma Multi-purpose Bridge, the Karnaphuli river tunnel, the Matarbari Deep Sea Port, the expanded Third Terminal at Dhaka International Airport, the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, the Metro-rail system in Dhaka all testify to our determined march forward.”Hasina mentioned that the government has already brought the entire nation under electricity and internet coverage while country’s first communication satellite Bangabandhu-I has opened up new horizons.“We have a large pool of easily trainable workforce available at a competitive wage<” she said, adding “Bangladesh has got the world’s second largest community of registered IT freelancers.”She mentioned that Bangladesh has made big leaps in developing its digital backbone down to the remote areas. “Our boys and girls are preparing themselves to join the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”She said that the government is gradually building 38 Hi-tech Parks, with opening for foreign investment.She said that government’s vision now is to build a ‘Smart Bangladesh’ by 2041, drawing strength from a knowledge-based society.“Bangladesh offers to be a willing partner in realising the Qatar National Vision 2030. We can equip our workforce with knowledge and skills to cater to the advanced employment market in Qatar,” she said.She reaffirmed her commitment to fulfill Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib’s dream of building a ‘Sonar Bangla’ and said that she is confident the Qatari leadership and people will continue to stand by Bangladesh as they did in the past decades.“I encourage our business peoples to keep adding new feathers to our excellent bilateral relations,” she said.Chairman of Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission Prof Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam and Executive Chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Lokman Hosaain Miah made two separate presentations focusing on potentials of trade and investment in Bangladesh.Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission and Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) in partnership with the Foreign Affairs Ministry arranged the event.

The upward trend in the flow of inward remittance continues as Bangladesh saw a 4.46-per cent increase in its receipt year on year (YoY) in February.Expatriate Bangladeshis sent home their hard-earned foreign currencies amounting to $1.56 billion in the just-passed month, showed the latest central bank data.The volume of remittance received here in February 2022 was $1.49 billion.Although the monthly growth in inward remittance is not so high, it gives some respite to the forex market that has been under immense stress in recent months.The volume of remittance reached $14.01 billion in the first eight months of this fiscal year (FY2023).The amount was $13.43 billion recorded in the corresponding period last fiscal.Talking to the FE, Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Md Mezbaul Hoque said both the central bank and commercial banks have taken multiple measures to strengthen inflows in recent times."And these [measures] are delivering," he added.Remittance in February, however, declined 20.3 per cent from January when the expatriates sent $1.95 billion back home, according to the central bank data.The month of January contains 31 days, whereas February has 28 days, so it is logical for a lower amount of remittance last month, according to Mr Hoque."We expect the inflow to mount in the next months as two Eid festivals are coming this fiscal when Bangladeshi nationals working abroad normally send more remittance," he cited.Seeking anonymity, another official said inflows initially decreased in the first few months of FY23 as remittance receivers got better returns from hundi, an illegal cross-border financial transaction system.But the local currency, taka, has faced a depreciation in recent times, encouraging Bangladeshi expatriates to send their income through the formal banking channel.On the other hand, the dearth of dollar supply has made the greenback costlier.As a spillover effect, import costs keep mounting and have ultimately led to inflationary pressure, making a strong bite on the earnings of common people.The country""s foreign-currency reserves stood at $32.44 billion until 22 February 2023.jubairfe1980@gmail.com

The National Economic Council (NEC) has approved a Tk 2.28 trillion Revised Annual Development Programme (RADP) for the current fiscal year (FY23), making a Tk 185.00 billion cut from the allocation of foreign sources portion of the original ADP outlay.Out of the total RADP allocation, Tk 1.53 trillion will come from local sources while the rest of Tk 745.00 billion will come from foreign sources.The funding from the local sources in the RADP remained intact.The approval came from the meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) held on Wednesday with its Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair at the NEC Conference Room in the city""s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area.Briefing reporters after the meeting, State Minister for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam said the overall allocation of the concerned autonomous bodies and corporations in the revised ADP remained intact at Tk 89.95 billion.Considering the allocation of the autonomous bodies and corporations, the overall size of the RADP in the current fiscal year reached Tk 2.37 trillion.Dr Alam informed that the number of projects in the RADP reached 1,525 of which 1,410 are investment projects while the rest of 115 are technical assistance projects.However, if some 102 projects from the autonomous bodies and corporations are added, then the total number of projects in the RADP will be 1,627.