Jagaran Chakma

According to industry people, the dollar crisis in the country is gradually easing and the global supply chain is getting smoother, positively impacting the pharmaceuticals sector.

Here, the steady growth of Bangladesh’s economy -- around 6 percent annually -- for the last two decades, and subsequent increases in overall buying capacity, played a big role. Another factor is the increasing domestic assembly of these items by local companies.

Yuji Ando, the country representative of the Jetro, said Japanese companies present in Bangladesh are also facing troubles in customs clearance and settlement of letters of credit.

Capital machinery imports are recovering slowly as concerns over political uncertainty ease and banks show more willingness to facilitate investments amidst increased liquidity in terms of US dollars and stability in the exchange rate. During the July-January period of this fiscal year (FY), LC openings for capital machinery grew three percent year-on-year to $1,557 million, according to Bangladesh Bank data.

Plastic product exports from Bangladesh grew 17 percent year-on-year to $162 million in the first eight months of the current fiscal year as the country ensured supply at competitive prices and even discovered new markets despite the global economic downturn.

Production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) at the API Industrial Park in Gazaria of Munshiganj will begin next month, with ACME Laboratories set to commission its manufacturing unit despite the lack of gas supply.

For the past two and a half years, entrepreneurs in Bangladesh have been facing numerous hurdles, beginning from a dollar shortage and a sharp rise in import costs for their escalated rates in global markets and the depreciation of the taka.

Bangladesh’s agricultural product exports have slightly increased year-on-year during this fiscal year, marking a turnaround from a gradually drop over the past three years thanks to, according to industry insiders, restoration of supply chains and a slight improvement in the US dollar crisis.

About 47 percent of the factories that were deemed at risk of industrial accidents by the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida) have yet to implement necessary corrective measures within the stipulated deadline of December 2023, officials of the government agency said.

There is hardly any restaurant in Bangladesh with a proper fire suppression system while only a handful among the owners are aware of fire safety measures, said a top leader of the Bangladesh Restaurant Owners' Association (BROA) yesterday.

Li Chunrong, chief executive officer of Proton, arrived in Dhaka yesterday to take part in an event where Proton X90 will be unveiled.

Bangladesh faces annual post-harvest losses of about $2.4 billion as the country lacks essential cold chain infrastructure and services known as temperature-controlled logistics (TCL), according to a paper presented at a conference.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as well as the rest of the economy, will benefit from banks’ increased capacity to support imports thanks to the newly launched currency swap, said Ashraf Ahmed, president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI).

Ananta Group, one of the top garment exporters, is going to build Bangladesh’s first environment-friendly residential complex in the capital city with an estimated investment of Tk 1,080 crore.

Eight banks and financial institutions of Bangladesh and the World Bank are going to provide a syndicated credit facility of around Tk 430 crore for the development and expansion of Bay Economic Zone Limited (BEZL).

Rancon Motors, the sole distributor of Mercedes-Benz in Bangladesh, has teamed up with Genex Infrastructure to set up electric vehicle (EV) charging stations around the country to provide charging facilities in the future.

Mongla Port, which was expected to get a new lease on life due to the increasing flow of imported and exported goods after the opening of the Padma Bridge, is yet to become a port of choice among businesses.

The pharmaceuticals sector of Bangladesh appears to be rebounding from the crisis stemming from both external and internal fronts in recent years as exports are growing, said a top official.

Policy and regulatory uncertainties are major factors discouraging foreigners from investing in Bangladesh, for which foreign direct investment (FDI) has remained low in spite of government efforts, said Syed Akhtar Mahmood, former lead private sector specialist at World Bank Group

Investors in the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN) are not only facing an acute gas crisis, but also contending with virtually zero water supply to industrial units despite paying water bills, forcing them to set up their own water supply systems.