BIDA serious about improving ease of doing business
Massive reforms in regulations are highly necessary to rapidly improve the ease of doing business, said Md Sirazul Islam, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA).
"BIDA is creating an enabling environment for foreign and domestic investors to boost investment in the country," he said while addressing a discussion themed, 'Ease of doing business: is Bangladesh ideal for investments, especially FDIs', organised by the France-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry at The Westin Dhaka yesterday.
Bangladesh ranked 168 out of 190 countries in the World Bank's Doing Business 2020 index. Just the year earlier, Bangladesh stood at 176, making this the biggest climb for the country in recent years.
"We have to ensure massive reforms to our existing laws and enact new laws to take the flow of FDIs to the level of our expectations."
Certain bottlenecks that prevent investors from quickly receiving services still exist. This includes bringing change to regulations, which is a lengthy process.
With these issues in mind, the BIDA prioritised having a unified system in place, from where investors would be able to avail whatever service they require.
In line with their intention to expedite reforms, BIDA spoke with eight ministers and secretaries in the last three months, according to Islam.
Speaking about why the implementation of reforms has been delayed, he said that ministers and secretaries are positive of ensuring quick service delivery. However, desk officials are not interested and that makes the issue challenging.
Islam also stressed on the need to change certain cultures and traditions alongside policy reforms to ensure service delivery.
"BIDA's immediate plan is to move the status [Doing Business] into double digits by 2021," he added.
In 2019, Bangladesh was the world's third biggest supplier of garments and footwear, said Jean-Marin Schuh, ambassador of France to Bangladesh.
The country accounts for 7.2 per cent of global import of the products, with the other two big suppliers being China and Italy.
France ranks just 29th on the list of countries that provide FDIs to Bangladesh and 7th among European Union member states. French stock value stands at about $40 million, less than 0.4 per cent of the total FDI stock value of Bangladesh, according to the ambassador.
Bilateral trade with Bangladesh reached record €3.24 billion in 2019, according to Schuh. This was the highest amount over the past ten years. However, France's trade deficit rose to €2.71 billion at the same time.
French exports to Bangladesh, which amount to €263 million, have decreased 21 per cent, while Bangladesh's exports to the European nation show a 14 per cent increase and account for €2.98 billion, he added.
A total of 180 French companies have invested in the country, said Maruf Alam, president of the France-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Alam hopes that the tally will only increase in the future if the ease of doing business improves.
Syed Mahmudul Huq, chairman of Shihan Emulsion Co. (Bd.), and Rubaba Navera Sayeed, executive director at CCIFB, also spoke at the programme.
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