Regulatory environment a maze: IFC

An investor in Bangladesh may need to navigate through as many as 150 regulatory services from 23 government agencies to start and operate a business, according to a new study of International Finance Corporation (IFC).

“Despite  multiple  government  initiatives,  investors  face  many  challenges  when  establishing  and  operating  a  business  in  the  country,” said the study report titled “Agile Regulatory Delivery For Improved Investment Competitiveness in Bangladesh”. 

Poor coordination among government agencies and a lack of data sharing and interoperability mechanisms lead to investors having to duplicate the same information in multiple steps.

“All these factors result in unpredictability in regulatory service delivery for investors and hinder investments,” the report said. 

The findings of the study show that the regulatory framework of Bangladesh are characterised by non-transparent, poorly coordinated, and unpredictable processes and practices.

The Bangladesh Investment Climate Fund (BICF), which is managed by the IFC, commissioned the study to take stock of the regulatory regime and assessed its overall performance. Apex Consulting Ltd carried out the study from November 2016 to April 2017.

The IFC shared the findings at a seminar at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon hotel in Dhaka yesterday. Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh, moderated the discussion.

Based on a survey consisting of qualitative and quantitative interviews with more than 40 private sector firms regarding challenges in the business environment, the report created a better understanding of the private sector’s perspectives on regulatory delivery issues in Bangladesh.

Salman F Rahman, adviser to the prime minister for private industry and investment, said source tax has been slashed to 0.25 percent for all export sectors at the behest of businesspeople. 

He said Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida) was working to set up one-stop service centres for expediting the procedures in starting businesses.  He also said the Bida was working to register nearly a million freelancers in Bangladesh to facilitate them as they are earning nearly $2 billion for the country. 

Wendy Werner, country manager of the IFC, M Masrur Reaz, senior economist of the IFC, Miah Rahmat Ali, senior private sector specialist of the IFC, Yutaka Yoshino, programme leader of the World Bank Group, Sadiq Ahmed, vice-chairman of the PRI, Md Sirazul Islam, executive chairman of the Bida, and Mohammad Shahidul Haque, senior secretary to the legislative and parliamentary affairs division, also spoke.