Editorial
Editorial

Down two points in ranking

Simplify business process

According to the World Bank's (WB) latest edition of business-environment ratings, the country slipped down two notches to rank 174 out of 189 countries globally. That it is now more difficult to 'start a business' and it is harder to get 'access to credit' speak volumes of the regulatory problems new enterprises and old ones face in the private sector. It is not a happy position to be in, especially when other countries in the region are doing much better than Bangladesh; India comes in at 130, earth-quake ridden Nepal landed at 99 and even violence-ridden Pakistan scored 138.  

In spite of the government's assurance to ease the process of starting a business we have gone down in five indicators and remained static in the other five. It now takes 19.5 days to start a business in the country against an average of 15.7 days in other South Asian countries. Bangladesh is lagging behind because much-needed reforms that would significantly cut down lead times in dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, paying taxes, etc. – all of which affect how fast a business can get up and running - have not come about.

It is critical for policymakers to take a closer look at the declining performance because such global benchmarks are what foreign investors refer to when considering the country to be a good place to invest in. A poor showing in rankings are indicative of a less-than-average performance on regulatory issues. Without serious reforms to improve business and investment climate, it would be futile to expect Bangladesh to draw investors both from home and abroad.

Comments

Editorial

Down two points in ranking

Simplify business process

According to the World Bank's (WB) latest edition of business-environment ratings, the country slipped down two notches to rank 174 out of 189 countries globally. That it is now more difficult to 'start a business' and it is harder to get 'access to credit' speak volumes of the regulatory problems new enterprises and old ones face in the private sector. It is not a happy position to be in, especially when other countries in the region are doing much better than Bangladesh; India comes in at 130, earth-quake ridden Nepal landed at 99 and even violence-ridden Pakistan scored 138.  

In spite of the government's assurance to ease the process of starting a business we have gone down in five indicators and remained static in the other five. It now takes 19.5 days to start a business in the country against an average of 15.7 days in other South Asian countries. Bangladesh is lagging behind because much-needed reforms that would significantly cut down lead times in dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, paying taxes, etc. – all of which affect how fast a business can get up and running - have not come about.

It is critical for policymakers to take a closer look at the declining performance because such global benchmarks are what foreign investors refer to when considering the country to be a good place to invest in. A poor showing in rankings are indicative of a less-than-average performance on regulatory issues. Without serious reforms to improve business and investment climate, it would be futile to expect Bangladesh to draw investors both from home and abroad.

Comments

বাজারের সিন্ডিকেট ভাঙতে সরকারের বাধা কোথায়?

বর্তমান অন্তবর্তীকালীন সরকারের সময়ে বেশিরভাগ নিত্যপ্রয়োজনীয় পণ্যের দাম কম থাকলেও তেলের দাম কেন বাড়ল?

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