Businessmen demanded security in industrial areas, policy reforms and lower interest rates. The concerned businessmen made this demand in the seminar titled 'Review of the current state of the economy of Bangladesh and future directions' organized by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) on Saturday.
Former president of FBCCI Mir Nasir Hossain, former president of Leather Goods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh Syed Nasim Manjur, president of BKMEA Mohammad Hatem, managing director of Shasha Denims Limited and former president of DCCI Shams Mahmud, chairman of Policy Exchange Bangladesh. Masroor Riaz, PRAN-RFL Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, Mastercard Bangladesh Syed Mohammad Kamal and Foodpanda Bangladesh Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ambrarin Reza participated.
Dhaka Chamber Senior Vice President Malik Talha Ismail Bari, Board of Directors members and invited guests from the private sector were present at this time.
In the opening speech of the seminar held at the DCCI Auditorium, Dhaka Chamber President Ashraf Ahmed said, since the post-Covid period, we are going through various challenges, but recently due to the deterioration of law and order situation due to discontent in industries, high inflation and high interest rates of bank loans and instability of supply chain management, the private sector The sector is going through adverse conditions, which is by no means desirable for the overall development of the economy.
He pointed out that there is a liquidity crisis in the country's banks, as a result of which the entrepreneurs are not getting loans to the expected extent, as well as the delay in opening letters of credit for the import of raw materials is disrupting the production of products in the industrial sector, as a result, it has become very difficult to meet the supply of local demand and keep exports coordinated.
He demanded uninterrupted gas connection in industrial areas. Apart from this, he also demanded to take government-private integrated initiative to ensure housing, education and medical services at low cost to improve the quality of life of the workers.
Mir Nasir Hossain said, it is very difficult to sustain business with bank loan interest of more than 15 percent, but entrepreneurs have to do it. Traders are suffering severely due to corruption in custom houses in particular, which requires the government to set up a Financial Reforms Committee and ensure automation.
Syed Nasim Manzoor said that in the current context, businessmen are in a state of extreme uncertainty and insecurity, in which transition the industrial sector, especially the Industrial Police and the Army, should strengthen their activities, as well as adopt a zero tolerance policy to control the law and order situation.
Mohammad Hatim said that the existing labor unrest activities have the hands of intruders and to overcome this situation, the relationship between the workers-owners and local public representatives should be strengthened.
He said that several demands of the workers have already been accepted, besides, BJMEA and BKMEA are determined to meet any reasonable demands of the workers positively. Along with this, efforts should be made to get reasonable prices of products from global brands and buyers. At the moment, I am emphasizing on increasing the confidence of the local entrepreneur as well as the international level. The latest decisions of the central bank on bad loans have led to the possibility of defaulting of most of the entrepreneurs in the country, which needs to be reconsidered.
Shams Mahmud said, several positive steps have been observed in the activities of the judiciary, NBR and Bangladesh Bank, which is promising. However, at present, due to the control of fake trade in the ready-made garment sector, due to the leadership of the labor unions and labor dissatisfaction, the production activities are being disrupted due to the disruption of security in the factories, which is not at all desirable, this situation must be improved at any cost, otherwise Bangladesh is in a global image crisis. can read
Dr. Masrur Riaz said, we have failed to take effective initiatives in the last two years to solve the macroeconomic problems of the country, the impact of which is being observed in the present time and quick initiatives should be taken to improve the environment of businessmen's confidence. Masrur Riaz said that another 6-8 billion dollars should be added to the reserve to solve other problems of the financial sector, including the opening of loans.
Ahsan Khan Chowdhury said that the private sector has to deal with various problems including labor dissatisfaction, shortage of energy, high interest rates of bank loans, which must be improved as soon as possible. He said, all kinds of security must be ensured in the industrial sector, otherwise employment opportunities will decrease. Ahsan Khan also said that it is very difficult to continue business operations with high interest rates on existing loans and the government should take initiatives to reduce interest rates. Besides, the debtor culture should come out.
Syed Mohammad Kamal said that the digital payment activity decreased quite a bit in July and August this year but has increased a little recently, but the local tourism business has decreased significantly due to last month's floods and unrest in the hilly areas.
Ambrarin Reza said that due to the interruption of internet services in the last 3 months, especially the businessmen of the digital service sector have been seriously affected and most of the entrepreneurs in this sector are SMEs, who need to be provided with low interest loan facilities as soon as possible to normalize their business activities. In addition, the expansion of the digital service sector across the country is essential for the expansion of the internet. Cost of acquisition needs to be reduced.
