Concerted efforts a must to improve investment climate: BIDA chief

Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) on Monday said national FDI strategy should be aligned with the industrial, export, import policies along with foreign exchange regulations and other government strategies to improve the investment climate of the country.

The DCCI observation was made when a delegation of the DCCI, led by its president Osama Taseer called on Executive Chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Md. Sirajul Islam at BIDA headquarters in the city on the day.

During the discussion, the DCCI president said that the private investment needs to be scaled up to 32%-35% to come out of the stagnant situation caused by poor ranking in different indexes. At present the private investment is 23.4%.

However, the FDI to Bangladesh increased to US$3.6 billion in 2018 from US$2.58 billion. In order to boost private investment and drive the economic growth, Bangladesh needs to improve its position in competitive indices. He again stressed for policy reforms and said that complex regulations and bureaucratic hurdles increase the transaction costs of doing business in Bangladesh.

He also requested the BIDA executive chairman to establish a window of One Stop Service (OSS) facility to DCCI.

In order to develop SEZs, coordination among BEZA, PPP and BIDA needs to be developed, he said.

Executive Chairman of BIDA Md. Sirajul Islam said that concerted efforts is needed to improve in the Ease of Doing Business Index and to come out of this stagnant situation BIDA starts one stop service facility for the investors. He also stressed on maintaining compliance and sustainability in the industries for the sake of environmental issues. He said diversification of goods is important for our export competitiveness. He further said existing Companies Act should be revised in line with the modern technology.

Senior Vice President of DCCI Waqar Ahmad Choudhury said that in order to sustain 8.0 per cent plus GDP growth, Bangladesh has to develop its infrastructure and capital market.

"For infrastructure development, we need to create a strong bond market for long-term financing," Mr Waqar Ahmad Choudhury said.

DCCI Directors Ashraf Ahmed, Enamul Haque Patwary, Hossain A Sikder, Md. Rashedul Karim Munna, Nuher L. Khan also spoke on the occasion. They urged for ensuring utility connections to Economic Zones, single digit interest rate for SMEs, reforms of Companies Act and lower interest rate on private sector lending.