Automation adds impetus to foreign trade thru' Ctg Port, says WB report

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A Z M Anas
Bangladesh's foreign trade got accelerated after automation of customs clearance at the country's prime seaport in Chittagong, cutting the time needed to clear goods, according to a new World Bank report.
The bank's Doing Business 2010 report, released Wednesday, has said that officials of Chittagong Port managed to bring down the total days required for merchandise export to 29, from the previous 32.
The automation spelled a bigger change in the area of import, allowing importers to bring in goods in less than a month-more precisely in 25 days.
"These are promising signs. These are also important changes amid the global crisis," said Dana Omran, a private sector analyst at the World Bank.
"Better business regulations will make the country better-placed to recover from the worst recession in living memory," she said, referring to this year's report that focussed on reforms through difficult times.
Last year, the army-backed caretaker administration put in place the automation at the country's largest sea port, which helped cut down the procedures to only six steps, from 42 documents it took in the past.
The customs automation and user-friendly procedures are expected to bridle the theft of revenue worth US$ 50 million and double the revenue earnings, which now stand at US$ 1.5 billion a year, according to an army-sponsored study.
The bank report said it costs now around $1375 to clear a container at the port instead of a much higher amount.
"Bangladesh is on right track," Ms Orman told this correspondent on phone from Washington.
The report called Bangladesh the "most active reformer" in South Asia and said the country simplified business start-up by launching online business name clearance and registration process, shortening the start-up time by almost a month.
"It was one of major reforms as the online registration system shortened time for starting a business," the bank's private sector expert said.
The report highlighted the delay in registering property, requiring as many as 245 days and eight procedures.
Even the cost of registration is also exorbitantly high, eating up more than 10 per cent of the property value, according to the latest WB report.
Bangladesh scored 180 in the area of enforcement of contracts that dragged down the country's overall ranking.
Out of 131 nations ranked, the country's ranking slipped back to 119 in 2010, from 115 in 2009 ranking, despite the reform momentum.
The Washington-based bank expert urged the private sector to push for smarter reforms to make sure businesses can operate in an unfettered environment.
"And reform will pay off-it will help smaller firms grow, create more jobs, leading to faster poverty reduction," she said.
Ms Omran noted small enterprises are the engines of growth as they foster job creation.
She is hopeful that the government would continue reform in the business arena, bringing transparency in the formal business.
Electricity connection remains another area of concern that constrains trade and business, said the report, adding that it takes 109 days to get power connections.