The government is weighing an exit plan from its business activities gradually to give priority to private investment in different sectors within six months to one year to improve business climate in the country.
Except national interest and security issues like nuclear power plan, there is no need of the government's investment in many sectors, said Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun.
"In principal we consider the government must come out from the businesses whether full or partial ownership slowly as the government needs not to do business," said the BIDA executive chairman while addressing a seminar on Wednesday.
The Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) organised the seminar on 'Investment Prospects and Challenges' highlighting critical issues affecting the investment climate in Bangladesh with its President Doulot Akter Mala in the chair. ERF Secretary Abul Kashem moderated.
Former president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) AK Azad, Administrator at the FBCCI Md Hafizur Rahman, CEO of LafargeHolcim Bangladesh Iqbal Chowdhury, and former president of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) Abul Kasem Khan spoke among others at the event.
Mr Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud said the BIDA is trying to bring reforms in investment like other commissions considering no foreign direct investment despite 100 economic zones and international summits carried in the past.
He said the BIDA is working to resolve 21 key issues including frequent policy discontinuation, change in rules of business, corruption, gas electricity access which were identified from commonness from more or less 1,000 problems by its enlisted investors.
Mr Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud highlighted the BIDA's change strategies on merging international public organisations, reform investment promotion agency with a master IPA, engagement of the required ministries concerned and introducing relationship managers from various sectors including financial institutions with BIDA as new strategies for improving the investment climate.
As huge government land along with well connected distribution lines of electricity and natural gas have remained abandoned, he said, jute mills, textile mills, and other industries will be given to the investors on priority basis citing example of Adamjee Jute Mill area.
Terming the private sector as 'growth engine' of the economy, the BIDA chief said all these reform plans have been taken for better investment environment after desktop research and creating scopes of FDI and joint venture for facilitating the domestic investors.
'Under the BIDA umbrella, we are trying to work on total eight sectors," he said, adding that there is still need to change mindset and ensure acknowledgement.
BIDA Head of Business Development Nahian Rahman Rochi shared FDI Heatmap setting 19 priority sectors and engagement of partner organisations and formulating index keeping in mind three factors like market readiness, LDC graduation etc, after researching on the existing investment scenario.
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