ICCB pushes for good governance to ensure int'l compliance

Graduating to a middle-income country will require Bangladesh to fulfill a number of international compliances, said ICCB President Mahbubur Rahman.

"Therefore, good governance must also be addressed in both the public and the private sector, which is still far below the global indexes," he said while presenting the Executive Board Report at the 28th Annual Council of International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh (ICCB) held in Dhaka on Saturday.

Bangladesh is now on track to graduate from the least developed country status in 2026, Mr Rahman said.

In order to achieve this, the country needs to maintain a GDP growth rate of over 8 per cent and increase its per capita income to around $13,000 from the current $2,824 in less than two decades, he added.

Mr. Rahman mentioned that while chasing big dreams, there are also mega challenges.

Bangladesh made a rapid recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic supported by prudent macroeconomic policies. But the economy now faces considerable challenges amid global economic uncertainty, he noted.

The Executive Board suggested addressing some key issues for overcoming the challenges. Following are the suggestions:

Inflationary pressure: In order to contain the inflationary pressure there should be appropriate monetary and fiscal policies;

Energy sector: Increasing dependence on imported fossil fuels, LNG & coal for power generation has intensified risks, negatively affecting foreign currency reserves and swelling subsidy burdens. So, Bangladesh should move faster with its exploration activities both on-shore and off-shore to replace expensive LNG with its own natural gas reserve as well as establish Nuclear/ Renewable energies to avoid adverse affect of climate change;

Balance-of-Payments deficit: Rising commodity prices and a surge in imports resulted in a Balance of Payments (BoP) deficit. There is an urgent need for Bangladesh to diversify its export market and products, and sign FTAs with major Asian countries;

Infrastructure: As Bangladesh strives forward, infrastructure will play a crucial role in stimulating and crowding-in private sector investment. By some estimate, Bangladesh will require to make investments of well over $100 billion in the course of the next decade to build ports and roads, set up rail lines for management of goods, establish power-generation & distribution capabilities, provide utilities and services to meet the ever-increasing demands of the economy;

Project implementation: According to BIDS, one-month extension raises project cost by 0.95 percentage, therefore, it is an urgent need to ensure timely project implementation to save cost as well as time;

Non Performing Loans (NPL): The total volume of non-performing loans (NPLs) has increased by more than three times in the last 10 years. The banking sector needs more stringent lending policies and their enforcement, in order to tackle the problem of NPLs;

Agriculture sector: The farming sector has individually employed more than 40.6 per cent people, either directly or indirectly. Climate change is a big challenge, which we are facing and will have to face with the use of new agricultural technologies and adaptability. We must closely follow global adaptation technologies and concentrate more on new examples of climate adaptability which is best suited for us.

IT industry: Technology is currently used in every facet of life to benefit Bangladesh's digital economy. Our nation will become Smart Bangladesh by 2041. Although the human resources in the IT sector are increasing in the country, they need to be developed to be suitable for the industry.

Human Resource Development: Several studies conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) have revealed a substantial gap in the skill sets of workers in labour-incentive industries such as readymade garments (RMG), light engineering and electronics, leather and footwear, and agro-food processing. Enterprises have emphasised the need for demand-based educational system and increasing appropriate training activities to minimise these gaps.

The Council also approved the Auditor's Report of 2022 and appointed Auditor for the year 2023, says a press release.

The Council Meeting was attended by ICCB Vice President AK Azad; Executive Board Members Kutubuddin Ahmed, Anwar-ul-Alam Chowdhury (Parvez), Aftab Ul Islam, FCA; Md Fazlul Hoque, Tapan Chowdhury; Md Sameer Sattar, President, DCCI; Naser Ezaz Bijoy, President, FICCI; Muhammad A (Rumee) Ali, Chairman, ICCB Banking Commission & Vice Chairman, BIAC; ICCB Secretary General Ataur Rahman; Syed Ali Jowher Rizvi, Managing Director, Summit Alliance Port Limited; Bibhabasu Sengupta, Managing Director, Linde Bangladesh Limited; M Shah Alam Sarwer, Managing Director, IFIC Bank Limited; Md Abdur Rahim, Acting Managing Director, BASIC Bank Limited; Mohammad Shamsul Islam, Managing Director, National Housing Finance and Investments Limited; Md Abdul Haque, FCA, Managing Director, Eastland Insurance Company Limited; Khawza Manzer Nadeem, Managing Director, United Insurance Company Limited; MHM Fairoz, Managing Director & CEO, Singer Bangladesh Ltd.; Md Naimul Haq Majumder, CEO, Financial Excellence Ltd.; Abul Kasem Khan, Managing Director, AK Khan Telecom Ltd.; Imran Faiz Rahman, Managing Director, Arlinks Limited; Md Samsul Alam Mallick, Managing Director, New Zealand Dairy; Rizwan Rahman, Managing Director, ETBL Securities & Exchange Limited; Md Habibullah Monju, Chief Financial Officer, Karnaphuli Fertilizer Co. Ltd. (KAFCO); and Rachel Wu, Managing Director, LSI Industries Ltd.