Bangladesh Business Summit Opens new chapter for branding the Country
Sumaiya Jannat <sumaiyajannat.re@gmail.com>
The Bangladesh Business Summit and the Golden Jubilee celebration of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) are taking place in capital Dhaka. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the summit. We wish the summit and the celebration of FBCCI a grand success.
Bangladesh Business Summit is an international trade and investment promotion event that is envisaged to become the country’s flagship business event.
The summit is highlighting the economic and market strengths of Bangladesh, and the concrete trade and investment opportunities of the country by convening national and global business leaders, investors, policymakers, practitioners, policy and market analysts, academia, and innovators. Besides, it is also highlighting the success story that has set the foundations for the sustainable growth trajectory of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Business Summit has also showcased the dynamic business investment opportunities and the improvements and business environment reforms, and gain insights into the investment priorities of the global investors to improve policy, facilitate the exchange of investment success stories and good practices among investors.
Inflation has increased, prices of all essentials went beyond the purchasing capacity, as a result, not only the developing nations like Bangladesh but also developed countries are struggling. The Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine crisis have resulted in an abnormal increase in energy price, food price, agricultural production cost, industrial raw materials, parts, and transportation cost. High inflation is also affecting the currency exchange rates adding that rising cost of doing business have made it difficult for local entrepreneurs to survive in the global competition.
The government has been investing in infrastructure, promoting entrepreneurship, and up-skilling the workforce with the vision of developing an advanced- prosperous nation and a ‘Smart Bangladesh’ by 2041 as dreamt by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. We think the top business leaders and entrepreneurs across the political divides need a prime minister like Sheikh Hasina for next term again, as she is the ‘symbol of hope’ for the entire business community and common people as well for the country’s thriving growth.
While inaugurating the Bangladesh Business Summit-2023 in the capital on Saturday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said her government would ease the investment process by simplifying the procedure.
Bangladesh Business Summit is an important event for the business leaders as the world is now facing a complex combination of challenges because of economic recession created by Covid-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war. We hope that this summit will be an instrument to highlight Bangladesh’s status of progress in the economic and social fronts to the global arena.
Of course, it is a prestigious event being held in the country amid volatile economic situation all over the world. The summit is going to be a significant event for two reasons – it is an opportunity for the country to highlight its importance and present it to other nations as an emerging economic force.
Though the FBCCI is organising the event marking its golden jubilee there is, no way, we can attach less importance to the event as it is, in reality, an international event. Ministers from seven countries including the United Kingdom (UK), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), China, Bhutan and the United Arab Emirates are taking part in the summit being held at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka.
Not only ministers of seven countries, 12 multinational companies and more than 200 foreign investors and business leaders from 17 countries are also attending the programme. So, Bangladesh has an immense opportunity to highlight its importance to a pretty large section of international community. Once the importance is established it can take its relationship with them to a further height that might help us open new windows for the expansion of our trades and businesses.
If we can display our potentials especially in trades and businesses and be able to draw foreign investments, it is more likely to help us to turn around by absorbing the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic. Again, if we can prove ourselves to be an emerging economy, the countries and business organisations taking part in the summit will then put their faith in us allowing us to have more and more foreign investments. So, in both respects Bangladesh has a lot to take out of this summit if we can prudently move ahead after the summit is over.
It can help us greatly by enhancing Bangladesh’s economic capacity creating new investment opportunities and promoting business expansion. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also, after the inauguration of the summit, expressed her hope for growing opportunity for business and investment in the country. Highlighting the importance of the country, the prime minister in her inaugural speech, said that Bangladesh had achieved the status of developing country and had become the role model for development in the world.
We also hope that the way Bangladesh has achieved its status of a developing country and become the role model before the world it can create an example of how based on good will and determination a country can march forward. We also agree with the prime minister of the country that the business summit can be a platform to highlight Bangladesh’s progress on both economic and social fronts.
If the potential sectors like textile, agro-processed food, leather, ceramics and jute can be projected to the foreign investors, it will help our country in diversifying our products to the international community. Along with the garment sector, they can also then contribute incredibly to our economic growth.
We would also like to echo with the prime minister that if the summit can provide a platform, we will soon be able to achieve the Sustainable Development Growth (SDG) by 2030 after our achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Only if we are sincere enough we can easily reach our targets set by the government in the not-too-distant future.
Bangladesh was once considered as a country of natural calamity and poverty. But the situation has changed now. It has been turned into the world’s 35th largest economy. Presently, the country is considered to be the next Asian Tiger. It is poised to emerge as a developed country by 2041. Increasing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows can be one of the key factors to make it a prosperous nation. So, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called upon the global businessmen and investors to invest in Bangladesh to make smooth its journey towards what she said a smart country by 2041. She gave the clarion call while inaugurating a three-day Bangladesh Business Summit 2023 in the capital on Saturday.
A good investment climate is of fundamental importance for attracting FDI. The country offers lucrative advantages to foreign investors. It offers the most liberal FDI regime in South Asia. It allows cent percent foreign equity ownership with unrestricted exit policy. It also offers the most generous incentive packages in the South Asian region. Here, almost all the sectors are open for foreign investment without any quantitative restrictions. The country offers generous tax holiday, reduced tax rate for specific sectors, bond facility, export incentives, and other fiscal incentives. It has built a solid foundation to support the growth of economic activities by setting up 100 economic zones across the country.
A bit of self-introspection: Thanks to the government for taking concrete steps to improve the investment environment in the country. But more needs to be done to create a congenial business environment to achieve higher economic growth. Existing foreign investors often complain about bureaucratic tangles that stand in the way of business operations and obtaining various licenses. Besides, there are many barriers which include corruption, poor socio-economic and physical infrastructure, unreliable energy supply, absence of good governance, low labour productivity, high-cost of doing business, complicated tax system, frequent changes in policies on import duties for raw materials, machinery and equipment, delays in decision-making, et cetera.
If the administration is serious about improving the country’s position in the global marketplace as an attractive business and investment destination, it will have to remove the impediments discussed above that are responsible for the high cost of investment.
