BIDA says change useless rules, laws to woo investors in Bangladesh

The executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) has called for updating laws, improving rules, and simplifying the procedures to woo “massive” investments needed to reach the “dual goals” ahead of the country.

“We have to go far and go fast,” Kazi M Aminul Islam said on Friday at the opening of a two-day strategic workshop with relevant government agencies and private stakeholders at a Bahubal resort in Habiganj.

The state entity, which was formed through the merger of the Privatisation Commission and the Board of Investment last year, has organsied the workshop to devise “action plans” on how to place Bangladesh among the top 100 countries in the World Bank’s 'ease of doing business' rankings in order to make it an attractive destination for global businesses.

Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam, and Principal Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury were among those attending the workshop that also included ministry officials, World Bank representatives and business leaders.

“We have laws which are hackneyed, rules which are unnecessary and sometimes mindless and meaningless… processes which are redundant and procedures which are cumbersome,” the BIDA executive chairman said.

All of those have been reflected in the World Bank's 'ease of doing business' ranking in which Bangladesh is 176th in the world, he said. The BIDA, he said, wanted the ranking to go up at least 76 spots within 2020.

The prime minister has set a goal for achieving upper middle-income country status by 2021, he said. The next goal was to turn Bangladesh into a developed country by 2041.

Bangladesh also has sustainable development goals to be reached before 2030.

 

 “So we have dual goals – national and global – to achieve. And these are not easy targets to reach. Our job is difficult but it’s doable,” he said, adding that at the end of the workshop, they would come up with an action plan.

“Everything is possible provided we join our hands together,” he told the officials attending the workshop.

Cabinet Secretary Shafiul Alam said changing the “mindset” of government officials was integral for welcoming investors.

“Initially we try to say ‘no’ to everyone. We used to say ‘no objection’ instead of yes. It’s a traditional mindset. We have to learn to say ‘yes’ to good things,” he said, requesting his colleagues to spot barriers and suggest solutions in the two-day exercise.

PMO Principal Secretary Kamal Abdul Naser stressed bridging gaps and spoke of the government’s commitment towards creating an investment-friendly environment.

“We have leadership. The government is ready. We need to prepare our officials. We need to prepare our stakeholders,” he said.

Wendy Jo Werner, Country Manager of the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation, IFC, which is supporting the event, said they are ready to help Bangladesh in improving the business climate.

FBCCI President Abdul Matlub Ahmed thanked BIDA for the initiative and said “we need answers to our problems. We need a roadmap for reaching the prime minister’s growth target”.

He proposed a five-year budget for industries as he pointed out that the current national budget system stood in the way of doing businesses.

Matlub added investors may suffer if, for example, one year’s budget provides a five-year tax holiday but the policy for the following year does not.

“If we cannot change this system, we will not get big investments,” he observed.

Corporate lawyer Barrister Tanjib ul Alam stressed on eliminating multiple gateways for clearances before starting a business and suggested that they all be put in one window.

Policy Research Institute’s Executive Director Dr Ahsan H Mansur said “we have a very long way to go to achieve the target”.

“Becoming an industrial country does not happen overnight. It does not happen without systematic effort and broad-based approach across society,” he said, thanking BIDA for this “soul-searching” effort.

He said 'ease of doing business' did not get much attention before because of the lack of leadership of the then Board of Investment.

“Now it is changed. With this institute BIDA, we are looking forward to seeing change in Bangladesh in the next five years.”

The workshop is divided into three key thematic sessions that will cover issues and priorities related “to modernising the regulatory framework for businesses, facilitating private investment in industrial infrastructure and developing new sectors and strengthening overall investment and trade regime of Bangladesh”.