‘Don't be so disappointed,’ Finance Advisor Salehuddin tells businessmen

Imports are continuously decreasing along with a drop in the value addition of manufactured products, a business leader warns

Finance Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed has advised businessmen not to be disappointed by the current circumstances in the country.

"Everything will be fine in a couple of months, that optimism is a bit ambitious,” he said while speaking at a business conference organised by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, or DCCI, at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka on Saturday.

The advisor, however, maintains that the country’s economy is ‘a little stable’ now.

Claiming that the economy has suffered ‘a huge loss’ over the past 15 years, he said: "It cannot be tackled by palliative jalap and paracetamol alone. Some difficult decisions have to be taken, which will be beneficial for the country in the long run."

EXPLANATION OF ‘PRINTING MONEY’

The finance advisor also talked about why Tk 225 billion has been printed four months after the Bangladesh Bank reversed its stance on printing money to support the government.

"The governor did not want to provide it, but I told him to give it to stabilise the condition.”

"Again, it was reported in the newspaper that new currency notes will be printed. The money has to be printed as it gets wasted anyway. The impression that Bangladesh Bank has printed money, the way it printed Tk 600 billion earlier, is not right."

Salehuddin said the supply of credit to the private sector cannot be reduced in any way.

"No one will be able to launder money in the future," he declared.

SITUATION WILL IMPROVE FAST: COMMERCE ADVISOR

Commerce Advisor Sheikh Bashir Uddin said at the conference that the private sector needs to coordinate with the government to improve the law and order situation and the existing state will improve quickly.

Noting that there is no substitute for increasing capacity to expand trade in global markets, he said: “There is no alternative to supporting policies as we will be deprived of several priorities in the post-LDC graduation era."

DCCI President Ashraf Ahmed said, "There is a need to increase the vigilance of law-enforcing agencies to control inflation, reduce government expenditure, improve market management, and prevent extortion in commodity management, along with gradually reducing the policy interest rate and interest rate at the beginning of next year."

'TOUGH TIME’

The tough reality about the economy emerges in the speeches of the businessmen at the conference.

Mohammad Hatem, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, or BKMEA, said: "A zero-tolerance policy is required to improve the law and order situation."

Warning that imports are continuously dropping, he said: "At the same time, the value addition of manufactured products has decreased."

"We are unable to manufacture fabrics due to a shortage of gas. As a result, additional money is being spent on importing such products."

INCEPTA Pharmaceuticals Chairman and Managing Director Abdul Muktadir said, "Although Bangladesh has gone through difficult times recently, some good initiatives have been taken, which will benefit.”

"Instability in the industry is not desirable in any way, so there should be a roadmap with a specific time frame for the development of the law and order situation."

Stating that there are several coal-based power plants in the country, he said: "It will be possible to supply gas at a higher rate to the industrial sector only if we focus on power generation through coal."