Published : 22 Aug 2026, 11:48 PM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:34 AM
Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury says easing government controls on business is easier to promise than to deliver.
Some barriers run so deep, he explained, that breaking free of them is no easy task for the current government.
Amir Khosru had championed deregulation on different occasions even before taking charge as finance minister under the BNP government.
He revisited the theme at length during his budget speech for the 2026-27 fiscal year, laying out the government's plans.
Two and a half months into the new fiscal year, however, he now sees mounting obstacles standing in the way of that agenda.
Addressing business leaders at a Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) seminar on Saturday, the minister said: "We're trying to create the environment fundamentally needed for investment.
"And you've all spoken about the barriers. Some barriers run so deep that shaking them off is no easy task for the current government.
"Of my four-and-a-half-hour speech, roughly four and a half pages dealt with deregulation. I deliberately tried to bring deregulation to the forefront.
"I tried to send a message to every stakeholder. But talking about it is one thing, delivering it is quite another. That, too, is the truth."
The minister urged businesses to push back against such obstacles.
"As trade bodies, you need to take a stand here. Wherever someone faces an obstacle, you need to stand your ground," he said.
Raising the issue of harassment complaints tied to customs and ports, the minister said he was working with officials and businesses to resolve them.
"The finance minister alone can't fix everything, and neither can the government alone. At the end of the day, we believe in partnership. We genuinely believe in it, and without it, progress simply isn't possible."
Khosru said the government had spent an extra $5 billion importing costlier fuel amid the West Asia conflict.
Pointing to the previous government, he said: "We're the ones stuck repaying the debt they left behind. They've left behind massive unpaid electricity dues, and we're the ones settling those bills.
"So where's the fiscal space? It's dropped well below the bare minimum."
