International Chamber of Commerce – Bangladesh (ICCB) President Mahbubur Rahman has said graduation to a middle-income country will require Bangladesh to fulfil a number of international compliances.
"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 its 28th Annual Council held in Dhaka on Saturday.
Mahbubur said Bangladesh is now on track for graduating from the least developed country status in 2026.
In order to achieve this, he said, the country needs to maintain a GDP (gross domestic product) growth rate of over 8 per cent and increase its per capita income to around $13,000 from $2,824 now in less than two decades to reach the milestones.
He mentioned 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 with global economic uncertainty, he noted.
The Executive Board suggested to addresses some key issues for overcoming the challenges.
In order to contain the inflationary pressure there should be appropriate monetary and fiscal policies, Mahbubur said.
Increasing dependence on imported fossil fuels, LNG (liquefied natural gas) and coal for power generation has intensified risks, negatively affecting foreign currency reserves and swelling subsidy burdens, he said.
"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 effect of climate change."
The ICCB president said 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, sign FTAs with major Asian countries. As Bangladesh strives forward, infrastructure will play a crucial role in stimulating and crowding-in private sector investment, he said.
By some estimate, Mahbubur said, 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 railway lines for management of goods, establish power-generation and distribution capabilities, provide utilities and services to meet the ever-increasing demands of the economy.
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.
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.
The farming sector has individually employed more than 40.6 per cent of 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," he said.
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," he said.
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 ready-made 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," he said.
The Council approved the Auditor’s Report of 2022 and appointed Auditor for the year 2023.
The meeting was attended, among others, by ICCB Vice-President AK Azad; Executive Board members Kutubuddin Ahmed, Anwar-ul-Alam Chowdhury (Parvez), Aftab Ul Islam, Md Fazlul Hoque and Tapan Chowdhury; Md Sameer Sattar, president of DCCI, Naser Ezaz Bijoy, president of FICCI, Muhammad A (Rumee) Ali, chairman of ICCB Banking Commission and vice-chairman of BIAC, ICCB Secretary General Ataur Rahman, Summit Alliance Port Limited Managing Director Syed Ali Jowher Rizvi, and Linde Bangladesh Limited Managing Director Bibhabasu Sengupta.
