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Come up with own safeguard plans to battle global crisis fallout

Barua urges industries

Star Business Report
The industries minister has suggested different industries come up with safeguard plans of their own, as । the government of a poor country like Bangladesh would not be able to provide incentives for all industries to battle the global financial crisis.
"Local businessmen of different industries have to think realistically and plan their own strategies to fight the fallout from die global crisis. A poor country like Bangladesh cannot afford to provide incentives for all industries,” Dilip Barua told a workshop in Dhaka yesterday.
The Ministry of Industries, SME Foundation and Bangladesh Engineering Industry Owners Association jointly organised tire workshop on Problems and Prospects of the Light Engineering Industry' in the capital.
The minister said, "It's not only the government’s duty to ensure sustainable development of a country, industry' owners also have to share the responsibility'.”
Barua also advised the businessmen to take an advantage of the global financial crisis by producing exportable items at competitive prices and exporting them to the rich nations.
He pointed to the fact that globally many multinational companies have become bankrupt and laid off their workers to overcome the adverse effects of the global crisis.
"Now Bangladesh can manufacture several low cost items to capture the market share of the developed nations," said Barua.
"Both the cost of production and labour wages are competitive in Bangladesh. We should utilise this opportunity to upgrade the national economy,” he said.
Eminent economist and
President of Bangladesh Economic Association Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad said the light engineering sector is the strategic sector for any country.
"The sector contributes 2.2 percent to the GDP, which is more than the foreign aid we receive every year," he said, suggesting the government nourish the industry further to improve the country’s economic condition.
The government should ensure easy access of bank loans at a lower rate to the small and medium entrepreneurs, including the light engineering sector, to fight the global financial crisis.
He also asked for a central information service to help such entrepreneurs with necessary information regarding funds, bank loans and technology.
Abdur Razzaque, president of the
trade body for the light engineering sector, sought government's logistic support to help the sector grow.
"The government needs to ensure logistic supports, including easy access to finance and modern technology," he said, urging for a proper policy formulation.
Currently, there arc around 40,000 light engineering enterprises across the country with six lakh people directly involved, as per Board of Investment statistics.
Now the sector manufactures around 10,000 types of items worth US$ 1441 million a year that meets 90 percent of the local needs. The items are also being exported to different nations.
Professor Momtaz Uddin Ahmed, acting managing director of SME Foundation, and Dewan Zakir Hussain, secretary to the industries ministry, were also present at the workshop.