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Focus on higher world economic growth

Two-day ICCB conference kicks off Saturday

Suman Saha
Bangladesh is set to be in the limelight of global business leaders, economists and policymakers as a two-day international conference on Asian economic growth, trade and investment begins in Dhaka on Saturday.
The conference, organised by the International Chamber of Commerce Bangladesh (ICCB), will provide an opportunity for world business leaders, policymakers and academics to share their thoughts and ideas on how to maintain higher economic growth.
The Bangladesh chapter of ICC, the world business organisation, will hold the conference to mark 20 years of its presence in the country at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre and Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka.
The event is expected to be attended by 500 delegates including ministers, business leaders, economists, ICC leaders and academics from home and abroad, said Mahbubur Rahman, president of ICCB.
Abdul Hamid, president of Bangladesh, is expected to inaugurate the conference as the chief guest and Dr Mukhisa Kituyi, secretary general of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, will join as a special guest.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, vice chairman of ICC, John Danilovich, secretary general of ICC, Victor K Fung, chairman of Fung Group, and Binod K Chaudhary, president of Chaudhary Group in Nepal, will also attend the conference.
"The ICCB conference will be a platform for global business leaders, think-tanks and policy-makers to share with each other their knowledge and experiences," Rahman said in an interview with The Daily Star at the chamber's office in Dhaka.
The world economy, five years after the global financial crisis, is showing signs of rebound this year with Asia, led by China,
Japan and India, playing a significant role, Rahman added.
It is expected that Asia will continue to lead the way for sustained growth and global leaders have to prioritise development of an integrated strategy to sustain the projected world growth momentum, he said.
"Although Asia has made major strides since the 2008-09 global recession, not all countries are out of the woods," said Rahman.
The Asian Development Bank projects regional growth to pick up to 6.2 percent in 2014 and 6.4 percent in 2015 for most Asian countries.
"But this is not fast enough," Rahman said.
WTO's forecast of trade growth is interesting; although the 2014 forecast of 4.7 percent is more than double the 2.1 percent increase of last year, it remains below the 20-year average of 5.3 percent growth annually, he said.
"It is, therefore, imperative that world lead-
ers give their top most priority for development of an integrated global strategy to sustain the projected world growth momentum."
"That's why we have chosen the theme 'Global Economic Recovery: Asian Perspective' for this year's conference," he added.
Rahman, also a former president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, urged the government to take necessary steps to boost private sector investment.
"Bangladesh has set an ambitious goal for itself to become a middle income country by 2021. Observing the successes of several countries in Asia during last few decades, this is an achievable goal."
However, the government should also recognise the challenges, he said. "Perhaps, most importantly, we need to increase investment, improve macro-economic governance and tackle energy and infrastructure deficits."
The country's economic model emphasises the role of the private sector; over the last two decades, it has made a major contribution to achieving and maintaining the GDP growth rate of over 6 percent, he said.
Bangladesh requires at least 8 percent growth to become a middle income country and this is possible only if the investment-GDP ratio is maintained at 30 percent, he added.
The conference has been divided into four sessions to focus on particular themes, including global economic recovery as a contemporary reality, realities and challenges to Asian growth, investment promotion in Asia, and effects of the Bali outcome on future trade.
The Paris-based ICC was established in 1919 to promote a free market economy and facilitate cross-border business transactions. It is the largest and most thoroughly represented business organisations in the world. Member companies in over 130 countries have interests spanning in every sector of private enterprise.
ICC's chapter here, known as Bangladesh National Committee, was established in 1994, comprising the major chambers of commerce and industry, business associations, stock exchanges, banks, non-banking financial institutions, insurance companies, transnational companies, law and accounting firms and corporate houses. ICCB also works on harmonising trade law and rules and updating businesses with the ICC rules and standards for cross border business transactions, just like the parent entity.
The upcoming conference on global economic recovery is being organised for the first time by all the major chambers and associations of the country, said Rahman.
Co-organisers of the event include FBCCI, DCCI, MCCI, CCCI, FICCI, BGMEA, BKMEA, BIA, ICAB and NCCI. The premium partners include Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd and Standard Chartered Bank.
AMA Muhith, finance minister, and Tofail Ahmed, commerce minister, will also attend the conference as special guests. In 2010, ICCB organised a similar conference on energy, coinciding with the chamber's 15 years of operations in Bangladesh.