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Faster reforms key to better business climate

BIDA executive chairman says

Jagaran Chakma
Bangladesh will need at least three years to earn a place on the list of top 100 countries in the World Bank's ease of doing business ranking, said the top official of the country's investment promotion agency.
"In order to achieve the ranking, Bangladesh will have to carry out reforms at a much faster rate than what is happening now," said M Aminul Islam, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA).
The World Bank's ease of doing business index is an important indicator for the foreigners to take investment decisions, he said.
That's why BIDA has laid out a plan to improve the country's ranking in the index to below 100 by 2021 from the existing 176th, Islam said.
The agency was formed in September 2016 through the merger of two state-owned entities—the Privatisation Commission and the Board of Investment—in a bid to better the business climate.
Accordingly, the authorities prepared 88 reform proposals related to the ease of doing business.
"We have been able to implement 22 proposals in the last two years. We have to go faster if we want make Bangladesh an investment-friendly country," Islam told The Daily Star in an interview last week.
Among the achievements, it now takes 28 days to get electricity connection, from 400 days earlier. Mutation of land is now possible within a couple of weeks whereas it used to take a long time in the past, he said.
Getting permits and services for setting up businesses in Bangladesh is a cumbersome and time-consuming process. It takes an investor to go to 17 government ministries and agencies to get all the permits.
According to the WB's latest ease of doing business report, starting a business in Bangladesh needs 19.5 days, enforcing contracts take 1,442 days and getting electricity takes 150.2 days.
Islam said the BIDA had proposed bringing massive reforms in rules and policies, including those related to fiscal, VAT and tax as well as institutional reforms, with a view to improving the ranking.
He said rules and regulations, infrastructure, and skilled workforce were the major factors when it comes to attracting more foreign direct investment (FDI).
"These factors are still weak in Bangladesh."
Referring to Vietnam, Islam said Hanoi's rules and regulations on investment were better than those in the US and 60 percent global investors were keen to invest in the East Asian country.
"We have to follow Vietnam to improve the ease of doing business ranking and attract more FDI."
Bangladesh received $2.84 billion in FDI as of November 2018, up from $2.15 billion in 2017, BIDA data showed. The agency expects to draw about $3 billion in the just concluded year.
Though the FDI flow to Bangladesh showed positive trend in 2018, the figure is still much lower than $5.7 billion received by Myanmar and $35.88 billion received by Vietnam.
Islam hopes Bangladesh will attract FDI amounting to $5 billion to $7 billion in 2019, as political situation will remain stable in the next five years and mega projects will be completed.
This month, the BIDA is going to introduce One-Stop Service Centre, which will primarily focus on providing 13 services as part of its target to raise the number of services to more than 100.
“We are working with 17 ministries and divisions to provide quick services to
investors," said Islam, also a former top bureaucrat.
Islam said Japan had assured Bangladesh of extending necessary support to develop efficient and skilled workforce for Japanese investors.
Japan, South Korea, China, and India are keen to invest in Bangladesh in sectors such as energy and power, he said.
"Politics and the media have a vital role
in bringing FDI and brightening the country's image among the global investors."
Islam emphasised that Bangladesh needed technology- and knowledge-based investment instead of traditional one in order to compete globally and become a higher income country.
"We need to move to high-value activities and products and highly skilled human resources."