A new avenue

As Bangladesh’s economy continues to develop and reduce its dependency on the agriculture sector, our manufacturing sector needs to be strengthened further in terms of productivity and diversification. While the RMG industry has dominated manufacturing for a long time, the consumer electronics industry has recently emerged as a strong player. Walton is one of the biggest names in the local consumer electronics industry, and now, for the first time in Bangladesh, the company is planning to undertake large-scale production of locally-assembled smartphones starting next year. A local industry devoted to producing mobile phones will mean thousands of new jobs and an improving trade balance as we can scale down our import of handsets and perhaps even start exporting them. That is the direction that we want to see more and more companies take, and we applaud Walton for showing the kind of entrepreneurial spirit that will transform our economy into a truly modern industrialised economy. However, entering an existing market, especially one with foreign competition, means facing significant barriers, but the good news is that they can be overcome with the right kind of support from the government. That prudent economic policy really makes a difference is already evident as the company thanked the government for its decision to lower import taxes on mobile parts, which helped lower production costs. But apart from mobile parts, a big component of production is skilled labour, which is sorely lacking in the country. This is not a problem that can be solved overnight, but it is certainly well worth the long-term investment.