Businessmen are crying for industrial zones with speeding up process to setting up planned economic zones to attract both local and foreign investors.
To boost private investment that remained stagnant at 24%-25% for the last many years, they also put forward demands, including cutting bank interest rate, adequate energy supply, co-ordination among relevant government agencies, making transport facilities faster and political stability.
The demands were made at a meeting with three ministers – Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu and Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed – at the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) in Dhaka yesterday.
For months, business people were worried about going for further investment, citing political unrest. But, now, they have turned around seeking adequate facilities so they can invest.
Not only the local investors, Japanese as well as Indian entrepreneurs recently showed interest to invest in the country in a bigger way. In response to the demands, the ministers assured the businessmen of giving importance to put an end to the problems they are facing.
“Around 80% of the country’s economy is in the hand of private sector. So, it deserves importance,” said Muhith.
About bank interest rate, he said the government cannot lower interest rate but influence by lowering and hiking savings certificate rates.
On concern of energy crisis, Muhith said it will take time to remove energy crisis as the government is making efforts for generating coal-based electricity to reduce dependence on expensive power generation by rental power plants over the next two years.
He said agreements on power generation are on and the power generation capacity of the country will hit 19,000 mega watt within the next few years.
He said the government is hopeful about opening five new special economic zones by the end of its tenure. On the recent financial fraudulent in the stat-owned banks, the Finance Minister said it is a matter of great frustration state-owned banks have been mired into the scam. “But steps so far taken by the Bangladesh Bank have brought good result,” he said.
The Industries Minister said the government is giving priorities to land development for industrial purpose. The government is looking forward to setting up economic zones at district levels, he said.
The Commerce Minister said it is true that political stability is a pre-requisite for making business to grow. He said the government is also making efforts to diversify its export baskets with searching for new markets.
MCCI President Rokia Afzal Rahman said none of us would want to see a repetition of the violence and economic loss that the country had experienced in the last few months of the last year
She said recent frauds at the state-owned banks have seriously damaged the investor confidence and depleted the resources of once strong banks. “To restore heath of banking sector and capital market, regulatory watchdogs should be empowered adequacy and run professionally.”
“China and Japan are desperately seeking a suitable destination for their investments, and Bangladesh remains in their radar as a possible destination.”
She said special economic zones and industrial lands should be developed to accommodate industries in a planned manner with minimum disruption to environment and farm land.
Apex Group chairman and former adviser to the caretaker government Sayed Manzur Elahi said industry is being established in an unplanned way, shrinking agriculture land. “Industrial zone with necessary infrastructure facilities is the key to stimulate the economy.”
He expressed grave concern over EU’s threat not to buy non-environmentally produced goods and urged the government to take the issue into account seriously. “If we fail to set up CETP this year, we might loss the country’s largest leather export market – European Union.”
FBCCI President Kazi Akram Uddin said many countries like Korea and Japan want to invest in Bangladesh. To bring investment from them and to save agriculture land, setting up industrial zones is necessary.
International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh (ICCB) President Mahbubur Rahman said co-ordination among related government agencies is important to make investment easy.
Former FBCCI president AK Azad said the government needs to assure political stability as foreign investors are still afraid of political unrest. He called upon the government to set up special economic zones on fast track basis to attract investment.
Envoy Group Managing Director Salam Murshedy said businessmen are not in good condition as confidence over the banking sector deteriorated. “It is clearly reflected in the huge idle money worth more than Tk100,000 crore.”
