Staff Reporter :
Dhaka Chamber of Commerce Industries (DCCI) President Rizwan Rahman on Saturday said that around 2.2 million people have lost jobs as the country’s economy, trade and investment are going through a very challenging time during the pandemic.
“The overall economy fell into a crisis due to rapid spread of Covid cases across the world as well as the poverty rate increased to 30 per cent from 9 per cent,” he said.
He was presenting a keynote paper at a webinar on “Bi-annual Economic State & Future Stance of Bangladesh Economy-Private Sector Perspective” organised by the DCCI.
He said the economic recovery is now the only target to be achieved.
Moreover, Bangladesh is going to be graduated from LDC status in 2026, just 5 years in hand to make preparations and the country may lose $ 4-6 billion export earning following graduation from lased developed countries, he said.
To boost internal revenue generation, Rizwan Rahman suggested full automation of tax, vat, customs assessment, return and credit.
About monetary policy, he said relaxed terms and conditions of repayment and collateral will help increase credit demand from the private sector.
The DCCI president recommended for improvement in country competitiveness, cluster development of backward linkage industry, expanding Advance Deposit Ratio (ADR) system and capital market-led long term financing to accelerate private investment.
He said cottage, micro, small and medium enterprises (CMSMEs) are going through a very tough time during this volatile situation.
For the survival of CMSMEs, he suggested collateral-free cash flow based loans, a comprehensive policy framework, reducing bureaucratic complexities and at least 3 years of the moratorium period.
Speaking at the webinar, Planning Minister M A Mannan, said that the private sector is in the driving seat of stimulating the economy.
“For policy reforms, tax reforms or tariff structure reforms, government will continue its attachment with the private sector for framing out a better policy regime,” the minister said.
He further said the government is giving focus on better living, better values of life, more freedom, more democracy and independence of people.
Dr Mohammed Farashuddin, former Governor of Bangladesh Bank, stressed on increasing the existing Tax-GDP ratio which is only 10 percent.
He urged upon policy reforms and an efficient credit flow mechanism so that cottage, micro and small entrepreneurs can be benefitted largely.
Dr. Zaidi Sattar, Chairman of Policy Research Institute (PRI), advocated for a sustainable trade policy having equal treatment especially for non-garment sector.
Dr Binayak Sen, Director General of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) and Prof Mohammad Abdul Momen, Director of IBA of Dhaka University, among others, spoke at the event.
