Economic Reporter :
Raising concern over unpredictable policymaking, foreign investors on Sunday said any change in the policy should be based on comprehensive research.
They said any policy change made through wrong analysis could hamper government’s revenue mobilisation while creating unfavourable business climate.
The observations came at the luncheon meeting of the Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) held at a city hotel on Monday.
Economic affairs adviser to the Prime Minister Dr Mashiur Rahman was present as the chief guest.
FICCI president Shehzad Munim said there have been lots of changes, including the introduction of new VAT law in the national budget, and high tax rate remains one of the issues.
He posed a series of questions, “Do we have a comprehensive research that gives us the risk- benefit ratio for informed decision-making? Do we really know whether the approach will deliver any results the following year?” “If not, what needs to be done? Is that based on sound research?”
Munim said all businesses are used to making short to medium term investment plans.
“If we don’t have the clarity on 3-5 years’ horizon, it’s very difficult to prepare investment proposals for our companies,” he said.
The FICCI president raised the issue of the continuity of officials in the key government positions and said the appointment should be made for at least 3 to 5 years so that medium term planning approach can be incorporated into the system. Talking about the focus on the potential industries, he said there are many sectors that have enough prospects to grow like the readymade garment.
Giving the example of leather industry, he said Bangladesh fetched around US$ 1.0 billion through shipments of leather goods, but the figure is around US$ 4.0 billion in Vietnam, one of Bangladesh’s main competitors.
Raising concern over unpredictable policymaking, foreign investors on Sunday said any change in the policy should be based on comprehensive research.
They said any policy change made through wrong analysis could hamper government’s revenue mobilisation while creating unfavourable business climate.
The observations came at the luncheon meeting of the Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) held at a city hotel on Monday.
Economic affairs adviser to the Prime Minister Dr Mashiur Rahman was present as the chief guest.
FICCI president Shehzad Munim said there have been lots of changes, including the introduction of new VAT law in the national budget, and high tax rate remains one of the issues.
He posed a series of questions, “Do we have a comprehensive research that gives us the risk- benefit ratio for informed decision-making? Do we really know whether the approach will deliver any results the following year?” “If not, what needs to be done? Is that based on sound research?”
Munim said all businesses are used to making short to medium term investment plans.
“If we don’t have the clarity on 3-5 years’ horizon, it’s very difficult to prepare investment proposals for our companies,” he said.
The FICCI president raised the issue of the continuity of officials in the key government positions and said the appointment should be made for at least 3 to 5 years so that medium term planning approach can be incorporated into the system. Talking about the focus on the potential industries, he said there are many sectors that have enough prospects to grow like the readymade garment.
Giving the example of leather industry, he said Bangladesh fetched around US$ 1.0 billion through shipments of leather goods, but the figure is around US$ 4.0 billion in Vietnam, one of Bangladesh’s main competitors.
