Business Desk :
Members of the FBCCI’s standing committee on Industry and Industrial Policy have called for a need to have legal basis for the upcoming National Industrial Policy 2021, to be formulated by the government.
The speakers came up with this call at the first meeting of the standing committee held at the FBCCI office on Monday (17 January), said a press release.
They complained that there are controversies among different government policies, which deprive entrepreneurs of the policy benefits in many cases.
During the meeting, Mostofa Azad Chowdhury, senior vice-president of FBCCI and director-in-charge of the standing committee on Industry and Industrial Policy, said coordination among various ministries is essential for the implementation of industrial policy.
“The Ministry of Finance, Commerce and Industry also need to be specialised,” he added.
He complained that the entrepreneurs have to pay high service charges even if they do not get any service in the BSCIC industrial city.
“Sometimes the charge is increased by 50% to 60% without consulting the concerned industrialists. Industrialisation is being hampered due to high land prices in various industrial cities of BSCIC.”
To protect their industry, many countries have imposed restrictions on foreign products, including anti-dumping duties.
Mostofa Azad called on Bangladesh to take the same measures to protect local ventures.
At the meeting, Shamim Ahmed, chairman of the standing committee and president of the Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said, “The service sector contributes more than 50% to the economy. But the draft industrial policy does not properly address this sector. Although public-private partnership plays an important role in the development of the economy, it is not mentioned in the industrial policy.”
He said foreign investors were being discouraged as there were many inconsistencies between the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) policies and industrial policy.
Speakers said the post – LDC challenges, diversification of export products, skilled manpower, ICT, SME sector should get priority in the upcoming policy. They demanded a circular economy to ensure sustainable development and logistics to be included in the forthcoming policy. Entrepreneurs also want to ensure easy availability of land and long-term credit for the industry.
Salim Ullah, senior assistant secretary (Policy), Ministry of Industries, said the next policy aims to increase the contribution of industry to 40% in national income and the contribution of the labor sector to 40%. Among others, the meeting was attended by Co-Chairmen of the standing committee Abdur Razzak and Asif Ibrahim, Directors of FBCCI Abul Kasem Khan, Dr Nadia Binte Amin, former president of MCCI Dhaka Nihad Kabir, FBCCI Advisor Monjur Rahman and CEO of Build Ferdous Ara Begum.
