Rustle up an actions plan for coronavirus
The government should draft an action intend to counter the impact of the raging coronavirus on the neighborhood economy and trade and commerce, said businesspeople yesterday, on the day Bangladesh confirmed the presence of the novel virus in the united states.
"The financing minister should immediately sit with the stakeholders, like the private sector, to outline an actions strategy," said Mir Nasir Hossain, a former president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI).
Yesterday, Bangladesh confirmed 3 instances of COVID-19. Of these, two recently came back from the coronavirus-stricken Italy. A family member of one of the two may be the third person struck by the virus.
The Daily Observer and TV channel DBC Media organised the roundtable on the existing state of the economy at the InterContinental Dhaka.
The comments from the businesspeople came a couple of days after an Asian Development Lender analysis said Bangladesh's gross domestic product may contract by as many as 1.1 % in the hypothetical worst-case scenario of a substantial outbreak of coronavirus in the united states.
Which means the novel virus could wipe $3.02 billion off the $300 billion-plus economy.
The garment sector makes up about 80 % of the nationwide exports. And 70 per cent of the raw materials for woven garments result from China, the epicentre of the virus.
"A crisis may be created in this sector. That is a obstacle for the overall economy. The federal government should formulate a plan to climate off the impacts," Hossain added.
The coronavirus has already established a toll on trade and commerce, said Md Shahidul Ahsan, chairman of Ahsan Group.
Various garment factories are on the verge of closure and the federal government should do something immediately, he said.
Corruption and irregularities found in the banking sector have got snowballed into a major problem, said AKM Aftab ul Islam, a good director of the central lender.
"The central bank isn't being allowed to job independently. Decisions are staying improved through pressures from different quarters. We have reading such allegations in the papers, but I've also observed it."
Defaulters make poor loans regular through courtroom writs. "Hence, a tougher laws is necessary to avoid them from availing this scope."
The central bank had hoped that lots of defaulters would pay the two 2 per cent deposit to restructure defaulted loans.
But the top 20 defaulters possess certainly not availed the offer, Islam added.
To be able to create jobs, investment is necessary, said Mostafa Kamal, chairman of Meghna Group, one of the leading business teams in the country.
"But, we, the entrepreneurs, are suffering due to bureaucratic red tape."
One of the data files of Meghna Group features been caught found in bureaucratic tangle for more than 2 yrs, he said.
"I actually wrote to the ministry. Among the senior officials of the ministry explained that the data file is moving across tables."
Decisions from the government should come quickly and harassment facing the firms should come to a finish, the entrepreneur said.
He as well opposed devaluation of the taka, that your garment exporters have already been demanding.
"Bangladesh can be an import-dependent market," Kamal stated, while suggesting incentives for exporters rather than devaluing the currency.
Plans should be framed found in light of the weaknesses facing Bangladesh so as to move towards to a good sustainable economy, said Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the Policy Study Institute of Bangladesh.
Sluggish investment, low earnings growth and the weak banking sector will be the three major challenges confronting the economy, he said.
In order to bring about changes, attention ought to be given 1st to the banking sector.
"If we can't strengthen the banking sector, expenditure will not flow found in," said Mansur, also a good previous economist of the International Monetary Fund.
Bangladesh wants to increase its per capita salary to $16,000 by 2041, meaning per capita income should be increased by 11 % per year from 8 % at the moment, said Mustafizur Rahman, a distinguished fellow of the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD).
"In order to prepare for that, Bangladesh has to develop skilled workforce and for this investment in the training sector must be augmented."
Bangladesh must raise its capacity to boost exports to China and India, the trade experienced added.
The united states has achieved various successes, including lifting the economic growth rate to a higher level, however the country also faces challenges, said Salehuddin Ahmed, a former governor of the Bangladesh Bank.
"There are policies found in Bangladesh, but they aren't applied properly. This is disappointing."
The most concern is due to institutions. "The Bangladesh Lender, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, banks, finance institutions and also educational institutions are receiving weaker day by day," he added.
There has been a whole lot of criticism about the 9 % interest for loans set by the central bank, said Sheikh Fazle Fahim, president of the FBCCI. Many persons who once vouched for the 9 % interest rate are now criticising it.
"Constructive criticism is great, nonetheless it is not great to say something for the sake of saying something. 99.99 % of the firms in Bangladesh are cheerful about the 9 % financing rate," he added.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said his maiden spending budget spoke of the many reforms had a need to advance the economy.
"These will be applied gradually. But you can't make haste about them."
Talking about the fall in exports, he said exports of all other countries such as for example Vietnam and Sri Lanka have dropped as well.
He also touched after the bleak talk about of the currency markets.
"It can not be that the country's economy is strong but the stock market appears like an empty vessel. So, you [stakeholders of the share exchanges] must identify the causes. The federal government will extend a variety of support," he added.
Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, editor of the Daily Observer, and Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the CPD, also spoke.
