Our economy is passing through few challenges like inflation, NPL, forex reserve, financial market volatility, balance of payment, depreciation taka etc., but Bangladesh has the experience of facing such challenges earlier as well as overcoming all of these. As in the past, Bangladesh has the ability to overcome these economic challenges as soon as possible, said Ashraf Ahmed, President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) at a Press Conference organized by DCCI on 20 January 2024 Saturday.
Responding to the reporters, Ashraf Ahmed, President, DCCI agreed that inflation, foreign exchange reserve, NPL and liquidity etc. are some of the key challenges of our economy but these challenges are not new to us. We have faced these types of challenges earlier and we could manage to overcome those. Bangladesh has the proven ability to overcome these existing economic challenges, he added. Regarding energy crisis, he told that closure of manufacturing industries due to lack of power and energy are very expensive and has a negative impact on economic capacity, no doubt. As a business organization, we want this crisis to be solved as soon as possible, he told. There is a scope of improvement of data transparency of BBS and all others, he added.
Earlier, he made a power point presentation on the contemporary economic overview and shared the view of the Chamber with the media. Regarding economic challenges he said that both the private sector, the growth engine of the economy, and the public sector are trying to face the challenges of the economy. However, the private sector is required to play pivotal role in this year to bring the economy back to the trend of growth stability. For creating future smart Bangladesh, technology transfer and capacity building of CMSMEs through digital engagement is needed. For the development of import substitute industries, he suggested for expanding access to finance for CMSMEs and industrial startups through dedicated credit lines, loan guarantees and venture capital initiatives. He said export diversification, export factoring, inter-bank foreign currency exchange and more incentivising the remittance inflow may increase forex reserve. He also suggested to promoting Alternative Trade Board (ATB) for trading infrastructure and participation in the capital market.
Implementation of the new monetary policy is expected to stabilize macroeconomic scenario. This should help relieve inflationary pressure, stabilize reserves and improve balance of payment imbalances. He said, we need to keep pushing for inclusive growth, diversify the export base and focus on policies that help growth. He also urged for synchronization of accounting and reporting process with the tax code. He also said that a long-term and time-bound sector-specific national investment roadmap for major industries like Agriculture, Pharmaceuticals, Electronics, Light-engineering, IT & ITES and RMG industry is needed to boost private investment.
DCCI Senior Vice President Malik Talha Ismail Bari, Vice President Md. Junaed Ibna Ali and members of the Board of Directors were present during the event.