Bangladesh must grow 10pc annually for 20 years: ADB chief

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Bangladesh must grow 10pc annually for 20 years: ADB chief

Bangladesh needs to clock in at least 10 percent economic growth for the next two decades if it wants to become a developed country by 2041, said Takehiko Nakao, president of the Asian Development Bank, yesterday.
“It is not impossible, but not so easy also,” he said at a media briefing held at the Manila-based multilateral lender’s office in Dhaka. Going by Bangladesh’s current GDP growth rate of 7 percent, the per capita income would hit $6,000 after 20 years, which is half the threshold for an advanced economy.

“Unless Bangladesh makes serious efforts like what China did in the 1990s and 2000s and registered 10 percent growth, it cannot be reachable,” said Nakao, who is in Dhaka on a three-day visit. China grew at 10 percent or more for about two decades and its per capita income now stands at $8,000. The higher economic growth hinges on investment in infrastructure, good investment climate, foreign direct investment, consistent policies of successive governments and the use of geographical advantage surrounding India, China and Southeast Asian nations.

Nakao, who is additionally Japan’s former vice-minister of finance for global affairs, stated FDI had played a very necessary role in China’s fast monetary development. Data suggests FDI accounted for 2 to 3 percentage of China’s GDP for many years. “But it is only 0.6 percentage in Bangladesh,” stated Nakao, who is main the ADB for the second term. The ADB president additionally touched upon Bangladesh’s revenue, which is about 10 percentage of GDP.

He said that he is nicely conscious that the implementation of the new VAT law has been delayed twice due to resistance from the enterprise community. “Revenue is no longer to make humans suffer; it is to aid the terrible people,” he said, adding that he supports the government’s pass to implement a new value-added tax law to increase income earnings.

Although VAT appears like tax on consumption, it is a very broad-based tax. “I aid the government pass to elevate income through VAT,” he said.

On the much-talked about Rohingya refugees, he hailed Bangladesh for extending full aid to the displaced community. “The government is so serious about the living requirements of those refugees and is making an attempt to settle them in an island. ADB is prepared to guide the u . s . if there is any positive request to address this issue.”

The ADB is but to get any concrete idea from Bangladesh for financing the resettlement of refugees. Asked if the multilateral lender would provide financing for the second Padma Bridge and other mega projects, he said: “If we get any such request we can consider it.” The Manila-based lender has already bumped up its lending to Bangladesh and ultimate year it disbursed $2.1 billion.

“We are geared up to enlarge lending if there is any demand,” he said, whilst citing the current trebling of the bank’s fairness to $50 billion as proof of its greater lending capacity. ADB has set a target to prolong $8 billion to Bangladesh in assistance for the 2016-2020 period, up 60 percent from the previous 5 years.

In response to another query on Bangladesh’s commencement from the least-developed united states of america bracket and its affect on ADB’s lending terms, he said: “Bangladesh is already a decrease center earnings u . s . a . but ADB is still imparting concessional loans.” On the growing inequality, he stated it is an difficulty for all and respective nations need to pay attention at an early stage before it will become a huge problem. “Equality is the major foundation for sustainable growth.”

The ADB president pressured on the need for policy consistency as properly for sustainable growth. “I hope this u . s . a . will continue with steady policies in terms of macro-economy and infrastructure funding regardless of leaders and ruling birthday celebration of the country.”

Nakao, who leaves Dhaka today, met with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Finance Minister AMA Muhith and different senior officials and discussed issues to similarly beef up the ADB’s 45-year partnership with Bangladesh all through the visit.

BTRC sets new rate for int’l call termination benefiting IGW operators

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BTRC sets new rate for int’l call termination benefiting IGW operators

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has set a fresh rate for international call termination thus legalising international gateway operators’ ‘unethical practice’ of sharing lower amount of revenue with the government, said officials.
The telecom regulator issued a fresh notice in this regard on Thursday last week, re-setting international call termination rate.
As per the notice, IGW operators would be allowed to bring international calls within a range of 1.75-2.50 US cents per minute.
The notice, however, said that the IGW operators would bring calls at highest rate, 2.5 US cents, set by the commission and the IGW operators would share revenue with the government at the lowest rate, 1.75 US cents per minute.
A number of officials of the commission said that latest instruction of the commission would just increase IGW operators’ earnings from incoming international calls that has been on the decline for last couple of years and would hardly bring any positive change especially toward increasing incoming international calls.
In March last year, the telecom regulator had finalised a proposal lowering international call termination rate to 1.5-1.60 US cents per minute from existing call rate of 2 US cents per minute.
The commission, however, refrained from getting approval from the government for enforcement amid pressure from the
politically-backed IGW operators.
In September 2014, government reduced the rate to US 1.5 cents from US 3 cents in a bid to facilitate politically-backed IGW operators, reasoning that this step would increase international call termination through legal channel.
Although the government instruction of 2014 became void in September 2015, the IGW operators share revenue with the government at the rate of 1.5 US cents despite the fact that they are bringing international calls at the rate of 2 US cents per minute.
The telecom regulator had planned to reduce the call rates to encourage international call termination through legal channels.
International call termination through legal channels has declined to 5.8 crore minutes per day from 6.7 crore a year ago mainly due to international call termination through illegal channel and for rapid growth of international calls through mobile-based applications.
At present, IGW operators share 40 per cent of the revenue of international call termination with the government.

NBR chair assures foreign investors of consistent fiscal policy

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National Board of Revenue chairman Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce & Industry president Shehzad Munim, executive committee member Francois de Maricourt and executive director Jamil Osman are seen at the luncheon meeting of the FICCI at The Westin, Dhaka on Wednesday. — New Age photo

 

NBR chair assures foreign investors of consistent fiscal policy

National Board of Revenue chairman Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan on Wednesday assured the foreign investors that from now on there would be consistency in the fiscal policy in a bid to ensure business- and investment-friendly environment in the country.
He made the promise while delivering speech as chief guest at a luncheon meeting where foreign investors highlighted inconsistency and uncertainty in the fiscal policy as the major barrier to attracting investment particularly foreign direct investment in the country.
The Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry organised the meeting at the Westin Hotel in Dhaka.
At the programme, FICCI leaders called for a pragmatic, predictable and enforceable fiscal policy along with bringing some changes in the tax regime to create investment-friendly environment in Bangladesh.
Corporate income tax rate should be reduced by phases to align with that in competing economies like Vietnam, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia where the tax rates range between 20 per cent and 28 per cent whereas it ranges from 25 per cent to 35 per cent in Bangladesh.
Seeking long-term fiscal measures, they said that inconsistency and uncertainly in the policy were not good for business.
The FICCI also recommended that the NBR incorporate the progressive provisions of the suspended Value-Added Tax Act -2012 in the existing VAT Act-1991 so that taxpayers can gradually become habituated with the provisions when the new law comes into force in July, 2019.
‘We will continue to discuss with you as well as domestic producers so that we can have a business-friendly fiscal policy in the coming years,’ Mosharraf said.
‘I have also instructed NBR officials to be compliant with rules and laws and not to harass any one,’ he said, adding that officials would have to face the consequences if they don’t follow the instruction. The NBR will also try to accommodate the proposals made by the FICCI as many as possible at the budget exercise for creating a congenial atmosphere for business operation in the country, he added.
FICCI president Shehzad Munim said that FICCI members were the most important economic partners of the country contributing 30 per cent to the overall tax revenue.
‘Bangladesh will require at least $50 billion investment to achieve its target of achieving middle-income country status and sustainable development goals,’ he said. It will not be possible without FDI, he said, adding that the FICCI could play important part  in this field through attracting new FDI and expanding operation of existing entities.
He said that the role of the tax authority would be critical here as to how it would behave with the investors and how it would create business-friendly environment.
Immediate past FICCI president Rupali Chowdhury sought a long-term fiscal policy — at least for five years — for ensuring consistency and removing uncertainty over policy issues. Investors remain worried and uncertain over what tax measures are coming in next year and such kind of uncertainty is not good for business, she said. She also sought transparency in file movement and implementation of the laws. ‘Laws are there but implementation is a serious problem,’ she said. FICCI executive committee member Francois de Maricourt, taxation sub-committee  convener Abdul Khalek and executive director Jamil Osman also spoke at the programme.

 

Noel Quinn outlines six ways to future-proof the business

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Noel Quinn outlines six ways to future-proof the business

Noel Quinn, the Chief Executive of HSBC Global Commercial Banking, outlines six trends that will have the greatest impact on the businesses. He is currently visiting Bangladesh. “Every year, leaders from across the globe gather in Davos, Switzerland to discuss the most pressing issues facing the world and plan for the future,” he said in a write-up.

“But thinking about what’s coming next isn’t just the preserve of multinational CEOs,” the global banker argued. “Every good business leader thinks about future-proofing their company. They spend hours thinking about how and when to expand or diversify and where the next opportunity lies.” “Sounds easy, but this kind of horizon gazing is hard,” added Mr Quinn. “Time is precious, information is plentiful but not always accessible or reliable, and big change is notoriously difficult to manage.”

The top six long-term global trends, as identified by the Chief Executive of HSBC, are as follows in his own language:

Watch out for Gen Z

Now 70 million strong, Gen Z’ers were born between the mid-1990s and the mid-2000s and are the first generation of true digital natives. They’re known for their strong sense of community and desire to positively influence the world through their work. The eldest of this cohort are starting to enter the workplace and are likely to be managed by millennials, another group with strong views on job satisfaction. Successful brands will respond by developing strategies to address these groups, as employees and as consumers. And those companies which live up to their values and understand how to do business in the digital age will be at a competitive advantage. For instance, it’s been shown that ethnically diverse companies are 35 per cent more likely to outperform their peers.

From ‘Like’ to ‘Buy’, we are social shoppers

More people are buying via social media platforms. When these consumerssee a product that they like, they want to be able to buy it there and then. While social shopping is still in its infancy, research suggests it could generate revenues of $165 billion globally by 2021.Brands seeking to attract these consumers will need to dialup their social media strategies and move from “Like” to “Buy” buttons, putting their products just a click away from savvy shoppers.

Green is the new black

Consuming ethically has become more important in recent years. Many people today say they are interested in ethical and environmentally friendly products. It follows that if brands want to be commercially successful, they will have to meet these new consumer expectations. Big companies are acting on this. Smaller firms, too, are looking at their ecosystem of buyers and suppliers to make sure everyone meets their standards. This isn’t surprising, because if just one company fails consumers, it puts the reputation of all parties at risk – just like a domino effect.

Trade skips borders

Services such as tourism, finance and education are expected to account for 25 per cent of global trade by 2030. Digital technology makes new markets more accessible and more and more small firms are expanding overseas virtually, without ever setting foot abroad.This is a game-changer for trade, with expansion now being as much about a click of a button as bricks and mortar.

Blockchain

Today just 0.5 per cent of the world’s population use blockchain (or Distributed Ledger Technology). But adoption is so rapid across so many industries that experts predict the market will be worth $20 billion by 2024. While some firms are already pioneering the technology, every leader should know how blockchain is being applied to their sector, what proof of concepts have been developed and if there are any collaborative ventures they can join.

The AI march continues

Another tech buzzword, Artificial Intelligence (AI), continues its march into “business as usual”. It’s predicted that AI bots (applications performing automated tasks) will underpin 85% of customer service interactions by 2020, and that this technology could increase productivity by at least 40% by 2035.The most promising uses for business includecustomer segmentation, in which advanced analyticscan be used to identify new customer trends, and segments or clusters of people who are more likely to be interested in a particular product.

Business leaders who not only understand these trends but act on them are more likely to find competitive advantage. That’s because by future-proofing your firm over the long-term you win new customers, attract the brightest talent and anticipate where the best opportunities lie. And that is something common to every successful business, from the smallest start up to the largest multinational.

Thrust on addressing loopholes of insurance policy

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Thrust on addressing loopholes of insurance policy

Speakers in a roundtable Tuesday stressed the need for all-out efforts from stakeholders to develop the country’s neglected insurance sector.

They sought professional support from the stakeholders to brighten the image of the insurance sector addressing the loopholes of insurance policy, said a statement issued by Bangladesh Insurance Association (BIA).

Their comments came at a roundtable organised by the BIA in collaboration with the news portal insurancenewsbd.com.

The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) is set to crack down on excessive commissioning by insurance companies to get business as it creates an unhealthy competition in the industry. As per rules, general insurance companies are allowed to spend 15 percent of their premium income to hook business but many are offering as much as 60 percent, said Nasir A Choudhury, advisor of Green Delta Insurance. The excessive commissioning is acting as a deterrent for the sector’s development.

“We will soon serve a notice to the insurance companies as the last reminder,” said Gokul Chand Das, member of IDRA. After that if the companies do not comply with the commission rule regulatory action will be taken against them, he said.

General insurance companies are supposed to provide risk coverage to the parties but higher commission against the policies put them at risk, Das said. “IDRA will find a way by 2018 to stop the unhealthy commissioning business,” he added.

The commission system is deteriorating day by day, eroding the growth of the sector, Choudhury said. Subsequently, he called for a temporary ban on the commissioning system to ease off corruption in the sector.

The higher commissioning expense is also crippling the general insurance companies, making them unable to pay even the customers’ claims, said Nizam Uddin Ahmed, founder chairman of Karnaphuli Insurance.

“The insurance sector is suffering for lack of efficient manpower,” he said, while urging the IDRA to approve only professionals as managing director of the companies. Das Deb Proshad, advisor of Meghna Life Insurance, echoed the same.

“The growth of insurance business in Bangladesh remained stagnant for the last 10 years only due to the lack of efficient manpower in the sector,” he added.

There are many issues that have remained unclear in the insurance policy, like how Islamic insurance will conduct business and how the capital of insurance companies will be invested, said PK ROY, chief executive officer of Rupali Insurance.

The government has taken a Tk 6.32 billion project for much-needed upgrade of the insurance regulator with the view to developing Bangladesh’s insurance sector.

The main goal of the project is to equip the IDRA to build and put into practice a professional and modern regulatory and supervisory system.

“IDRA is not strong enough to regulate the sector due to the lack of manpower,” said its Chairman Shafiqur Rahman Patwari. He said claims worth Tk 2.0 billion has been settled after his joining in the IDRA.

The regulator put in more effort in removing the image crisis of the insurance sector and building trust among clients about insurance coverage, he said.

Sheikh Kabir Hossain, president of BIA, moderated the roundtable.

এসডিজি অর্জনে বৈষম্য দূর করতে হবে

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এসডিজি অর্জনে বৈষম্য দূর করতে হবে

অর্থনৈতিক রিপোর্টার ॥ ‘অর্থনৈতিক উন্নয়নই কেবল সামাজিক ও নৈতিকতা উন্নয়ন নয়, টেকসই উন্নয়ন অর্জনের জন্য খুবই গুরুত্বপূর্ণ।’ বলে মন্তব্য করেছেন অর্থনীতিবিদ ও পিকেএসএফ’র চেয়ারম্যান ড. কাজী খুলীকুজ্জমান আহমদ।

তিনি বলেন, ‘আমরা সব সময় বলি প্রবৃদ্ধি বাড়াতে হবে। কিন্তু সেটা কীভাবে বাড়াব তা ঠিক করতে হবে। মানুষকে কেন্দ্র করেই প্রবৃদ্ধির প্রক্রিয়া সাজাতে হবে। ধনীদের নিয়ে ভাবনার দরকার নেই। ভাবতে হবে পিছিয়ে পড়া মানুষদের নিয়ে। বাস্তবভিত্তিক কর্মসূচী নিতে হবে এবং একই সঙ্গে সবাইকে নিয়ে এগিয়ে যাওয়ার মনোবল নিয়ে উন্নয়নের ধারাকে টেকসই করতে হবে।’

বুধবার সকালে পিকেএসএফ আয়োজিত ‘গণমানুষের কণ্ঠস্বর বাংলাদেশে ২০৩০ টেকসই উন্নয়ন কর্মসূচীর সফল বাস্তবায়ন’ শীর্ষক এক সেমিনারে তিনি এসব কথা বলেন। পিকেএসএফের চেয়ারম্যান ড. কাজী খুলীকুজ্জমান আহমদ এর সভাপতিত্বে সেমিনার অনুষ্ঠিত হয় ।

এসডিজি বিষয়ক মুখ্য সমন্বয়ক আবুল কালাম আজাদ সেমিনার প্রধান অতিথি হিসেবে উপস্থিত ছিলেন। পিকেএসএফ’র ব্যবস্থাপনা পরিচালক আবদুল করিম সেমিনারে স্বাগত বক্তব্য প্রদান করেন।

দেশে অসমতা ক্রমেই বাড়ছে। সাসটেনেবল ডেভেলপমেন্ট গোল (এসডিজি) অর্জনে যে বৈষম্য রয়েছে তা দূর করতে হবে। ক্ষুদ্র জনগোষ্ঠীর মানুষকে কেন্দ্র করেই প্রবৃদ্ধির পরিকল্পনা গ্রহণ করা প্রয়োজন বলে মনে করেন সেমিনারে উপস্থিত বক্তারা। সেমিনারে টেকসই উন্নয়ন অভিষ্ট-৮ সকলের জন্য পূর্ণাঙ্গ ও উৎপাদনশীল কর্মসংস্থান এবং শোভন কর্মসুযোগ সৃষ্টি এবং স্থিতিশীল, অন্তর্ভুক্তিমূলক ও টেকসই অর্থনৈতিক প্রবৃদ্ধি অর্জন ও অসমতা কমিয়ে আনা এর ওপর দুইটি প্রবন্ধ উপস্থাপন করা হয়। প্রবন্ধ উপস্থাপন করেন, অর্থনীতিবিদ ড. মোস্তফা কে মুজেরি এবং ঢাকা স্কুল অব ইকোনমিক্স’র শিক্ষক ড. তৌহীদ রেজা নুর। আরও বক্তব্য রাখেন এনজিও বিষয়ক ব্যুরোর মহাপরিচালক কেএম আবদুস সালাম।

স্বাগত বক্তব্যে পিকেএসএফ’র ব্যবস্থাপনা পরিচালক আবদুল করিম ‘পিপলস ভয়েস এসজিডি ইমপ্লিমেন্টেশন ইন বাংলাদেশ প্ল্যাটফর্ম’ প্রকল্পের কথা উল্লেখ করে বলেন, ‘পিকেএসএফ’র উদ্যোগে গঠিত এই প্ল্যাটফর্ম এসডিজি বাস্তবায়নে গুরুত্বপূর্ণ ভূমিকা রাখবে বলে আশা করি।’ তিনি আরও বলেন, ‘পিকেএসএফ’র সকল কর্মসূচী টেকসই উন্নয়ন লক্ষ্যমাত্রার সঙ্গে সামঞ্জস্য রেখে বিন্যাস করেছে।’

এসডিজি বিষয়ক মুখ্য সমন্বয়ক আবুল কালাম আজাদ বলেন, ‘এসডিজির লক্ষ্য হলো ১৬৯টি। সরকার সবগুলো একইসঙ্গে বাস্তবায়ন করতে পারবে না সম্পদের কারণে। তাই সরকার প্রাথমিকভাবে ৩৯টিকে অগ্রাধিকার দিয়ে বাস্তবায়নের কাজ চালিয়ে যাচ্ছে।’ এ প্রসঙ্গে তিনি আরও বলেন, ‘আমাদের সপ্তম পঞ্চবার্ষিক পরিকল্পনাও এসডিজির সঙ্গে সামঞ্জস্য রেখেই করা হয়েছে। এসডিজি শুধু কেন্দ্রীয়ভাবে বাস্তবায়নের বিষয় নয়, দেশের সকল অঞ্চলে বাস্তবায়নের ওপর সরকার জোর দিচ্ছে। এটি আগামী মাসে জাতিসংঘ বাংলাদেশকে মধ্য আয়ের দেশে উন্নীতের বিষয়ে সিদ্ধান্ত নেবে।’

ড. মোস্তফাকে মুজেরি বলেন, ‘এসডিজির ১০ নম্বর অভিষ্ট সর্বক্ষেত্রে বৈষম্যতা ও অসমতা দূর করা। আমাদেরকে সুযোগের অসমতা দূর করার বিষয়ে গুরুত্ব দিতে হবে। তিনি বলেন,দেশে বৈষম্য বাড়ছে। আর এই বৈষম্যটা বহুমাত্রিক। তবে শহরের চেয়ে গ্রামে এটি বেশি।’

ড. তৌহীদ রেজা নূর টেকসই উন্নয়ন অভিষ্ট-৮ এর ওপর প্রবন্ধ উপস্থাপন করেন। তিনি বলেন টেকসই উন্নয়নের একটি অন্যতম চাবিকাঠি হচ্ছে স্থিতিশীল কর্মসংস্থান ও পরিপূর্ণ কর্মপরিবেশ। তিনি বাংলাদেশে কর্মক্ষেত্রে বিরাজমান বৈষম্যের নানা দিক তুলে ধরেন। পাশাপাশি বৈষম্যহীন কর্মসংস্থান, টেকসই অর্থনৈতিক উন্নয়ন অর্জনের জন্য প্রয়োজন বলে তিনি তার বক্তব্যে উল্লেখ করেন।

এ দুইটি প্রবন্ধের ওপর আলোচনা করেন এনজিও এ্যাফেয়ার্স ব্যুরোর মহাপরিচালক কে এম আবদুস সালাম। অসমতা দূর করার জন্য সকলকে একসঙ্গে কাজ করতে হবে বলে তিনি উল্লেখ করেন। এসডিজির লক্ষ্যসমূহের সঙ্গে সামঞ্জস্য রেখে এনজিও সমূহ তাদের কাজের বিন্যাস ঘটাবে বলে তিনি আশা প্রকাশ করেন এবং এনজিও এ্যাফেয়ার্স ব্যুরো এই বিষয়ে উৎসাহ দিয়ে যাচ্ছে বলে জানান তিনি।

AIIB okays $60m for Bangladesh’s power project

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AIIB okays $60m for Bangladesh’s power project

The Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is set to provide a $60 million loan for a power project in Bangladesh to take its exposure in the country to $285 million, which is 6.6 percent of its total portfolio.

The amount will go towards building a 220-megawatt combined cycle power plant in Bhola, the total cost of which would be $271 million. Islamic Development Bank and local Infrastructure Development Company will provide the remaining funds.

The project will be developed by India’s Shapoorji Pallonji Infrastructure Capital Company Private Limited through Nutan Bidyut (Bangladesh) Limited, a special-purpose vehicle incorporated in Bangladesh for this.

The loan will carry an interest rate of 2.4-2.5 percent, which is higher than those offered by Bangladesh’s regular multilateral lenders such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

“AIIB does not provide concessional loans. We finance those projects that are commercially viable,” said Laurel Ostfield, head of communications and development of AIIB, at a media briefing held yesterday at the capital’s Lakeshore Hotel. The bank had earlier given loans amounting to $225 million to two power projects. AIIB is investing in the assignment as it will be one of the most efficient electricity flora delivering low-priced electricity in Bangladesh, stated its Director General Dong-ik Lee. Bangladesh’s acute strength scarcity is impacting its economic growth and its effort to minimize poverty, said DJ Pandian, AIIB’s vice-president and chief funding officer, in a statement. “This investment will assist Bangladesh enlarge its energy supply to aid industries that are fundamental to growth,” he added. Ostfield additionally touched upon Bangladesh’s tasks that are in the pipeline and AIIB’s focus place and its expertise. AIIB is considering five extra tasks really worth $885 million that Bangladesh has approached it for. Yuanjiang Sun, principal communications officer of AIIB also current at the briefing.

Sustainable power supply crucial for Bangladesh: ICCB

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Sustainable power supply crucial for Bangladesh: ICCB

Sustainable and uninterrupted supply of power is of utmost importance for the economic growth as per capita power consumption in Bangladesh is one of the lowest in the world, a leading chamber said yesterday.

The installed power capacity of Bangladesh was only 200 megawatt in 1972, according to the news bulletin of the International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh for the October-December period.

Since 1972, the current power generation has increased to 16,046 MW thanks to favourable government policies, which have attracted private investment and independent power producers, it said. The per capita power consumption in Bangladesh stood at 433-kilowatt hour as of October 2017, one of the lowest in the world.

Though the government has achieved significant success in electricity generation, actual capacity utilisation is only 9,507 MW because of the existing vulnerable and double-digit system loss in the distribution mechanism, ICCB said. A severe disruption is taking place in industrial production and other economic activities because of the country’s failure in adequately managing the load-shedding, it said.

Citing a recent survey, the chamber said strength outages end result in a loss of industrial output worth $1 billion a 12 months which reduces the GDP boom via about half a percentage factor in Bangladesh. It is estimated that the complete transmission and distribution losses quantity to one-third of the complete generation, the price of which is equal to the $247 million a year, it said.

“Therefore, there is a want for the improvement of fabulous infrastructure and advantageous monitoring machine to overcome the essential hurdle in successfully delivering power.” Due to fast-depleting fuel reserve and lack of primary initiatives to enhance neighborhood coal, it is turning into tough to obtain a sustainable neighborhood primary electricity source.

According to an estimate, Bangladesh would meet 92 percentage of its demand with imported gasoline by using 2030 if neighborhood coal is no longer explored and exploited, the ICCB said. The generation of electricity in coal-fired strength flowers would be possible and a great deal more cost-effective if locally explored fantastic coal is used as gas as an alternative of the imported ones, the chamber said.

“Bangladesh should, therefore, go for all-out business exploration of coal in the next 5 years to make the energy region sustainable and vibrant.”

Set Tk 16,000 as minimum wage

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Set Tk 16,000 as minimum wage

Workers and union leaders on Saturday demanded trebling of minimum wage to Tk 16,000 for the country’s 3.6 million apparel workers given the abnormal spiral in the costs of basic commodities, accommodation and healthcare.
At present, the minimum wage for garment workers is Tk 5,300. “Although we do not fully agree with the concept of living wage, we want a big hike of the salary this time,” said Nazma Akter, president of the Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation, a garment workers’ rights group. The group has already sent a letter to the minimum wage board, which was formed last month by the government, demanding Tk 16,000 as the wage. Sima Akter and Rasheda Begum, two operators of a garment factory at Gazipur, echoed the views of Akter. garments_worker_1

If the salary is hiked the factory owners will also raise the production targets proportionately, Sima said. “Please also keep our physical conditions in mind when you fix the minimum wage.”

The trebling of wages is warranted as the prices of basic commodities have increased along with the house rent, said Sultana Begum, president of the Green Bangla Garments Workers Federation.

The garment workers have to buy rice at Tk 58 to Tk 60 a kilogram as the prices of the staple have shot up. “But our incomes did not increase.”

She went on to state that the prices of basic commodities and house rent are higher than in Dhaka at Gazipur, the hub for garment factories. “We cannot save any money even after sharing a room and having less nutrient food,” she added.

Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, suggested specifying the legal aspects of the wage and workers’ rights while fixing the minimum wage as sometimes the workers cannot enjoy all benefits due to ambiguities in the labour law.

For instance, there is an apprentice grade for which the minimum wage is Tk 4,200, but the factory owners often pay the entry level workers this wage instead of the correct amount of Tk 5,300.

Every time the issue of wage hike is discussed the factory management brings up the argument that they would go out of business if the workers’ salaries are raised. “Actually, this is not right — we should find out how many factories have shuttered for salary hike. Factories may close down for other reasons.”

Ideally, the minimum wage should be close to the living wage, Moazzem said.

As per the Asia Floor Wage, the living wage for garment workers is Tk 37,661 given the conditions of 2017. The current minimum wage of Tk 5,300 is just 19 percent of the living wage, he added.

“The existing minimum wage is not enough to maintain the minimum standard of living for a worker,” said Selim Raihan, a professor of the Dhaka University’s Economics department, while sharing the findings of a study at an event held at the capital’s Lakeshore Hotel yesterday.

The study — Moving towards Living Wage: What will it take? — was conducted by the South Asian Network of Economic Modelling on garment workers in Dhaka and Gazipur. It was funded by CARE Bangladesh under its OIKKO project.

A minimum widespread dwelling includes food, clothing, residence rent, education, health, entertainment, savings and so on.

Fixing Tk 5,300 as the minimal wage for employees in 2013 was once not sufficient for keeping a decent life, Raihan said. So, this time the minimum wage for garment people need to be constant following the living wage concept.

“Prices are going up day by day however now not our wages. We are now buying decrease exceptional food and grains from neighborhood shops. This is going to have an effect on our health in the long-run but we have no choice.” Between 0.5 and three percentage of the price of manufacturing a clothing item goes to the worker who made it. “This means, on an €8 t-shirt, the most a employee will get paid is 24 cents,” he added. Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, chairman of the Palli Karma- Sahayak Foundation, entreated the authorities and factory proprietors to introduce a rationing device for garment people so that they can purchase the simple commodities at subsidised rates.

Four vital elements — food, accommodation, education and fitness of people — be considered whilst fixing the wage, Ahmad said.

Franchise business has great prospect in Bangladesh

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From right , Gaurav Marya, chairman of franchise consultancy firm FranGlobal; Rasheed Mymunul Islam, deputy managing director of Monno Group; Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, president of FBCCI; Selima Ahmad, president of Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Mirza Nurul Ghani Shovon, president of the National Association of Small and Cottage Industries of Bangladesh, attend a session at the International Franchise and Retail Expo at the Westin hotel in Dhaka yesterday. Photo: FranGlobal

 

Franchise business has great prospect in Bangladesh

Franglobal, an Indian franchise consultancy firm, intends to bring more than 50 brands to Bangladesh within the next two years along with investment of $39 million and 2,500 new jobs, as the country’s solid economic growth continues to attract global attention. For that end, the company yesterday organised a daylong exposition, which was attended by more than 50 brands from 12 countries, including the US, the UK, Italy, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Thailand and India. The exposition was FranGlobal’s first official event in the country after setting up shop here. Speaking at the event, Gaurav Marya, chairman of FranGlobal, said foreign franchisees in Bangladesh are doing very well. “So, we believe this is the opportune time for FranGlobal to enter the Bangladesh market — we are positive about the country.”

Bangladesh holds high-quality growth plausible to global manufacturers as there is a huge neighborhood market.

Every 0.33 dollar is spent on a franchise in the US, he said. “The equal will occur in Bangladesh and it is going to manifest very fast.”

Marya carried out a session where he discussed the fine approaches to enlarge business via franchising and partnering with global brands.

He went on to cite a PricewaterhouseCoopers study that cited that Bangladesh is poised to be among the top three fastest growing economies of the world through 2030.

The country is domestic to hundreds of corporations and has emerged as one of the largest concentrations of multinational agencies in South Asia, in accordance to the study.

“The franchise market will grow quicker in Bangladesh than in India. I would not be surprised if Bangladesh’s franchise enterprise stands at about $6 billion to $7 billion within six to seven years,” Marya said.

In Bangladesh, the largest have an effect on of the commercial enterprise mannequin would be considered in the education, healthcare and health sectors.

The cited franchise expert said his association would organise 4 activities each and every 12 months to furnish a platform for both local and foreign brands so that they can expand.

He went on to reward the authentic techniques for placing up a commercial enterprise in Bangladesh.

“I used to be advised that getting licence in Bangladesh is very tough. But this is now not the reality. I did now not face any challenges in acquiring the permissions and setting up an office,” he added.

One of the manufacturers that FranGlobal may be bringing to Bangladesh is UClean, India’s first organised chain of laundry and home cleaning stores.

“Every neighbourhood of Bangladesh affords top notch growth opportunity,” stated Arunabh Sinha, founder and chief executive of UClean.

The organisation is keenly looking at Bangladesh due to the fact the consumption sample is comparable to India’s, he added.

The neighborhood office of FranGlobal has appointed sixteen human beings to run its operations in the country.

Talking about the operations, Raiyan Zaman, advertising and marketing lead of FranGlobal Advisors Pvt. Ltd, stated franchising is a new concept in Bangladesh.

But already 30 local brands have contacted the neighborhood office to get a better perception of the business concept.

The participating organizations at the match include: STC Wallpaper, Rubix 108, Voylla, Spark Minda, Jetking, Gold’s Gym, Regus, Café Udupi Ruchi, and Bradford License India. “The participating businesses are all bullish about the Bangladesh market,” Zaman said.

The exposition, held at The Westin Dhaka, showcased the participants’ franchise possibilities alongside with the knowledge-sharing classes by way of a variety of neighborhood and worldwide professionals from food and beverage to retail, e-commerce and education sectors. Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry; Mirza Nurul Ghani Shovon, president of the National Association of Small and Cottage Industries of Bangladesh; Selima Ahmad, president of Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Rasheed Mymunul Islam, deputy managing director of Monno Group, had been present. FranGlobal plays a essential role in representing nearby buyers and partnering with numerous global groups for the entry and expansion in exceptional topographies and has six worldwide places of work in extraordinary countries, according to Marya.

The franchise consulting firm has offices in Canada, the UK, Singapore and Greece, among others.