Economic Reporter //

The current interim government has no focus on the economy. It is clear that the economy is not getting priority in their activities. Bangladesh Chamber of Industries (BCI) President Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury commented that the country is trying to run on the prescription of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He said that the IMF prescription will not be useful in the current situation of the country.

The BCI President complained that Bangladesh Bank has adopted contractionary policies; has reduced liquidity supply, there are various such initiatives. These are not favorable for the country’s economy, industry, and businessmen. We can prepare in some places with the IMF prescription; we can work in many places to meet compliance. But if the IMF prescription is implemented completely, it will have an adverse effect on the economy.

He said these things in response to questions from journalists at a press conference organized in Tejgaon in the capital on Saturday. BCI organized this press conference on the current economic situation of the country, challenges of industry and trade. BCI Senior Vice President Preeti Chakraborty, Director Shahidul Islam, Delwar Hossain, SM Shah Alam, Zia Haider, Jahangir Alam, Rehana Rahman, Shah Alam Litu, Nazmul Anwar and Khair Mia were present in it.

Anwar-ul Alam said that on the one hand, the government has increased interest rates, and on the other hand, there is a contractionary monetary policy.

On the other hand, the energy problem has not been resolved so far, but there is talk of increasing prices again. These issues make it clear that the government’s activities are not positive for the industrial sector. If this continues, it will be difficult for existing industrial institutions to survive, let alone new industries.

He said that political parties are also not familiar with the economy. Although they talk about each other, they do not say anything about the economy. When asked about political uncertainty, Anwar-ul Alam said that no one is afraid of political uncertainty. No one sees any immediate solution in this case. However, the interim government should go through the election process as soon as possible. That will bring peace to everyone. Because peace will never come without a democratic government.

Recently, Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H. Mansur said that even if the interest rate on bank loans increases, businessmen have nothing to worry about. And Financial Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed said that the VAT increase has not increased the price of goods that much. The BCI President commented that such statements by the government’s top policymakers are misleading.

Anwar-ul Alam said that such statements by the government are misleading. I do not see anything in place of government expenditure contraction, the Board of Revenue (NBR) has gone for the easy way (increasing VAT) without increasing their tax net. Again, it is being said that the VAT increase will not have any impact on prices. These issues are worrying industrial entrepreneurs.

The BCI president believes that it would be unfair to blame everyone for two or four individuals or groups who robbed banks. He said that businessmen are currently suffering from despair. Businessmen want to live with dignity and respect. But they are often called defaulters; no one sees why they defaulted. It has not been possible for everyone to handle the increase in business expenses due to various reasons in the past. This is why many have defaulted. Are entrepreneurs alone responsible for this?

Anwar-ul Alam said that just as the government has a policy on defaulters, it is also the government’s responsibility to provide protection to the organization. If it cannot provide protection, the entrepreneur will have to leave the business. But there is no bankruptcy law in the country related to this. This was recently discussed with the governor. He has agreed to this in principle.

Bangladesh is scheduled to graduate from the Least Developed Country (LDC) list in 2026. However, the BCI has demanded that this time be postponed for another three years, i.e. until 2029. The president of the organization said at the press conference, the previous (Awami League) government walked the path of transitioning from the list of least developed countries to developing countries with inflated economic statistics to gain applause. We think that if time is not delayed, the country’s economy will suffer a major collapse. He said, where there is no capacity to eat rice three times a day, how can we think of eating chicken and polao. The country is not ready for LDC transition. And if we are not prepared, why would we knowingly commit suicide?

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