Dhaka //

Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur has called on FBCCI and other business organizations to be professional. He said, ‘Business organizations are behaving like puppets.’

Regarding this, Ahsan H Mansur said that when the interest rate was fixed at 6 to 9, business organizations applauded. They were silent even during money laundering. Democracy never becomes strong if you behave like this.

Ahsan H Mansur made these comments while speaking as the chief guest at a roundtable meeting on the impact of Bangladesh’s transition from a least developed country (LDC) on the banking sector.

The International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh (ICCB) organized the meeting at Hotel Sheraton in Banani, the capital, on Tuesday. Business leaders spoke at the event moderated by ICC Bangladesh President Mahbubur Rahman. They all presented various arguments in favor of postponing the transition from LDC.

Ahsan H. Mansur said, ‘The country’s economic development and transition from LDC must happen simultaneously. For economic development, transition from LDC is necessary. We cannot miss out on big benefits for small benefits.’

ICC Bangladesh Vice President and Ha-Meem Group Chairman AK Azad said, ‘The interest rate has increased due to contractionary monetary policy. 12 lakh people have lost their jobs. Another 12 lakh jobs will be lost in the next 6 months. There is no investment in the country, revenue collection has decreased. The economy cannot be maintained with this monetary policy. The current government has been explained so much about LDC, but they did not listen. When the new government takes charge, our main task will be to present arguments in favor of postponing the transition from LDC. Because, it will take time for the government to understand everything after taking charge.’

Later, in the speech of the chief guest, Ahsan H. Mansur said, ‘Interest rates are high in Bangladesh, I also admit this. However, it must be admitted that $20 billion has been laundered. As a result, defaulted loans have increased. Deposit growth, which had decreased to 6 percent, has increased to 11 percent. This has affected interest rates. If good governance, supervision and customer confidence increase, interest rates will decrease. For this, defaulted loans will have to be reduced. Then inflation will also decrease.’

Mentioning that graduation from LDC is a fundamental issue, Ahsan H. Mansur said that it will happen today or tomorrow. Bangladesh should not be compared with countries like Somalia, South Sudan or Afghanistan. Because, Bangladesh is far ahead in every indicator of development including GDP.

Ahsan H. Mansur said, ‘Bangladesh is no longer at the same level as those countries and being in this group is not a matter of honor for us. Our main goal is to join the ranks of developing countries like Malaysia or India and achieve global respect.’

Ahsan H. Mansur mentioned that the banking system should be kept free from future political interference. He said that for this, legal reforms like a modern central banking system are needed. The amendment to the Bangladesh Bank order was sent to the government four months ago. It is unfortunate that it has not yet seen the light of day. It needs to be approved to prevent political interference in the future.

ICC Bangladesh Chairman Muhammad A (Rumi) Ali delivered the welcome speech at the event. Later, ICC Bangladesh President Mahbubur Rahman delivered the opening speech and moderated the session.

Professor Shah Md. Ahsan Habib of Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) presented the keynote speech at the round table. The panelists were Simin Rahman, Group Chief Executive Officer of Transcom Group and Managing Director of SKF Pharmaceuticals Limited, Md. Fazlul Haque, Managing Director of Plumi Fashions Limited, Syed Mahbubur Rahman, Managing Director of Mutual Trust Bank, Hasan O. Rashid, MD of Prime Bank, and Amrita Makin Islam, Deputy Managing Director of Picard Bangladesh.

Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB) Chairman Abdul Hai Sarkar, ICC Bangladesh Vice President AK Azad, Bengal Commercial Bank Chairman Md. Jasim Uddin and ICC Bangladesh Vice President and Standard Chartered Bank CEO Naser Ejaz Bijoy participated in the discussion.

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