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This was Rahman’s first formal engagement with business leaders since assuming office six weeks ago. The discussions took place against the backdrop of global uncertainties, including the ongoing Middle East conflict, as well as persistent domestic challenges in the business environment.<\/p>\n
Businesses said the prime minister underscored the need for measurable progress in addressing structural bottlenecks such as a complex tax regime, high lending rates, and inefficiencies in ports and logistics.<\/p>\n
Also, the government plans to review existing regulations across sectors to identify overlaps and reduce compliance burdens, with an emphasis on simplifying procedures.<\/p>\n
A key approach under consideration is benchmarking reforms against peer economies such as Sri Lanka and Indonesia, with the aim of adopting tested solutions rather than developing new frameworks.<\/p>\n
Business leaders used the meeting to point out a range of operational challenges \u2013 from tax reforms and logistics to energy, exports and foreign investment \u2013 and wanted an action-oriented roadmap.<\/p>\n
MA Jabbar, managing director of DBL Group, said issues relating to VAT, customs and income tax administration by the National Board of Revenue were raised, alongside complexities in business registration and renewals.<\/p>\n
Logistical and financial constraints also featured prominently, including port operations, airport capacity, interest rates, and access to land and utilities in economic zones, he added.<\/p>\n
A businessman present at the meeting said discussions also touched on the post-LDC graduation scenario, particularly the potential loss of patent-related benefits for the pharmaceutical sector.<\/p>\n
“We discussed ways to manage this transition, with a strong emphasis on fast-tracking the API Industrial Park and ensuring policy support for local API production,” he told The Business Standard, requesting anonymity.<\/p>\n
Another participant said proposals were made to ease entry for foreign buyers and investors.<\/p>\n
“We suggested visa-free access, especially for investors from the UK, the United States, Japan and South Korea,” he said. “We also proposed a streamlined online visa system to make it easier for investors from any country to obtain Bangladeshi visas.”<\/p>\n
Business leaders also proposed a more structured engagement mechanism with key regulatory bodies, including BIDA, the National Board of Revenue and Bangladesh Bank, suggesting that industry representatives be involved earlier in the policy formulation process.<\/p>\n
According to participants, the prime minister responded positively, indicating a willingness to strengthen public-private coordination in economic policymaking. Businesses said the prime minister directed relevant ministries to address several immediate concerns, while others would be taken up in phases.<\/p>\n
On the financial side, discussions included expanding access to offshore borrowing for local firms and reviving the domestic bond market.<\/p>\n
The government is also considering measures to attract foreign investment into the banking and insurance sectors to deepen financial markets and enhance stability, according to three businesses present at the meeting.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida), in a statement after the meeting, said the council members appreciated the government’s initiative in establishing this forum and its openness to engage with the private sector in fostering a more open, business-friendly environment.<\/p>\n
The council will now consolidate a summarised proposal from the private sector, accompanied by a targeted and actionable plan to address immediate challenges affecting the business climate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The prime minister further advised the council to incorporate evidence-based legal, policy, and regulatory benchmarks from other countries to ensure Bangladesh remains globally competitive. Bida will work as the coordinating agency from the government side, providing necessary support, working with relevant ministries and government agencies to effectively drive the implementation of the proposed action plan.<\/p>\n
Bida Executive Chairman Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun said, “The formation of the Private Sector Advisory Council is one of the key reforms proposed by Bida to create a structured mechanism for sustained private sector input at the highest level.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We are grateful to the honourable prime minister for taking ownership of this matter and for bringing together an accomplished group of business leaders to support Bangladesh’s reform and investment agenda.”<\/p>\n
What other issues businesses raised<\/p>\n
Business leaders also raised a range of structural issues beyond taxation, stressing that high logistics costs, estimated at 15-20% of GDP, are eroding competitiveness and need urgent reforms in ports, transport and rail connectivity. They called for faster expansion of key facilities, including the Bay Terminal, and greater use of public-private partnerships to improve cargo movement.<\/p>\n
Energy security was flagged as another concern, with participants urging a quicker shift to renewable energy and policy incentives, such as lower import duties on solar components, to attract private investment.<\/p>\n
The discussion also stressed the need to move beyond reliance on low-cost labour towards a more skilled workforce, with calls for industry-oriented training and a modern workforce development framework.<\/p>\n
Export diversification featured prominently, with businesses backing a $100 billion export target by 2030 through support for sectors such as light engineering, man-made fibre apparel and high-value manufacturing, alongside better integration of SMEs into supply chains.<\/p>\n
They also pointed to emerging opportunities in sectors like semiconductors and advanced engineering, but stressed that consistent policy support and coordination across agencies will be critical to turning these ambitions into reality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has initiated a reform drive aimed at removing longstanding barriers to investment and improving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":374967,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[114,184,85,46],"class_list":["post-374966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=374966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/374967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=374966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=374966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=374966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}