DHAKA, Jan 20, 2024 (BSS) - Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI)
President Ashraf Ahmed today said that Bangladesh has the ability to overcome
the existing economic challenges.

"Our economy is passing through few challenges like inflation, NPL, forex
reserve, financial market volatility, balance of payment, depreciation of
taka. But, Bangladesh has the experience of facing such challenges earlier as
well as overcoming all of those," he said.

Ashraf also said as in the past, Bangladesh has the ability to overcome these
economic challenges as soon as possible. The minister said this while
addressing a press conference organized by DCCI at its office today.

Responding to the questions of reporters, Ashraf agreed that inflation,
foreign exchange reserve, NPL and liquidity are some of the key challenges of
the economy, but these challenges are not new.

"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 there is no doubt that closure of
manufacturing industries due to lack of power and energy are very expensive
and has a negative impact on economic capacity.

"As a business organization, we want this crisis to be solved as soon as
possible," he told.

Ashraf said there is a scope for improvement of data transparency of BBS and
all others. 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 a 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 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 added.

The DCCI president 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 adding 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 at the event.