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IFC and BICF contributed $21.5 million for improving the country's investment climate and business competitiveness.
Courtesy
Meraj Mavis
Published: February 22, 2023 5:43 AM | Last updated: February 22, 2023 5:43 AM
A corporation previously had to wait nearly two months to receive their registration, but now it can be done in just two days.
With so many good developments in the business environment in Bangladesh, foreign investment groups are showing more interest in dishing out their funds in the country.
According to the findings of the "Investment Climate Reforms in Bangladesh: Results from the End-Term Assessment of Bangladesh Investment Climate Fund (BICF) Program" presented in Dhaka on Wednesday, the time to register a firm has been decreased by 96.5% -- from 56.5 days in 2009 to two days in 2020.
From its inception, BICF-supported business registration changes have saved businesses in Bangladesh $8 million in compliance costs -- of which $5.5 million was saved during the BICF-2 period.
The event discussed data and findings from the BICF program which was coordinated by the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida), the UK Government's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the International Financial Corporation (IFC).
Special guest of the occasion British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Chatterton Dickson said: “We are receiving more private sector interest in Bangladesh that will ultimately deliver economic growth. British investors are keen to invest in aviation, education and financial sectors in Bangladesh. We have a direct bilateral trade dialogue now with the Bangladesh government.”
“Foreign direct investment (FDI) plays a vital role for foreign investments. The British business group who has the experience of doing business here are some of the largest taxpayers and providers of revenue to the NBR from Bangladesh's corporate sector. It's very good for us to be able to discuss the theory and practice of increasing FDI with some of the largest operators here,” he added.
Martin Holtmann, country manager for Bangladesh Bhutan and Nepal from IFC in his opening remarks said: “Bangladesh Investment Climate Fund program is very important for this country and it's also very important for the IFC. We operate in more than 100 countries now and have 108 offices around the world. I'm happy and proud to say, this program we are celebrating has been the largest
“We all know Bangladesh is one of the star performers in economic growth certainly not only in this region but also worldwide. We have seen its positive and real GDP growth of more than 5% for a couple of decades now and most importantly, it triggers much higher real per capita income,” he also added.
He concluded saying: “While running this program we actually tried to focus on all aspects of the business with impact and management. In the long run, customers will decide how successful we are. We finally welcome all investors from both outside and inside.”
In his keynote presentation, Buddhika Samarasinghe, head of Global Practices, Nathan Associates London, said Bangladesh has experienced rapid economic growth, which would lead the country to no longer be classified as least-developed.
Regarding the report he said to improve Bangladesh's investment climate and overall business competitiveness, BICF-2 supported the reform of policies, regulations and processes relating to the establishment and operation of businesses in Bangladesh, local as well as foreign.
It's also been revealed that IFC and BICF-2 (with a $21.5 million fund) contributed to the following initiatives: reform of critical institutions/legal and regulatory processes and simplification to improve the core business operating environment, development of critical industrial infrastructure with a focus on economic zones and PPPs on water, electricity, and environmental facilities and guidelines, and strengthening high-potential export sectors and the trade environment.
BICF-supported business registration reforms resulted in $8 million compliance cost savings to businesses in Bangladesh -- of which during the period of BICF-2 this resulted in $5.5 million savings, he added.
BICF is World Bank Group's largest single-country advisory facility for private sector development designed to improve the investment climate in Bangladesh funded with UK aid from its government.
