BBBF mixes social profitability and individual compatibility

Dhaka, Dec 18 (bdprem.com) – Bangladesh Better Business Forum raises hope for a proper environment for business and investment as its name suggests, but runs up against a raft of challenges as expected. Your Ad Here The latest effort by the military-backed government is meant to inject a momentum into the country with sagging economy and falling investment. Higher business confidence means more investment, says monetary economist Prof MA Taslim, a member of BBBF, a high-profile 38-public-private forum. "My personal understanding is, the government has realised that business confidence is dented," he says. According to a research organisation, local business confidence went slightly below the benchmark in November, indicating ebbing spirits among business enterprises. The Business Confidence Index point is 48.50, according to Shamunnay's study published in Bangladesh Economic Outlook. The first-ever study puts the benchmark point at 50. The effort to shore up waning business confidence does not become successful overnight, Taslim says. In the same breath, he makes a hopeful note that the new initiative can accomplish a lot if things are not confined to talks and note-taking. Main players are there. The forum is complete with the army chief, General Moeen U Ahmed, and the principal staff officer of the Armed Forces Division, Lieutenant General Masud Uddin Chowdhury. Syed Mahmudul Huq, chairman of Bangladesh Shrimp and Fish Foundation and another member of BBBF, says: "Its composition is interesting." Apart from its own, the government has filled the forum with people from different business sectors, civil society representatives and independent economists. BBBF's first meeting held at the Chief Adviser's Office on Dec 15 set the tone for the forum, which will help flesh out its details. BBBF stems from an intriguing concept of mixing "social profitability and individual compatibility", Huq says. It is easy to understand a particular sector taking insights from its leaders, but difficult to synthesise all the recommendations of different sectors into a single, broader policy that may help lift the country from economic doldrums. "I don't think things won't happen. They will ultimately happen," Taslim says, responding to questions on doubt over the new initiative. "One of the biggest challenges ahead is how to coordinate the suggestions of conflicting groups," Taslim says. To add to the point, Huq says the forum has to strike a fine balance between conflicting, often contradictory recommendations. The forum's genesis is rooted in what Huq says is the willingness to look beyond group interests to national interests. The government rolled out the forum in a Nov 26 announcement to carve out a pro-business policy and, particularly, to restore confidence among businesspeople shaken by the anticorruption crackdown that has continued since mid-January. The maiden meeting on Dec 15, chaired by BBBF chief Fakhruddin Ahmed, decided to set up five working groups, each having as many members—two from the government and three from the private sector. The meeting asked Board of Investment executive chairman Kamal Uddin Ahmed, also member secretary of the forum, to send in a list of private sector representatives by Dec 31. The working committees will deal with finance and business, infrastructure, government policy, business operations and skilled workforce development. Finance and commerce adviser AB Mirza Azizul Islam, executive chairman of the forum, and General Moeen also attended the meeting. "We are satisfied by the fact that we got a chance to speak freely at the meeting," says Taslim. The government seems committed to making the forum a success, but "nothing much will come out of it" if it is not clear what the government wants from the members. Huq says: "For sure, the government wants something from us." Challenges loom large. Taslim says: "The implementation stage is a big challenge as always." Asked to comment on any protective measure about local business, Taslim, who teaches economics at Dhaka University, says protective measures help people who are already in the business, but harm those who are outside and want to get in.