BSS-14 Doing business ranking to come down double digit by 2021: BIDA

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BSS-14

BIDA-DOING-BUSINESS

Doing business ranking to come down double digit by 2021: BIDA

DHAKA, Jan 4, 2019 (BSS) – Bangladesh’s position in doing business ranking is likely to come down to below 100 from the existing 176 by 2021 as the government has taken various reform initiatives to improve the country’s business environment.

“Bangladesh is very business friendly country. We are taking different reform initiatives to improve the business environment. If we can implement all the initiatives, it will help not only bring down our ranking in below 100 by 2021 but also below 50 within the next five years,” Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Executive Chairman Kazi M Aminul Islam told BSS.

He urged all authorities concerned to come forward to implement the initiatives in their respective organisations to provide better and time saving services to the entrepreneurs.

The government, he said, is working for transforming the country into ‘Digital Bangladesh’ by ensuring digitisation in all public services. “Digitisation is essential for improving the ranking in the ease of doing business,” he added.

The BIDA chief said the government wants to transform Bangladesh’s economy from labor-based to knowledge-based and technology-based economy.

He said all concerned ministries of the government should have their priority task list to improve business climate and all the ministries should work in a coordinated way for better result. He informed that BIDA is likely to launch the full- One-Stop Service (OSS) Centre’ this month which will help improve in the World Bank’s ease of doing business ranking.

“Ease of doing business depends on different particular issues. Many issues of the doing business index are related to OSS. So, proper use of OSS will improve Bangladesh’s ranking in the WB’s global doing business report,” he added.

Through the OSS, Aminul Islam said, the potential investors would get necessary permissions for making investment and starting a business and get all paperwork done for receiving various utility services like power, gas, water and telephone from the centre after becoming fully functional.

“The flow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Bangladesh will reach a new height after launching of the service centre as the new web-based system allows a company to start its activities within a short time,” he added.

The ease of doing business index is an index created by the World Bank Group. The index is based on the average of 10 sub-indices – starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.

BSS/SPL/KUC/MRU/1659