Corrective financial measures needed to boost economy: DCCI president

The economy is facing certain challenges pertaining to inflation and it is of utmost importance to tame inflation at whatever costs necessary, especially food inflation, said Md Sameer Sattar, president of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI).

Bangladesh has fared somewhat better than many of its peers in weathering the geoeconomic crisis and challenges, the leading chamber quoted Sattar as saying in a statement.

Although Moody's Investors Service has forecasted Bangladesh's credit rating and the country's long-term outlook to be stable, certain measures are needed to boost the economy in light of Bangladesh's graduation from the least-developed country category in 2026, he said.

Contractionary monetary policies should be coupled with fiscal policies in order to ensuring that prices of goods are kept at a minimum level, he said.

Another challenge is the stabilisation of the foreign exchange market and the government should take strict measures now to face the challenge, he added.

Having a market-driven US dollar rate is important to ensure that remittances from abroad, especially from migrant workers, are received through official banking channels, he said.

The government must also prioritise export market diversification so that export earnings are generated from multiple markets as opposed to the traditional markets, the Dhaka Chamber president said.

The government should also take effective steps for revenue generation, Sattar said.

Tax offices should be opened in various parts of Bangladesh and a proper mapping should be kept in place for the performance of the tax offices, especially outside Dhaka and Chattogram, he said.

The informal sector should be brought strictly within the tax net to increase revenue.

The government may consider strengthening the resources of the National Board of Revenue and increasing its capacity to ensure continuous revenue collection activities outside Dhaka and Chattogram, the DCCI president said.

The government may consider going for full automation in practice to increase its revenue collection, he said.

Sattar also stressed structural reforms in the banking sector to ensure good governance to keep a check on the increasing non-performing loans and recovery of the defaulted loans.

If the financial sector—the lifeline of the economy—runs smoothly, this will, in turn, generate diverse economic opportunities, he said.