Bangladesh economy ‘over regulated’, liberalisation essential Amir Khosru
Business Report :
Bangladesh’s economy, including its capital market, is currently being stifled by ‘overregulation’ and it must move towards deregulation and liberalisation to recover, BNP Standing Committee member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said on Tuesday.
The Senior BNP leader argued that excessive control by regulators has distorted policy and weakened the capital market.
“Bangladesh is currently economically over regulated. We must walk the path of deregulation and liberalisation. Too much control cannot continue,” Khosru, a former commerce minister, expressed.
He made these remarks while speaking at a seminar titled ‘Post-Election 2026 Horizon: Economy, Politics, and Capital Market’, organised by BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage at a city hotel.
About the current political climate, Khosru emphasised that the nation is moving towards the 12 February election. “After 16 to 18 years, people will finally have the chance to form a government through their votes, a government that will be compelled to remain accountable to the people.”
He said global fund managers and expatriate Bangladeshis are awaiting a fair election and a stable environment before investing in the capital market.
The former minister identified policy distortions as a major hurdle, pointing out that many existing laws conflict with free-market principles. “You either have a market system or you don’t; you cannot have both simultaneously. To instill confidence in the market, it must be allowed to function independently,” Khosru added.
Over the past 18 months, the BNP leader said, the economy has been trapped in a ‘low-level equilibrium’.
He blamed reliance on banks for both short term deposits and long term lending, creating liquidity imbalances.
“Banks have lent indiscriminately. Some loans went into business, others were siphoned abroad, destabilising the financial sector,” he said.
Khosru warned that non performing loans, officially at 36 percent, could reach 40 percent once “window dressing” is stripped away.
He stressed reforms in exchange rates, capital markets and trade policy, insisting that “the market must be allowed to decide”.
Transparency in the capital market, cleaning up “garbage accounts” and ending accounting manipulation were essential, he added.
Dr MA Razzaq, economist and chairman of think tank RAPID, gave a presentation on the topic.
The event also featured M Saifuddin CFA, Commissioner of BSEC; Mashrur Arefin, CEO of City Bank and Chairman of the Association of Banks Bangladesh (ABB); foreign investors Mattias Martinson. Saiful Islam, Director of BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage, moderated the event.
