Business report :
The country’s businessmen are facing extremely adverse conditions due to existing global and local economic reality, the energy crisis in the industrial sector, high inflation and high tariffs on imported goods, high interest rates, and lack of credit flow to the private sector.
In such a reality, it is necessary to postpone Bangladesh’s LDC transition by at least 2-3 years, said Taskin Ahmed, President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI).
He told these at a Focus Group Discussion on “Implementation of the STS for Smooth Transition from LDC Status” jointly organized by Support to Sustainable Graduation Project (SSGP), Economic Relations Division (ERD) and DCCI on Monday, 2025 at DCCI Auditorium.
ERD Secretary Md. Shahriar Kader Siddiky and Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman were present on the occasion as the Chief Guest and Special Guest respectively.
From the private sector perspective, DCCI President Taskeen Ahmed presented a keynote paper.
He also said the GDP growth in the first quarter of the current fiscal was only 1.8 percent, while the growth of the manufacturing sector was only 1.43 percent. He said Bangladesh’s economy is still going through various challenges. And amid these challenges, Bangladesh is going to graduate from LDC in 2026.
Speaking as the chief guest, ERD Secretary Md. Shahriar Kader Siddiky said that we have to build capacity at all levels to deal with the impact of the loss of trade benefits in the post-LDC era. In this regard, he said, a committee will be formed with the representatives of trade organizations to determine the needs of the private sector and find solutions.
Speaking as the special guest, Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman said that there was a lack of proper planning and implementation from the beginning to meet the challenges of LDC graduation, but more attention should be paid to a sustainable LDC graduation process based on the opinion of the private sector
A. H. M. Jahangir, Additional Secretary & Project Director, Support to Sustainable Graduation Project (SSGP), Economic Relations Division, said that our private sector will have to face the most challenges of the LDC graduation. In such a situation, along with the support to the private sector, the coordinated activities of the concerned stakeholders are essential in the implementation of the STS formulated to address the overall challenges of LDC transition, he added.
Dr. Mostafa Abid Khan, Component Manager (Former Member of Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission), SSGP, ERD, said that about 73 percent of our total exports enjoy duty-free benefits, which we will not be able to get in the post-LDC period, and we will also be deprived of several institutional benefits.
Dr. Md. Rezaul Bashar Siddique, Component Manager (Former Additional Secretary), SSGP, ERD said that it is possible to bring microeconomic stability to the country through the implementation of STS. We are still in a good position in all the indices required for LDC graduation, but in this regard, he stressed the need to formulate an integrated ‘Action Matrix’.
Rizwan Rahman, former president of DCCI, said until the ‘Medium’ category is separated from the CMSME, the cottage and small entrepreneurs will never get the real benefits of the government’s policy support.
Manwar Hossain, Chairman of Anwar Group of Industries, said, we are lagging behind in the infrastructure sector, and the shortage of gas supply in the steel and cement industries is hampering the production process, which is affecting the entire economy. Regarding the LDC graduation, he said until the country’s export surpasses its import figures, it can be said that we are not ready for the graduation in the real sense, he opined.
BKMEA President Mohammad Hatem said, that since 2022, we are observing a downward trend in every indicator of the economy, along with export data mismatch.
Moreover, a few policies of the government and the Bangladesh Bank were not friendly enough for the export sector earlier. Giving examples, he said that the EDF fund has been closed along with some other funds for the private sector, the interest rate is also too high, high inflation, moreover, there is an acute shortage of gas supply in the industries.
