DHAKA: The Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) has signed a six-year agreement with the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) to improve the business environment in the country.
BIDA Director Tauhidur Rahman Khan and IFC Practice Manager for Trade and Competitiveness Esperanza Lasagabaster signed the agreement on the sidelines of the BIDA’s strategic workshop at a Bahubal resort in north-east Habiganj district.
After the signing, Lasagabaster said that IFC would support policy reforms to improve business environment. She said they would also help Bangladesh in trade facilitation. The UK aid would provide financial support.
She said this is to help BIDA to have one-stop services, and to act as a “very effective” investment and facilitation agency. “BIDA is the main counterpart. But when we’ll work it’ll also include different ministries,” she said.
Khan said that the project titled ‘Investment Climate Fund’ would have $2OO million for six years technical assistance. In the first year it will spend $25 million for “strategic planning, ease of doing business, sector competitiveness”.
“They will bring global experience to us and do a research for us on what to do to improve the investment climate. We’ll implement those,” he said, adding that the two-day workshop is also part of the agreement.
“They will provide financial and technical support for whatever was needed to improve the business climate”.
The World Bank has ranked Bangladesh 176th among 190 countries in its Doing Business 2017 report. It is behind of all SAARC countries, except war-torn Afghanistan. The newly-created state entity BIDA aims to improve Bangladesh’s ranking to at least 99 by 2021.
To do so, it brought all top officials of all relevant ministries to the Habiganj resort to discuss and devise action plans.
The ranking gives confidence to both local and foreign investors as it demonstrates improvement of business environment.
