Press Release

Mahbubul Alam, President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), the apex trade organisation of the country and the former president of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), has taken over as the Chairperson of the Trustee Board of the Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) for the year 2024-25.

He succeeded Nihad Kabir, a senior advocate and a former president of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI). She was the Chairperson of BUILD in 2022-23. The transition took place on 4 February 2024, as the outgoing Trustee Board (2022-23), led by Nihad Kabir, handed over the responsibilities to the new board at the 33rd Trustee Board Meeting held at the BUILD Conference Room in Motijheel, Dhaka.

The newly formed Trustee Board for 2024 includes Ashraf Ahmed, President of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), Kamran T. Rahman, President of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), Omar Hazzaz, President of The Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), Afsarul Arifeen, Secretary General of DCCI, Farooq Ahmed, Secretary General of MCCI, Engr. Mohd. Farque Ahmed, Secretary of CCCI. Ferdaus Ara Begum will serve as the Member Secretary to the Trustee Board.

Abul Kashem Khan, Director of FBCCI and the Former President of DCCI, will continue as a nominated trustee board member from the DCCI, while Saiful Islam is a nominated trustee board member from the MCCI.

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The potential of diversifying exports in the markets of the UK and China was asserted in the meeting of BUILD held at the Conference room of MoC, co-chaired by the Senior Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh and Md Saiful Islam, President of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI). The meeting emphasised the ease of doing business and reduced regulatory burdens and documentation processes. The meeting reiterated attracting new investments, fostering technological advancements, and promoting diversified product exports, particularly in the key markets where market access benefits are available.

The 10th Trade and Investment Working Committee of BUILD was held on 3 December 2023, where two policy papers titled “DFQF Market Access to China-Policies and Measures to Increase and Diversify Exports” and “UK’s DCTS: Policy Measures to Escalate Export to the UK” were presented. Ministry of Commerce (MoC) and BUILD jointly organised the meeting.

BUILD CEO Ferdaus Ara Begum reported on the progress of the 9th meeting, highlighting the implementation of eight out of 27 proposed reforms, with nine currently in progress. Acknowledging the collaborative efforts of the MoC, Local Government Division, and Register of Joint Stock Companies (RJSC), she expressed gratitude for the successful implementation of 5-year trade licences, Export and Import licences and the initiation of online Trade Licence services and information dissemination through websites of RJSC etc.

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Deputy Governor of Bangladesh Bank Abu Farah Md Nasser said that our key focus is to take proper, visible and fast actions to ensure good governance in the banking sector to address monumental challenges faced by the banking sectors due to control inflation and volatility in the foreign exchange regime and higher non-performing loans.

The Deputy Governor was speaking at the 11th Financial Sector Development Working Committee (FSDWC) Meeting organised virtually by Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) on 22 November 2023. Abu Farah Md Nasser, Deputy Governor, Bangladesh Bank (BB), and Barrister Sameer Sattar, President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), co-chaired the meeting.

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The 14th Private Sector Development Policy Coordination Committee (PSDPCC) took place at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on 14 August 2023 under the chairmanship of Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah, Principal Secretary to the PMO. The meeting discussed several policies and regulatory simplification requirements for meeting export diversification targets in the national plans and export road maps. PSDPCC is the only strategic public sector platform for private sector-related policy review, coordination, identification of investment barriers and fostering public-private cooperation.

Organized by Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) and the PMO, the meeting initially did stocktaking of the 13th PSDPCC meeting and mentioned the reforms proposed already and implemented. BUILD CEO Ferdaus Ara Begum made the keynote presentation, mentioning that out of 72 proposed reforms from the fifth to eleventh PSDPCC meetings, 37 reforms were implemented.

BUILD CEO presented three policy papers entitled “Simplification of Issuing and Renewal Process of Trade Licence”, “Simplification of the Duty-Free Import Process of Raw Materials for Partial Exporters”, and “Implementation of the Work Plan Elaborated in Relevant Policies and Export Roadmaps to Facilitate Export Diversification”. She informed the meeting that the Local Government Division has already been allowed to issue a trade licence with a tenure of 5 years. However, it is not fully implemented across the country, and she urged for an awareness campaign so that all trade licence issuers issue trade licences for five years.

While chairing the meeting, the Principal Secretary said that we would regularly review the overall investment scenario in the private sector and set out ways to improve and identify bottlenecks in private sector development to remove bottlenecks and build cooperation between public and private sectors. He instructed LGRD to investigate the issue of the trade licence so that the trade licence is renewed after five years.

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A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) and the Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research (C3ER) of BRAC University at the BRAC University on 9 August 2023.

BUILD — the first-ever national public-private dialogue (PPD) platform in Bangladesh — promotes private-sector development and creates an enabling environment for businesses. With a commitment to sustainability and green growth, BUILD undertakes various initiatives to facilitate the transition towards a low-carbon economy. C3ER is a recognised centre of excellence dedicated to conducting research, advocacy, capacity development, and knowledge management in the field of climate change and environmental issues.

BUILD and C3ER will work together in the areas of research and development, training, and dissemination of research findings and developmental initiatives. Through united endeavours, BUILD and C3ER will forge ahead to steer private sector advancement, intricately woven within the tapestry of sustainable and green growth, all encapsulated within the broader framework of climate change imperatives.

Through this MOU, both sides establish a robust framework that facilitates exchanges and collaboration between the parties in the areas of research and development, training, and dissemination of research findings and developmental initiatives. The scope of institutional cooperation shall encompass a wide range of activities, including joint research and development initiatives, collaborative fundraising efforts to support targeted research projects, and effective dissemination of research outputs to ensure policy uptake and impactful outcomes.
Dr Ainun Nishat, Adviser and Professor Emeritus, Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Research (C3ER), BRAC University, and Ferdaus Ara Begum, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD), were present at the MoU signing event.

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Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) organized a dialogue on Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) and Containing Inflationary Pressure in Bangladesh on 30 July 2023 at BUILD Conference Room. The dialogue covered new areas in the MPS for 2nd half of 2023 (H1FY24), and comparison of the inflationary situation and challenges of monetary policies and the new tool on interest rate corridor(IRC) as followed by different countries in the world.

BUILD CEO Ferdaus Ara Begum delivered a keynote highlighting the challenges of MPS and interest rate corridor and focused on ways to address inflation through different central bank tools. She further said that inflation is linked to many factors, such as the state of the economy, the level of inflation expectations, the credibility and independence of the central bank and the confidence of businesses in the business-enabling ecosystem.

Mr Mohammad Nurul Amin, former MD of NCC Bank, presented the keynote paper and said that establishing a policy of interest rate corridor as a monetary tool is a paradigm shift. In that respect, he added that the reference interest rate for bank deposit and lending rates naming SMART is a transition from monetary targeting framework to an interest rate targeting framework. He said that MPS is contractionary to contain inflation, as announced by specific policy initiatives, but fiscal measures are expansionary. He raised the point of whether we will go for a market-driven treasure rate or follow the donors’ prescription to follow IRC.

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The fourth Meeting of the 4IR&ICT Working Committee chaired by Mohammad Rezaul Karim, Managing Director of BHTPA, was held on 24 July 2023 at Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority (BHTPA). The meeting discussed the potential of Assembling Industrial robots in Bangladesh to create new job opportunities.

BUILD CEO Ferdaus Ara Begum delivered a keynote presentation on the potential of assembling industrial robots in various sectors of Bangladesh. She discussed the social and economic impacts of robot integration, including job displacement, skills development, and ethical considerations. Bangladesh can exploit global value chains by becoming an ‘assembling’ hub. The implementation of the Industrial Policy 2022 supports the importance of robot assembling, and various agencies are involved in this initiative. The policy paper recommended conducting a demand analysis for the type of robots needed, updating robotics strategies, investing in education and skills development, using robots in risky areas first, and promoting university-industry collaboration.

Dr Mehedi Anwar emphasised the need for 5G to use advanced technology effectively. Mr Syed Tamjidur Rahman stressed collaborative activities and knowledge sharing in the technology sector. Dr Shamim Ahmed Dewan highlighted the importance of aligning demand with assembling robotics and developing a skilled workforce. BIDA Director Golam Mohammed Bhuiyan acknowledged robotics as a potential investment sector, while Mr Enamul Hafiz Latifee from BASIS discussed the increasing demand for robots in certain industries and the need for tax incentives. Mr Masum Billah supported using CSR funding for academic research. Several officials from different organizations were present and shared their views on the occasion.

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The 4th Logistics Infrastructure Development Working Committee (LIDWC) occurred at the Prime Minister’s Office on June 19, 2023. The meeting was co-chaired by Mohammad Salahuddin, Secretary PMO, and Abul Kasem Khan, Former Chairperson of BUILD. Nihad Kabir, Chairperson of BUILD, attended the meeting and spoke.

BUILD CEO Ara Begum presented the committee’s comprehensive plan of activities for the next year, 2023-24. The committee will work extensively in coordination with the National Logistics Development Coordination Committee (NLDCC) formed in the PMO and its five sub-committees.
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Speakers urged to simplify the existing policy framework for the logistics sector to achieve national growth targets and strengthen trade and investment capacity to reduce business costs. Bangladesh cannot be behind while other South and Southeast Asian countries are taking the lead in extending logistics support and already have set out policies and strategies.
The committee stressed reducing logistics costs, setting out a plan correctly, and acting accordingly to reduce expenses gradually. LIDWC will extend all possible assistance to NLDCC and its sub-committees to ensure a holistic logistics sector. Development partners may come forward to provide financial support to implement the work plan of LIDWC, where BUILD can coordinate with other relevant agencies.

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The 4th Sustainability and Green Growth Working Committee (SGGWC) took place on 21 May 2023 at the MOEFCC Conference Room. The meeting was presided over by Dr Farhina Ahmed, Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of Bangladesh.

MOEFCC Secretary emphasised controlling the use of plastics in packaging, consumer goods and textiles, and in other sectors and said it could not be controlled since it has demand on consumers’ end. “To control it, we need biobased and biodegradable packaging solutions as alternatives to conventional plastics,” she added.

“We encourage the private sector to establish their businesses not impacting the environment and biodiversity at any cost, and environmental responsibilities come ahead of business,” she said. “Environmental issues should be the built-in cost for industries and businesses; environmental governance is essential in that respect. We are addressing global concerns, but first, we need to prioritise our local concerns, and local incentivisation is more important than global incentivisation.” Referring to water scarcity in the coastal area, she cited examples of how people in coastal regions are facing environmental challenges. “We cannot jump into de-carbonisation in one go, and we need to conduct the rational exercise as we are currently in a transition, and our main agenda is to boost the economy, and once we are graduated, we can consider it,” she said.

“We can work to improve the understanding of the private sector around these materials and clarify how we can develop green industries to ensure genuine environmental benefits,” she further added. She asked for a list of good and bad performers so that bad performers might be phased out as good performers improved.

At the beginning of the meeting, BUILD CEO Ferdaus Ara Begum updated the meeting with the progress achieved in the implementation of decisions of the Sustainability and Green Growth Working Committee, and she informed about the formation of two committees on circular economy and recycling and green growth, MOEFCC pointed that DOE could start working in that respect.

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Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) is profoundly shocked and saddened at the passing of its former Trustee Board Member and former President of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka (MCCI) Rokia Afzal Rahman(Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un). She was one of the fundamental driving forces of women’s entrepreneurial development in particular and the economic development of Bangladesh in general. She was a renowned woman entrepreneur and served as the advisor to the former caretaker government.

Trustee Board Members, Management and Staff of BUILD deeply mourn and express deep shock and sorrow to the family of Ms Rahman. Her sincere contribution to the nation will always be remembered with great admiration and much gratitude.

We share our profound respect and condolences, and we will recall her massive contribution to trade and commerce, employment generation, industrialization, entrepreneurship and social development with fondness. She was instrumental in developing the country’s business, trade and economy. Her dedication and commitment to the development of the private sector were truly inspirational and unique. May her institutional legacy last forever.

We recall her active engagement as the President of MCCI in establishing Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD), a public-private dialogue platform, on 17 October 2011. BUILD gratefully acknowledges her contribution towards ensuring its sustainability.

We convey our sincere condolences to her family members and near ones. We pray to Almighty Allah to grant him eternal peace and give strength to the family to bear this irreparable loss.

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