Improving Regulatory Service Delivery
Bangladesh has set up an ambitious target of attaining middle-income status by 2021. To achieve this objective, the economy needs to grow at a sustained rate of 7.5-8 percent annually and this would in turn require an increase in private investment...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2018
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/464751537421359302/Bangladesh-Policy-Note-Improving-Regulatory-Service-Delivery http://hdl.handle.net/10986/30556 |
| Summary: | Bangladesh has set up an ambitious
target of attaining middle-income status by 2021. To achieve
this objective, the economy needs to grow at a sustained
rate of 7.5-8 percent annually and this would in turn
require an increase in private investment to at least 26.6
percent of GDP from 22 percent in 2016-17. Despite the fact
that the government has implemented several policy reforms
since 2008, investors still face a number of challenges in
establishing and operating a business in Bangladesh. This is
reflected in the World Bank Group’s Doing Business report,
which finds that Bangladesh ranks 177th amongst 190
countries, making it one of the lowest-ranked economies in
the South Asia region. Businesses seeking to operate in
Bangladesh have to cope with multiple approvals from several
institutions and agencies. A potential private investor has
to navigate more than 150 government services to obtain the
necessary approvals to start and operate a business in
Bangladesh. The processes are regulated by over 36 agencies
such as the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority
(BIDA), Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and
Firms (RJSC) and the Department of Environment (DoE), with
little inter-agency coordination. Navigating the
uncoordinated, non-transparent and cumbersome workings of
the agencies imposes a high cost on domestic and foreign
investors. In addition, the uncertainty and unpredictability
of service delivery hampers business activities and
operational planning. These challenges affect Bangladesh’s
competitiveness and reputation as an investment destination. |
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