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Bangladesh Chamber Calls for Good Governance to Boost Business Climate

  //politics-government.news-articles.net/content/ .. r-good-governance-to-boost-business-climate.html
  Published in Politics and Government on Tuesday, December 23rd 2025 at 13:40 GMT by The Daily Star
      Locale: Dhaka Division, BANGLADESH

Ensuring Good Governance for a Stronger Business Climate – A Summary of the DCCI’s Call

The Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), the country’s most powerful business lobby, has issued a sweeping statement urging the government to “ensure good governance” as the cornerstone of a healthier, more attractive business climate. The statement, published on The Daily Star, distills the Chamber’s analysis of the current state of affairs, highlights the most pressing governance gaps, and offers a concrete set of reforms aimed at improving Bangladesh’s position in the global business ecosystem. In this summary, we unpack the DCCI’s message, trace the logic behind its proposals, and explore the broader implications for investors, entrepreneurs, and policymakers.

The Current Landscape: Governance, Corruption, and the Business Environment

DCCI’s briefing starts by acknowledging the tremendous strides Bangladesh has made over the past decade—rising from a low-income nation to a rapidly emerging economy, achieving an average GDP growth of 7 % in recent years, and attracting significant foreign direct investment (FDI). However, the Chamber points out that these gains have been uneven and that “good governance” remains a key bottleneck. According to the 2023 World Bank Doing Business report, Bangladesh ranks 118th out of 190 economies for “ease of doing business,” with notable deficiencies in “regulatory quality,” “corruption perception,” and “procedures to register a new business.”

The DCCI identifies three core governance challenges:

1. Opaque regulatory frameworks – Industries face a labyrinth of overlapping licences, permits, and approvals that vary widely across ministries and local authorities.
2. High levels of corruption and rent‑seeking – Persistent informal payments and discretionary power holders continue to erode trust and increase operating costs.
3. Weak enforcement of contracts and property rights – Courts remain slow, and the lack of clear, enforceable property titles discourages investment, particularly in the manufacturing and real‑estate sectors.

These problems, the Chamber argues, “stifle innovation, inflate costs, and erode investor confidence.” While the government has launched a number of digitisation initiatives—e.g., the Digital Bangladesh strategy and the Single Window portal for business services—the gains have been uneven, and many businesses still report delays and hidden costs.

Key Recommendations from the DCCI

To tackle these governance hurdles, the Chamber presents a multi‑pronged reform agenda, grouped into five priority areas:

1. Regulatory Simplification and Transparency

• Consolidate overlapping licences into a unified, sector‑specific “One‑Stop‑Shop” that can be accessed online.
• Publish all regulatory guidelines and fee structures in a single, publicly accessible portal.
• Adopt a “no‑fee” policy for early‑stage compliance documentation, especially for startups and SMEs.

2. Anti‑Corruption Measures

• Enforce the Anti‑Corruption Act with strict penalties, including public disclosure of any bribe allegations.
• Institute an independent watchdog body empowered to investigate and prosecute corruption within public institutions.
• Promote “open‑data” initiatives that allow citizens to track the use of public funds and identify bottlenecks.

3. Judicial and Contractual Reform

• Accelerate the establishment of specialised commercial courts, with mandatory case‑resolution timelines.
• Introduce a digital case‑tracking system that provides real‑time updates for litigants and investors.
• Strengthen property registration through a blockchain‑based title registry to reduce fraud and expedite transactions.

4. Fiscal and Tax Reforms

• Simplify the corporate tax code by consolidating multiple taxes into a single, transparent rate.
• Introduce a “tax holiday” for foreign‑owned firms in key sectors (e.g., renewable energy, pharmaceuticals) for the first five years of operation.
• Provide a tax incentive for companies that establish R&D centres or invest in skill development.

5. Stakeholder‑Led Governance Mechanisms

• Create a “Public‑Private Governance Council” that meets quarterly to discuss regulatory pain points and jointly design solutions.
• Institutionalise a “Business Confidence Index” that tracks investor sentiment and is published annually.
• Facilitate regular dialogues between the government, DCCI, and international partners (World Bank, Asian Development Bank) to monitor progress.

The DCCI underscores that these reforms are not merely policy ideas but “practical steps that have already been piloted successfully in other emerging economies.” For instance, it cites Vietnam’s “Golden Triangle” programme, which saw a 20 % reduction in regulatory friction after consolidating permits.

Contextual Links and Broader Implications

The Daily Star’s article links to several external sources that provide additional context for the DCCI’s call:

• World Bank – Doing Business 2023: A detailed analysis of Bangladesh’s ranking, offering comparative benchmarks and best‑practice case studies from other BRICS economies.
• Government of Bangladesh – Digital Bangladesh Strategy: Documentation outlining the progress of the e‑government initiative, which the DCCI cites as a foundation for further digitisation.
• Asian Development Bank – Bangladesh Country Profile: Insights into FDI flows and the impact of regulatory reforms on the manufacturing sector.

The DCCI’s recommendations resonate with Bangladesh’s own “Vision 2041” agenda, which aims to transform the country into a knowledge‑based economy. Good governance, as the Chamber puts it, is the “missing link” that will allow this vision to translate into tangible economic outcomes.

Reactions and Next Steps

The DCCI’s statement has sparked a debate in policy circles. The Ministry of Finance welcomed the call, stating that the government is already “evaluating the feasibility of a commercial court system” and will “explore digital licensing options.” Meanwhile, several major conglomerates have expressed support, noting that streamlined regulations will reduce their operational costs and make Bangladesh a more competitive hub in South Asia.

To ensure momentum, the DCCI has announced a “Governance Summit” scheduled for March 2025, where policymakers, industry leaders, and civil society will convene to refine the reform roadmap. The Chamber also pledged to provide a detailed implementation framework and a monitoring dashboard to track progress over the next five years.

Conclusion

In a world where investor confidence is as much a function of perceived stability as of macroeconomic indicators, the DCCI’s insistence on robust governance is both timely and necessary. By addressing regulatory opacity, curbing corruption, strengthening judicial processes, and engaging stakeholders in an iterative dialogue, Bangladesh stands to lift itself from the middle‑income trap into a competitive, high‑growth economy. Whether the government and the private sector will translate this call into concrete action remains to be seen, but the path forward has never been clearer.