Speakers at a programme on Wednesday said the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) should coordinate more with its stakeholders to do better in the Ease of Doing Business ranking.
They also said that apart from fixing problems related to the 10 indicators of Ease of Doing Business, other barriers to business should be addressed to create an investment-friendly atmosphere in the country.
The suggestions came at a workshop on the Ease of Doing Business organised by BIDA at BIAM auditorium in the city's New Eskaton.
The workshop primarily discussed three components of the Ease of Doing Business -- starting a business, dealing with construction permit, and registering property -- and reforms were done in the areas, and way forward.
BIDA Executive Chairman Md Sirazul Islam addressed the programme as the chief guest.
Additional secretary of the land ministry Muhammad Salehuddin, additional secretary of the Power Division Abul Khair Md Aminur Rahman, member of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) Md Shafi Ul Haque, Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) Vice-President (finance) Md Shohel Rana, among others, spoke at the event.
During his speech, BIDA Executive Chairman Sirazul Islam said Bangladesh was ranked 168, jumping eight notches, out of 190 countries in the EoD index-2019 prepared by the World Bank Group - the performance was not that much promising.
"Now we are working to enter within the top 100, and in this regard, BIDA has taken different reform programmes," he said.
He said, "To do well in the index, BIDA has been working on the 10 indicators of the index, recommending reforms in rules and regulations of different state bodies to fix the problems in setting up businesses."
"However, there are many business components which don't come under the 10 indicators of the Ease of Doing Business but very important for facilitating businesses.
Businesses that respond to WB survey before preparing the Ease of Doing Business, focus more on other conditions unrelated to the 10 indicators, which as a result don't reflect the country's efforts in easing business," he said.
Hoping collaboration from the private sector, BIDA executive chairman said the government's efforts in easing business should be evaluated from a holistic approach than a narrow focus.
Referring to one-stop service (OSS) facility launched by BIDA, REHAB vice-president said, "We hoped that starting a business would be easy after the OSS is launched but it hasn't yet added that much value at the expected level."
Property or land registration process is still very complex and takes too much time, he said, adding that more cooperation among state bodies is needed to reduce 'harassment' of entrepreneurs.
He also urged BIDA to bring Dhaka WASA under the OSS platform like DESA and DESCO.
