Doing Business Index is a strong pointer to a country's business environment. When governments in most countries are trying to facilitate trade and commerce by slashing trade impeding barriers, it is unfortunate that businesses in this country are still burdened with the most unlikely hurdles and there is nothing in sight to redress their complaints in the foreseeable future. There is another parameter in the name and style of Business Confidence which, reliant on how business people view the prospect of running business, attempts to present a picture of business atmosphere in a country at a particular time. While these are important indicators to have an idea about the state of business in a country at a given time -- especially for stakeholders within a country including the government, they play an important, at times decisive role in attracting or discouraging investors, depending on whether the situation is good or bad. While in case of the former, country ranking is considered important, in the latter the methodology being sample survey based, is country-specific -- conducted by think tanks.
However, the fact remains that the ranking and a certain upward movement in any of these parameters do not actually lend a concrete picture to make one complacent. Still, every time the survey findings are released (no matter whether Bangladesh has moved a few notches up or gone down), they emerge as big news stories. And the irony here is that a slight upward movement appears to be a respite, although no visible improvement may be noticed in the business climate.
The survey results are based on the facilitations available in countries, reforms done or the level of achievement by countries on various indicators such as starting a business, tax payment, property registration, availability of electricity and other services, access to credit etc. It is basically through tracking the strengths or weaknesses of these factors that every year the World Bank's Doing Business Report examines the situation of local entrepreneurs in starting and running small to medium-size businesses while complying with relevant government regulations in their respective countries. Similar other parameters, though not measured in the same way, are applied for determining business confidence ranking. This business confidence indicator provides information on future developments, based on opinion surveys on developments in production, orders and stocks of finished goods in the industry sector. It can be used to monitor output growth and to anticipate turning points in economic activity.
Evidently, Bangladesh has not yet fared well in any of the indicators. Of course, questions are often raised from analysts as to the nature and scope of such surveys and the implications they carry for trade, commerce and investment. Obviously, the survey results reflect both motivations and impeding factors affecting business operations that may, for the most part, originate from political environment prevailing at a given time, overall economic conditions, financial and fiscal measures, stimulus for investment or the lack of it and so on.
Even if we do not follow the survey result, albeit religiously, it is hardly contentious that business environment in the country is far from healthy. This is manifestly clear in many findings. According to a report released some time ago, starting a business in Bangladesh requires nine procedures, takes 19.5 days and costs 13.9 per cent of income per capita, according to the report. South Asia on an average needs 7.9 procedures, 15.7 days and 14 per cent of income per capita for starting a business. Bangladesh ranks one of the lowest (185) in registering property in the sub-region. It requires eight procedures, 244 days and costs 7.0 per cent of the property value for registration. As for the implementation of reforms committed by the government, the report found that six of the eight economies in South Asia have implemented nine reforms in the past year, compared with six reforms in four economies the previous year. India, the region's largest economy, which has a global ranking of 130, implemented two reforms last year.
There is no dispute that deteriorating business climate is injurious to the confidence level of the entrepreneurs, especially fresh investors. Business communities as well as major think tanks of the country have warned that the biggest challenge facing the government is to restore business confidence in order to reinstate the economy on a sound track. Obviously, this among others, calls for creation of a congenial environment for investment-a pivotal factor to trigger a desired momentum in economic activities. With the Covid-19 apparently not so brutal on the economy, its multifaceted impact is starkly noticeable in manufacturing and many agro- and farm-based industries. Energising businesses is thus the main task of the government at this time. The job is no doubt challenging, for once the confidence rib gets dented, it leaves its impact felt in various shapes and forms.
While the immediate casualty is investment, declining business confidence reflects itself in almost all forms of business operations, especially manufacturing and services. It is often said that entrepreneurs are not attracted by financial incentives alone, and that it is the sound economic policies, favourable business environment and stable political climate that are more motivational.
It is in this context that the government has a key role to play. Being innovative and proactive in devising policies and programmes to energise businesses helped by close interaction with all stakeholders will hopefully remove much of the unease adversely affecting business undertakings.
