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DIPLOMATS SHOULD WORK TO FLOURISH BUSINESS
Industrial policy needs correction: Kaiser
M. Shamsul Huda
The country's industrial sector faces various problems because of the existing incorrect policy which encourages import. Without policy support from the financial institutions local industry will not be able to compete with foreign finished products that are allowed to import liberally. So a correct policy should be formulated with active participation of entrepreneurs, bureaucrats and specialists in this field, said Aziz Al Kaiser, vice-chairman of the Partex Group, a leading business conglomerate in the country.
He expected that this year may be for Bangladesh as the economy is recovering from stagnation of global recessionary impact and is likely to step towards stability and better performance in international trade with the help of strong backward and forward linkage industries.
Kaiser said, financing industries both by the state-owned commercial and private banks in a coordinated way can also increase trade performance. The steps that the central bank has taken are satisfactory but they require proper strategy to finance the private sector business. Despite some developments of finance and monetary policies in the recent years, a lot of obstacles still exist in trade and investment that is not up to the mark in doing business, he said.
Only lending money is not enough, he stated adding that along with availability of financial support, infrastructural elements like gas, power, information and communication technology and transport networks must be ensured. Policies should be in favour of to upgrade technology and business strategy by removing hazards and tangles at different tiers of the government in the long run.
A reach research cell is yet to establish that would collect world market data and provide to the business people. Strong backward linkage must be the first priority by the government. Correct policies can enable entrepreneurs to borrow money from banks, do hassle-free business and pay back the money in a favourable environment, he said.
Our infrastructure is weaker than many Asian countries. So this is vital to expand with a clear vision. Along with the present fragile infrastructure it is necessary to upgrade it.
The government's recent declaration to relocate the Kamalapur Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Gazipur from Dhaka is in no doubt a good step. It will reduce traffic and the lands of ICD could be used for office purpose in a planned way. The railway station also should be relocated, he said adding that if it is done, existing traffic would be eased and smooth in the capital.
Bangladesh being a Least Developed Country (LDC) is getting some facilities from the World Trade Organization (WTO) particularly in export of RMG products and in manufacturing pharmaceuticals products. By utilizing such facilities Bangladesh should develop its economy and upgrade its status from LDC to developing country status with strong gross domestic product rate, export, technological advancement and overall infrastructural development within the country and beyond borders, Kaiser, said. After 2015 WTO would not allow Bangladesh to enjoy the present facilities that they are providing now.
Indian diplomats
"We can change our status and surprise the world by developing a strong economy. Our diplomats working in many countries can play the vital role in this regard. Entrepreneurs do not get necessary information support from them in overseas dealings".
Indian diplomats are just reverse. They work for their business people and help them in providing data and necessary information. Bangladesh's diplomats can help to spur business growth and support the exporters to enter in new markets with new products. Except RMG a lot of locally manufactured products are capable to compete with other country products in pricing and quality. But due to proper diplomatic supports local manufacturers are not capable to brand their products in the global market, he said. They must be active in their duty to brand Bangladesh and its qualitative products by following the Indian diplomats, he urged.
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Will China rule the world?
Dani Rodrik
Thirty years ago, China had a tiny footprint on the global economy and little influence outside its borders, save for a few countries with which it had close political and military relationships. Today, the country is a remarkable economic power: The world's manufacturing workshop, its foremost financier, a leading investor across the globe from Africa to Latin America, and, increasingly, a major source of research and development.
The Chinese government sits atop an astonishing level of foreign reserves - greater than $2 trillion. There is not a single business anywhere in the world that has not felt China's impact, either as a low-cost supplier, or more threateningly, as a formidable competitor.
China is still a poor country. Although average incomes have risen very rapidly in recent decades, they still stand at between one-seventh and one-eighth the levels in the US - lower than in Turkey or Colombia and not much higher than in El Salvador or Egypt. While coastal China and its major metropolises evince tremendous wealth, large swaths of western China remain mired in poverty. Nevertheless, China's economy is projected to surpass that of the US in size sometime in the next two decades.
US: A diminished giant
Meanwhile, the US, the world's sole economic hyper-power until recently, remains a diminished giant. It stands humbled by its foreign-policy blunders and a massive financial crisis. Its credibility after the disastrous invasion of Iraq is at an all-time low, notwithstanding the global sympathy for President Barack Obama, and its economic model is in tatters. The once-almighty dollar totters at the mercy of China and the oil-rich states.
All of which raises the question of whether China will eventually replace the US as the world's hegemon, the global economy's rule setter and enforcer. In a fascinating new book, revealingly titled 'When China Rules the World', the British scholar and journalist Martin Jacques is unequivocal: If you think China will be integrated smoothly into a liberal, capitalist, and democratic world system, Jacques argues, you are in for a big surprise. Not only is China the next economic superpower, but the world order that it will construct will look very different from what we have had under American leadership.
Americans and Europeans blithely assume that China will become more like them as its economy develops and its population gets richer. This is a mirage, Jacques says. The Chinese and their government are wedded to a different conception of society and polity: Community-based rather than individualist, state-centric rather than liberal, authoritarian rather than democratic. China has 2,000 years of history as a distinct civilisation from which to draw strength. It will not simply fold under western values and institutions.
A world order centred on China will reflect Chinese values rather than western ones, Jacques argues. Beijing will overshadow New York, the renminbi will replace the dollar, Mandarin will take over from English, and schoolchildren around the world will learn about Zheng He's voyages of discovery along the Eastern coast of Africa rather than about Vasco de Gama or Christopher Columbus.
Gone will be the evangelism of markets and democracy. China is much less likely to interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign states. But, in return, it will demand that smaller, less powerful states explicitly recognise China's primacy (just as in the tributary systems of old).
Before any of this comes to pass, however, China will have to continue its rapid economic growth and maintain its social cohesion and political unity. None of this is guaranteed. Beneath China's powerful economic dynamo lie deep tensions, inequalities, and cleavages that could well derail a smooth progression to global hegemony. Throughout its long history, centrifugal forces have often pushed the country into disarray and disintegration.
National sovereignty
China's stability hinges critically on its government's ability to deliver steady economic gains to the vast majority of the population. China is the only country in the world where anything less than 8 per cent growth year after year is believed to be dangerous because it would unleash social unrest. Most of the rest of the world only dreams about growth at that rate, which speaks volumes about the underlying fragility of the Chinese system.
The authoritarian nature of the political regime is at the core of this fragility. It allows only repression when the government faces protests and opposition outside the established channels.
The trouble is that it will become increasingly difficult for China to maintain the kind of growth that it has experienced in recent years. China's growth currently relies on an undervalued currency and a huge trade surplus. This is unsustainable, and sooner or later it will precipitate a major confrontation with the US (and Europe). There are no easy ways out of this dilemma. China will likely have to settle for lower growth.
If China surmounts these hurdles and does eventually become the world's predominant economic power, globalisation will, indeed, take on Chinese characteristics. Democracy and human rights will then likely lose their lustre as global norms. That is the bad news.
The good news is that a Chinese global order will display greater respect for national sovereignty and more tolerance for national diversity. There will be greater room for experimentation with different economic models.
The author is the first recipient of the Social Science Research Council's Albert O Hirschman Prize. His latest book is One Economics, Many Recipes: Globalisation, Institutions, and Economic Growth.
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Lafarge Surma donates blankets among cold-hit people at Chhatak
Holiday Report
As a part of its corporate social responsibility, Lafarge Surma Cement Ltd. (LSC) distributed blankets at among the cold-affected and disadvantaged people in Chhatak in Sinamganj recently. The company plans to distribute a total of 2,000 blankets from three different locations in the country namely Chhatak, Kutubpur and Dhaka within the next few days.
Mike Cowell, Managing Director, Chang Jae Song, plant manager and other officials of LSC along with UNO of Chhatak Mr. Motiul Islam Chowdhury and Assistant Commissioner (Land) of Chhatak Md. Shamsul Islam participated in the distribution event.
Bangladesh's leading cement manufacturer LSC has its plant at Chhatak in Sunamganj which is the only dry process fully integrated cement plant in the country.
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AUSSIE HC VISITS KHULNA
Kleenheat gas can be used
by vehicles industries
Australian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dr. Justin Lee visited the Kleenheat Gas LPG terminal and met the members of the Khulna Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Kleenheat gas is Australia's largest investment in Bangladesh, it has built and operate the LPG terminal near Mongla port.
The High Commissioner thanked the Khulna business community and government for assistance it had given to Kleenheat Gas over the last ten years. He noted LPG was an alternative fuel that could help with Bangladesh's impending shortage of natural gas. LPG can be used for household cooking, in industry and automobiles.
Klaus Gohra, Director of Kleenheat Gas Bangladesh, said Kleenheat Gas was currently bringing 15,000 tonnes of LPG into Bangladesh each year. This could be increased quickly to help Bangladesh address shortages of natural gas supplies. He added vehicles could also be converted to LPG, and this could be made more attractive through reduction in duties on automotive conversion kits.
During his visit to Kleenheat Gas's LPG terminal at Mongla, Dr Lee was impressed by its state of the art gas bottling plant and focus on professional and safety training for staff. A safety training course is currently being conducted with the assistance of Kleenheat staff from Australia.
While in Khulna, the High Commissioner also visited Khulna Shipyards Limited, run by the Bangladesh Navy, to learn more about opportunities for collaboration in shipbuilding.
He also discussed with Shaharuzzaman Mortoza, President of the Khulna Chamber of Commerce and Industry exports from Khulna , including shrimp and jute, and opportunities for trade with Australia.
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UK intends to invest $5m in DEPZ
UK-base Company Talisman Limited is to set up a high fashion garments Industry in Dhaka Export Processing Zone (DEPZ).
This foreign owned company will invest US $ 5 million to set up the unit and will produce garments items and will create employment opportunity for 1800 Bangladeshi nationals.
An agreement to this effect was signed between the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority and the M/s. Talisman Limited in BEPZA Complex, Dhaka last week. Md. Moyjuddin Ahmed, Member (Investment Promotion) of BEPZA and M A Matin, MBE, Chairman and Managing Director of M/s. Talisman Limited signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations.
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