Findings reveal firms crippled by bribery, complex tax laws

The country’s business climate is weighed down by a deep shadow of uncertainty, economist Hossain Zillur Rahman said yesterday, warning that the stagnation is slowing economic progress.

Citing media reports, she said the move is expected to increase public expenditure by nearly Tk 7,000 crore

Progress in women empowerment is plateauing or reversing in key areas, found a recent analysis by the Centre for Policy Dialogue.

CPD estimated that around 50 percent of this amount has been lost to corporate tax evasion.

Restoring macroeconomic stability should be the top priority for policymakers amid a challenging environment for the interim government, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) wrote in its budget recommendations yesterday.

The caution comes as consumer prices, despite easing in the last two months, have stayed over 9 percent for the 24th month in a row

“Steps taken by the government so far failed to bring down prices of essential commodities,” said CPD Executive Director Fahmida Khatun

All the reform commissions that have been set up might not be able to rid the country of crony capitalism without wholesale structural reforms, said Rehman Sobhan, chairman of the Centre for Policy Dialogue.

More than 16 percent of Bangladeshi businesses identified corruption as the biggest obstacle to their operations, according to a survey conducted between April and July of this year.

Around 17% of businesses identified corruption as biggest challenge, according to a CPD survey 

The think-tank suggested adopting a short-term build-operate-transfer model to address infrastructure issues 

The study highlighted that the damage represents 1.81 percent of the national budget for fiscal year (FY) 2024-25

The Centre for Policy Dialogue yesterday urged the interim government to phase out all inefficient power plants as early as possible.

Several banks in Bangladesh are clinically dead but are being kept alive through bailouts, said Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

The suggestion comes after Sundarbans’ honey was displayed as a GI product of India

The budget for the next fiscal year may not be able to end the chronic gas shortage, cut import reliance and guarantee credible supply of electricity as it has fallen short of taking up sufficient measures needed to ensure energy sustainability, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) said yesterday.

People in Bangladesh have been forced to spend more on food compared to consumers in other countries, and the prices of essentials have surged to such an extent that they have become luxury items for many, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) said yesterday.

The government is not moving at full throttle in bringing discipline to the banking sector, implementing reforms wholeheartedly, taking measures against syndication, and bringing money launderers under the rule of law, said a top economist.

Prices of various essential items have gone up to the extent that they seem luxury goods for many people, particularly poor and vulnerable people, said the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) today.