Framing a Comprehensive Policy to Spur Industrialisation

Abstract

Bangladesh adopted free market economy in late 80s. Opening up its market to foreign investment the government is trying to assist the private sector in playing a vital role in industrialisation and employment generation with a view to alleviating poverty. The government and the private sector worked hand in hand in promoting export-oriented readymade garment (RMG) units and it became the largest foreign currency earning sector of the country. The government allowed back-to-back letter of credit (LC), bonded warehouse facility and many more to assist the garment factory owners. But after three decades of the RMG sector's inception none of the other sectors is coming forward to back it. Experts forecast few sectors were awaiting takeoff during the last decade. For example, we have export potential of our leather goods sector, ceramics products, pharmaceuticals, shipbuilding, jute goods, home textiles, agro-processed products, information and communication technology (ICT), light engineering products, frozen food, handicrafts etc. Bangladesh has a domestic market of about 160.4 million (16.04 crore) people and the easy access to two largest markets of the world-India with 1.27 billion people and China with 1.36 billion people. Bangladesh has free trade agreements with India through SAFTA, BIMSTEC and negotiating more free trade agreements with India and China under the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA). India is offering duty-free market access to a long list of Bangladeshi products as a least developed country (LDC). With economic development the local people's purchasing power is also increasing in the domestic market. Therefore, Bangladesh has every potential to be an industrialised country, if a comprehensive legal framework is developed.