Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury has underlined that Bangladesh must focus on attracting investment rather than printing money to move from a debt-driven economy to a growth-led model.
Speaking on Wednesday at the Revenue Building in Agargaon, Dhaka, after a meeting with the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Chowdhury said investment—both domestic and foreign—is essential to generate employment and strengthen the economy.
Addressing questions on the country’s low tax-to-GDP ratio and concerns over GDP size, the minister said the two are interlinked.
“The size of the GDP and the tax-to-GDP ratio are closely linked. If we cannot strengthen the economy, it will be difficult to increase the tax-to-GDP ratio in the long run.
Our goal is to move from a debt-driven economy to an investment-led economy,” he said, stressing that policy stability is critical to building investor confidence.
“We do not want to print money. We must attract investment—both domestic and foreign—and generate employment through it,” he added.
Amir Khosru also mentions the budget will be prepared with this in mind, so that investors can have confidence in Bangladesh.
He said “Our major challenge is that we cannot maintain policies over the long term. When policies change, it sends the wrong signal to investors. We want policies to remain stable for a defined period, allowing investors to plan and make investments”
“Without this confidence, no one will invest—neither domestic nor foreign. We are reviewing these matters. It is still a work in progress” he added.
When asked about progress in investigating tax evasion by large companies, the finance minister said everything is under review.
On the question of splitting the NBR into two, he said it is also under discussion.
Regarding any updates on LDC graduation, he said “The process is ongoing. It will go to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and from there to the General Assembly. Let’s see what happens.”
When asked about the Prime Minister sending a letter UN general secretary requesting a three-year extension regarding LDC graduation, Khosru said “It will now go to ECOSOC, and from there, if approved, to the General Assembly. Let’s see what happens. The process is ongoing. The process is ongoing.”
About revenue collection in the upcoming budget, the minister said “What I have been doing all this time is thinking about revenue collection. While collecting revenue, we must consider women in Bangladesh, small businesses, investment, and, most importantly, employment. We want to prepare a budget that addresses all these issues.”
