Children are dying due to lack of treatment, it is disheartening: Mahbub ur Rahman

At a roundtable discussion organised by Prothom Alo, Mahbub ur Rahman, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HSBC Bangladesh, said, “As a citizen of Bangladesh, I feel deeply saddened when I see young children dying due to a lack of medical treatment. For this reason, the next national budget must place special emphasis on the education and healthcare sectors.”

Mahbub ur Rahman made these remarks today, Thursday, during a roundtable discussion titled “Budget in times of crisis and public expectations”, organised by Prothom Alo.

The discussion is taking place at a hotel in the capital. Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, minister for Finance and Planning, attended the event as the chief guest.

Mahbub ur Rahman said, “We must increase our foreign currency reserves. We can achieve this through offshore banking. India offers tax exemptions for 10 years. We should also consider similar tax incentives. We have already seen the consequences of a shortage of US dollars. Therefore, we must take initiatives to increase the inflow of dollars.”

The CEO of HSBC Bangladesh further said, “We need to strengthen our relations with Middle Eastern countries. These countries have opportunities to invest in Bangladesh, and we must prepare ourselves to attract such investment.”

Mahbub ur Rahman added, “We must diversify our exports. Otherwise, exports will face obstacles. Apart from export earnings and remittances, we have very limited opportunities to earn foreign currency. Foreign investment remains low. The country’s credit rating has deteriorated, which will increase import costs. We need to pay special attention to this issue.”

Referring to Bangladesh’s family-owned businesses, Mahbub ur Rahman said they had built substantial assets but lacked liquidity.

According to him, most of these businesses operate through borrowing, making interest rates on loans an increasingly important issue for them.