Corruption biggest barrier to doing business: CPD

Corruption remains the biggest barrier to doing business for majority of enterprises in the country in addition to other major problematic factors that include inadequate infrastructure, limited access to finance and inefficient bureaucracy, according to a survey by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

The study said new emerging factors including inflation, foreign currency instability and policy instability multiplied the challenges to doing business. A number of emergent global economic, social, technological and environmental risks need to be taken into account by Bangladesh at least in the medium term.

CPD research director Khondaker Golam Moazzem presented the report titled "Bangladesh Business Environment 2022: Findings from the Executive Opinion Survey" at its Dhanmondi office on Sunday. CPD executive director Fahmida Khatun was present at the event.

CPD conducted the survey on 74 senior officials of different private companies in agriculture, manufacturing and service sectors in Dhaka, Chattogram, Narayanganj and Gazipur from April to July 2022. Hence, this survey does not represent scenario of the entire country.

As many as 64.6 per cent of respondents cited corruption as the biggest barrier to doing business while 64 per cent of the respondents said corruption is rampant in tax payment, 54 per cent in securing business licence, and 75 per cent of the respondents said corruption took place in export-import trade.

The study found out other most problematic factors for doing business. These are inadequate infrastructure (44.6 per cent), limited access to financing (43.1 per cent), inefficient government bureaucracy (43.1 per cent), inflation (38.5 per cent) foreign currency instability(38.5 per cent), policy instability (35.4 per cent), complexity of tax regulations (26.2 per cent), high tax rates (24.6 per cent), poor work ethic in the labour force (16.9 per cent), inadequacy educated labour force (16.9 per cent), government instability (16.9 per cent), crime and theft (16.9 per cent), poor public health (15.4 per cent), insufficient capacity to innovate (15.4 per cent) and restrictive labour regulations (10.8 per cent).

Addressing the event, Fahmida Khatun said corruption increases production cost and product price. People bear the burden of this additional price and corruption at various levels is causing damage to business environment and economy, she added.