According to a survey conducted by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), corruption has retained its status as the primary challenge for businesses in 2023, a trend consistent with previous years.
Additionally, the inadequate supply of energy emerges as the most significant risk to the nation’s economy in the next two years, based on respondents’ perspectives.
Approximately 67.6 per cent of survey participants expressed concern about the pervasive levels of corruption.
Khondaker Golam Moazzem, the research director at CPD, highlighted that the absence of effective measures to combat corruption, coupled with a lack of transparency and accountability in public agencies, is contributing to a weakened business environment.
Moazzem conveyed these findings during a briefing titled Bangladesh Business Environment 2023 at the CPD office in Dhaka, presenting insights from the Executive Opinion Survey conducted between May and July 2023.
The survey, encompassing 71 senior officials from small, medium, and large companies across various sectors, identified inefficient Government bureaucracy as the second most prevalent problematic factor, cited by 54.9 per cent of respondents.
Foreign currency instability claimed the third spot, with 46.5 per cent expressing concerns.
Interestingly, foreign currency instability and inflation, previously ranking lower among problematic factors, have surged into the top five hurdles over the past two years.
Conversely, the perception of inadequate infrastructure, a consistent concern over the prior two years, showed a marginal improvement, securing the fourth position among problematic factors.
