The Bangladesh Bank’s move to enforce IMF (International Monetary Fund) prescription for a contractionary monetary policy in order to tame inflation might have a negative impact on investment, cautioned Latifur Rahman, vice president of the International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh (ICC-B), inaugurating a workshop in Dhaka yesterday.

Terming the existing interest rates much higher compared to those in the neighbouring countries, he said it is making Bangladesh’s position more vulnerable in a competitive market place. Rahman also urged the government to reduce the bank rate and take action for encouraging higher capacity utilisation and investment.

As the absence of any institution for settlement of international trade disputes was pointed out at the workshop, Latifur Rahman, also president of the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), Dhaka, made an assurance that the ICC-B is working on establishing such an organisation. The workshop on Understanding the UCP 600 was jointly organised by ICC-B and German Technical Cooperation (GTZ)) at the Bangladesh China Friendship Conference Center.

Anwar-ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez , president of BGMEA (Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association), Fazlul Hoque, president of BKMEA (Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association), Dietrich Stotz, program coordinator of GTZ and Vincent O’ Brien, an international trade and finance expert, also spoke on the occasion.

Latifur Rahman emphasised proper training for equipping bank officials, financial institutions and other stakeholders with products knowledge, contract and documentation to cope with recent rules of international trade. Bankers with sufficient knowledge and expertise can help the buyers and sellers in advance before entering into an agreement, he added.

Pointing to the fact that international buyers want banks here to follow more user-friendly rules, Anwar-ul-Alam Chowdhury Parvez hoped that the workshop would help make the commercial executives in the RMG sector aware of all latest international trade rules to compete in an era of globalisation.