Trade Organizations

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industry(FBCCI)

Company Profile

Represented By

Mr. Mahbubul Alam
President

INTRODUCTION TO THE FEDERATION OF BANGLADESH CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (FBCCI) The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) is the apex trade organization of Bangladesh playing a pivotal role in consultative and advisory capacity, safeguarding the interest of the private sector. Year of Establishment: 1973 Established under : Trade Organization Ordinance, 1961 and Companies Act, 1913. Type of members : (1) Chambers of Commerce and Industry A Class Chamber B Class Chamber (2) Trade and Industrial Associations. A Class Association B Class Association (3) Joint Chamber (with Foreign Countries) Total Number of Member bodies: (1) Chambers of Commerce and Industry A Class Chamber – 60 B Class Chamber – 19 (2) Trade and Industrial Association A Class Association – 372 B Class Association – 05 (3) Joint Chamber (with Foreign Countries) – 20 Composition of Board of Directors President – 01 First Vice-President – 01 Vice-President – 01 Directors – 49 FBCCI’S BROAD OBJECTIVES AND FUNCTIONS To coordinate and promote the interest of its federating units-Chambers of Commerce, Trade and Industrial Association; To aid and stimulate investment, development of trade, commerce, industry, agriculture, tourism, human resources and communication sectors in Bangladesh; To project, encourage and safeguard the cause of the private sector through effective participation in the process of consultation and inter-action with the Government, Ministerial Consultative Committees and other inter-ministerial bodies and agencies; To assist the Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Associations in organizing of Trade and Industry Fairs in different parts of Bangladesh; To collect and disseminate statistical and other information for advancement of trade and industry; To make efforts for the spread of commercial, technical and economic knowledge for promotion of commercial, technical, industrial and scientific education in the country; To study and undertake research for promotion and growth of trade and industry; FBCCI is involved in forging strong bilateral ties between and among different countries of the world through counterpart organizations for commercial and economic cooperation. It helps promote Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) including Joint Ventures in Bangladesh and identify appropriate partners; It maintains close relation with Overseas National Chambers of Commerce and other Trade and Industrial Associations including related economic organization; The FBCCI as the Apex Trade Organization plays the pivotal role in consultative and advisory capacity in formulation of Commercial, Industrial and Fiscal policies at the national level. It has been playing a very vital role in all Forum of the Government and Economic Development organizations for mutual sharing of views on all vital issues concerning and affecting the national economy; FBCCI represents the Private Sector in different permanent committees of the Government and autonomous bodies; FBCCI also represents the Private Sector in various Committees and Task Forces on specific issues, constituted by the Government from time to time. INTERNATIONAL LINKS International Linkages FBCCI maintains close relations with Trade and Industrial Associations and other mercantile and public bodies abroad. FBCCI is the member of different international bodies, such as International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CACCI), and the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SAARC CCI). FBCCI also interacts with various international economic and trade promotion organizations including UNDP, ESCAP, UNIDO, ITC, GATT-UNCTAD. To safeguard and protect the interest of business community in the international arena, FBCCI maintains close communication with these International Organizations. Presently FBCCI is the chair of the BCIM (Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar) Business Council. The Federation of FBCCI has Joint Chambers/Co-operation Agreement with the national trade organizations of a good number of countries including Australia, Belarus, Belgium, Bhutan, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Philippine, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, Uganda, Ukraine, USA, Uzbekistan & Vietnam.

Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI)

Company Profile

Represented by

Mr. Md. Sameer Sattar, Bar-at Law
President

Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) the voice of SMEs serves as the first point of business contact for penetration into new market and a vibrant platform putting forward facts-based opinions, suggestions and recommendations for a brighter tomorrow in the sphere of trade, commerce and the overall economy. DCCI, the largest and most active Chamber of the country, established in 1958 , was incorporated under the companies Act, V11 of 1913 as a limited company on March 10, 1959. It serves as a model of non-profit, service-oriented organization. It has rendered more than four decades of very useful services for the development of business and industry in Bangladesh. It has four classes of membership: General, Associate, Town Association and Trade Group. The Chamber is run by a Board of twenty-four Directors representing all classes of membership. One third of the Directors retire every year. A President, a Senior Vice-President and a Vice-President are elected by the Board for a term of one year. The President is the Chief Executive of the Chamber. The Board of Directors is assisted by a number of Standing Committees on various important business-related subjects and by a full fledged Secretariat.

Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MCCI )

Company Profile

Represented By

Mr. Md. Saiful Islam
President

Founded in 1904, the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka (MCCI) is the oldest and the pre-eminent trade organization of Bangladesh.
Its membership roll encompasses leading commercial and large industrial organizations of the country, including public sector corporations and local as well as multinational companies. Presently, almost all major enterprises of the manufacturing and service sector are among its members. The Chamber provides a wide range of professional services to its members. The Chamber’s services, developed over a long period, are comprehensive and cover specialized areas such as taxation, import-export, tariff and non-tariff measures, investment, WTO matters and other national and international economic and commercial concerns. The Chamber maintains a secretariat manned by professional staff. It offers secretarial services to the Bangladesh Employers’ Federation (BEF), the lone national level organization of employers in the country dealing with industrial relations, occupational safety and health, workplace cooperation, skills development, labor law and other labor-related issues. The Chamber’s policy recommendations and inputs related to ongoing reforms have gained wide acceptance amongst government and policy makers. MCCI has earned recognition at home and abroad by offering services such as issuing certificate of origin, through conducting economic research and sector surveys, offering trade and investment facilitation services, legal services, information management and dissemination, and with publications related to trade and commerce. The Chamber is represented in many Advisory Councils as well as Committees formed by various ministries of the government of Bangladesh. MCCI also maintains effective working relations with development partners, e.g., the World Bank Group, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Asia Foundation. MCCI has a long history of joint collaboration and corporate understanding. It interacts regularly with major international trade bodies and many private sector organizations located all over the world.

Chittagong Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCCI)

Company Profile

Represented By

Mr. Mahbubul Alam
President

Certificate of origin, through conducting economic research and sector surveys, offering trade and investment facilitation services, legal services, information management and dissemination, and with publications related to trade and commerce. The Chamber is represented in many Advisory Councils as well as Committees formed by various ministries of the government of Bangladesh. MCCI also maintains effective working relations with development partners, e.g., the World Bank Group, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Asia Foundation. MCCI has a long history of joint collaboration and corporate understanding. It interacts regularly with major international trade bodies and many private sector organizations located all over the world.

Foreign Investors Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI)

Company Profile

Represented By

Mr. Naser Ezaz Bijoy
President

Click the following link to know more about FICCI http://www.ficci.org.bd/about-ficci.html

Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB)

Company Profile

Represented By

Mr. Md. Nazrul Islam Mazumder
Chairman

Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB) is an advisory service organization for the private sector commercial banks. It has now emerged as an effective forum for exchanging views on problems being faced by the banking sector of Bangladesh and for formulating common policy guidelines in addressing such problems.Established under Companies Act- 1913, BAB started its activities in 1993 with 9 (nine) Private Commercial Banks which increased to 38 at the end of the year 2018.

Bangladesh Insurance Association (BIA)

Company Profile

Represented By

Sheikh Kabir Hossain
President

Bangladesh Insurance Association (BIA): Consistent with the privatisation policy the world over, the Government of Bangladesh took a decision in 1984 to allow operation of insurance companies in the private sector side by side with state-owned Sadharan Bima Corporation and Jiban Bima Corporation. As a result, a number of companies in the private sector came into being in 1985 and the necessity of forming an Association was keenly felt. The representatives of the private insurance companies at a meeting held in early 1985 decided that an Association should be formed with all the companies, both life and non-life, as members. Following the decision, Bangladesh Insurance Association was formed under the companies’ Act 1913 and registered with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies on 25th April’ 1988 with 13 insurance companies, including 3 in life, operating at that time in the private sector in the country as members. The total number of members stands now at 60 (43 general and 17 life). The objectives for which the Association has been formed are to promote, support and protect the interests and welfare of the member companies, to help develop the healthy growth of insurance business in the country, to act on behalf of its members both collectively and individually in any matter affecting their interest, to issue tariffs and regulate rating of risks, to approach the government from time to time to take such steps as may be deemed expedient in the interests of the insurance industry as a whole, to provide facilities to enable persons engaged in insurance to acquire higher skill and to cultivate internationally recognized legal and ethical practices in the conduct of insurance business. The Association is run by an Executive Committee consisting of 15 members (10 general and 5 life) including 1 Chairman & 1 Vice-Chairman. The Association has 6 Sub-Committees namely a) Disciplinary Sub-Committee, b) Life Sub-Committee, c) Re-insurance Sub-Committee, d) Research Development and Training Sub-Committee, e) Technical Sub-Committee and f) Publicity Sub-Committee to assist the Executive Committee as and when necessary. The Secretary General is the Chief Executive of the Association and in performing his duties he is assisted by other well trained officers and staff. The Bangladesh Insurance Association has been ceaselessly working for the promotion of the insurance industry and to protect the interests of the member companies since its inception. The problems from time to time are discussed in the meetings of the Executive Committee and various Sub-Committees, and whenever necessary these are taken up with the Government and appropriate authorities to resolve the issues. Bangladesh Insurance Association is the member of the different bodies, such as the Federation of the Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FBCCI), International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh (ICCB), Bangladesh Employer’s Federation. BIA Chairman represents BIA in different bodies like Dhaka Stock Exchange, Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FBCCI), International Chamber of Commerce-Bangladesh (ICCB) and Bangladesh Insurance Academy. BIA organizes in house training programmes for the officers of the member companies both Basic & Short Courses to augment the working knowledge of the officers working in the desk. BIA also organizes seminars on important current issues for growing insurance awareness among the People. Bangladesh Insurance Association recently signed a memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Malaysian Insurance Institute (MII). This is the first step by the BIA in its endauvour to train up officers in technical education of world class standard.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BGMEA)

Company Profile

Represented By

Mr. Faruque Hassan
President

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) is one of the largest trade associations in the country representing the readymade garment industry, particularly the woven garments, knitwear and sweater sub-sectors with equal importance. Starting its journey in 1983 today BGMEA takes care of an industry that is at the backbone of Bangladesh’s economy. Since the inception, BGMEA is dedicated to promote and facilitate the apparel industry through policy advocacy to the government, services to members, ensuring workers’ rights and social compliance at factories. Mission and Vision BGMEA works with the vision to develop the RMG industry of Bangladesh and the economy of the country. Having such vision BGMEA chalked out the following missions and its strategic direction is paved accordingly – Firstly, to protect and promote the interests of the industry; thus ensuring a sustained growth in the foreign exchange earnings of the country. Secondly, BGMEA is committed to ensure all legitimate rights and privileges of the garment workers. The association also strives toward the betterment of the society and environment. Members BGMEA started with only 12 members in early 1980’s and presently has around 4300 member factories. Around 40% of BGMEA member factories are knitwear and sweater manufactures, and the rest 60% are woven garment manufactures. BGMEA member factories account for 100% woven garment exports of the country and more than 95% of sweater exports, while around half of the light knitwear exports are made by them. How BGMEA Runs BGMEA is being run by a 35-member elected Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is elected for a two-year term. Seven Vice Presidents having important portfolios, along with a secretariat of experienced officials, assists the President in formulating and executing vital policies and programs of the organization. The President is the highest executive authority of the association. The Board of Directors takes assistance from different Standing Committees headed by a Chairman and composed of members having vast experience in the related fields. Strict adherence to democratic norms and code of conduct are being maintained in the BGMEA elections, which has been regarded as a trend setter in trade body elections of Bangladesh for its pre-election projection caucus and election-day discipline.

Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA)

Company Profile

Represented by

Mr. A. K. M. Salim Osman
President

Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association, BKMEA; the Apex Trade Body to represent solely the Knitwear Sector of Bangladesh stands out in the global panorama with distinct identity and stature. BKMEA adheres to innovation and creativity so that the sector based policy-making process becomes realistically and strategically perfect and gives off the result that expedites its developmental phase. BKMEA has started its journey in 1996 by the all out efforts of few knitwear manufacturers. BKMEA was formed as a trade association to facilitate and promote knitwear business. To cater the demand generated from the changing apparel global value chain, BKMEA has been matured into the level and height of a world class organization. Now a day, BKMEA has given highest priority in the specialization of resources. Today it is an organization of about 2000 knitwear manufacturers and exporters that represent the largest export earning sector of the country. BKMEA has grown enormous network in home and abroad. The members are the core strength and primary network of BKMEA. Besides, BKMEA works closely with national and International bodies like, International Apparel Federation (IAF), Global Alliance for Fair Textile Trade (GAFTT) and American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (AMTAC). To boost up trade and to enhance cooperation between countries, BKMEA has signed agreement with concerned associations like China Yunnan Light & Textile Industry Association on June 10, 2005, Botswana Manufacturers & Exporters Association on October 8, 2009 etc. To promote the sector, BKMEA is implementing development projects with German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and other international organizations in this regard. The association has signed MoU with GTZ on March 16, 2005 and Metro Group, Germany on 26 April, 2010. BKMEA also closely working with Asian Development Bank(ADB), World Bank, JICA, UNIDO, BRAC, Ministry of Finance and other national and international organization for the development of Knitwear sector of Bangladesh. The development works include: enhance productivity and improve social compliance status of its member factories, promote workers welfare through centralized day care centre, health care centre, prepare sector related research and publication, intensive training program to raise the productivity of workers also the mid level management, organize trade promotion missions and fairs in home and aboard. BKMEA is run by a 27-member Board of Directors led by the President. The Board of Directors is elected for a 2-year period. To the betterment of the Knitwear sectors as well as the economy of Bangladesh different committees are also working efficiently. Objectives of BKMEA: BKMEA’s motto is to stay afloat in the international competition & Markets with chic & elegant quality products. We are in continuous effort to strengthen the sustainable capacity building process and ensure quality to address the worldwide tastes and demands. To lead the world apparel market, BKMEA is putting diligent efforts to diversify export market, and ensure better market access of the country’s knitwear products to EU, USA, China, South Africa, Japan and other potential countries across the world. Along with this, BKMEA also have several objectives as: To promote & expansion of Global Market share for Knitwear manufactures of Bangladesh. To Policy support for the sustainable development the Knitwear sector. To bolster the Capacity Building process across the Sector. To raise Awareness on basic rights and business principles among the worker and Entrepreneurs of Knitwear Sector. To introduce international standards in Knitwear sector of Bangladesh To Formulation of sector friendly Policy in consultation with the Government of Bangladesh. Major Activities of BKMEA: From the very beginning of its journey BKMEA is providing different services to the member factories of Knitwear sector of Bangladesh for their continuous development. Nowadays, BKMEA is playing crucial role in policy-making process like formulation and fixation of National Export Policy, Import Policy, Import Policy Acts, Textile Policy, Industrial Policy, Fifth Year Policy, Labour Law etc. also framing sector-support rules, market expansion program, research initiatives, roductivity campaign, making green and environmentally-friendly industrial belt. The activities for the member organization of BKMEA also include: Product Diversification & Market Promotion with the line of Demand pattern of Global Apparel Market. Consultancy for Green Industry Development. Consultancy for Social and Environmental Compliance factory building. Research & Development activities for catering the recent trend of World Apparel Market. Factory based Productivity Improvement Campaign Program. Training on Fire Fighting Technique. In house Up-Skilling training program for both worker and mid level management to raise their productivity. Civil Engineering and Architectural Assistance for ensuring structural safety of factory building. One stop service point regarding UD/UP services. Other necessary services within the shortest possible time.

Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA)

Company Profile

Represented By

Mr. Mohammad Ali Khokon
President

Bangladesh Textile Mills association (BTMA) is a national trade organization representing Yarn Manufacturers, Fabric Manufacturers and Textile Product Processing mills of the country under private sector. BTMA has been registered with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies in 1983 as an Association under the Companies Act, 1994. The followings are its main objectives:-

• To promote and protect the trade and commerce, export and import business of the manufacturers of Bangladesh in general and of the textile related trade in particular.
• To consider question of common interest connected with the trade, commerce and manufactures by its members
• To collect, classify and circulate statistics and information relating to the trade, commerce and manufactures of its members.
• To take all steps which may be necessary for promoting, supporting or opposing legislative and other measures affecting the trade, commerce or manufactures of its members.
• To make representations to the appropriate authorities on any matter connected with the trade, commerce and manufactures of its members.
• To advance and promote commercial and technical education connected with the trade and commerce of its members.
• To undertake special inquiries and initiate or support any action for securing redress of legitimate grievances connected with the trade or commerce of its members.
• To engage in such activities for imports, exports of raw materials, spares and finished products for the collective benefit of the members of the Association.
• To take any action which may be conducive to the extension of trade and commerce of its members or incidental to the attainment of its objects.
• To organize such fairs and workshops for selling or display products centrally which may be of common benefits for sections which might not be possible or feasible for individual members.

The Association is run by a BOARD OF DIRECTORS comprising of 27 members who are elected from Spinning, Weaving and Dyeing-Printing-Finishing Sub Sectors. BTMA is headed by one President and 3 Vice-Presidents.  Board of Directors is elected under the provisions of the Trade Organization Ordinance, 1961 and Rules made thereunder by the Government of Bangladesh. The tenure of BTMA’s Board of Directors is for 2 years. The Association has a Secretariat to look after its activities. It is headed by a Secretary General who is assisted by a number of officials and staffs in the discharge of responsibilities.

Nordic Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Bangladesh (NCCI)

Company Profile

Represented By

Mr. Shamimul-Huq
President