Bangladesh: Prime Minister says steps are taken to expand SMEs
Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia on Wednesday said the government is now implementing an ADB-aided $50 million programme as part of the steps undertaken for proper expansion of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
Replying to a question from Nazim Uddin Alam (BNP-Bhola-4) during a question-answer session, Begum Zia said the present government has formulated "Small and Medium Enterprises Development Policy Strategy-2005" for economic progress, improvement of living standard and poverty alleviation.
"The Government has formulated the SME policy on the basis of recommendations of the task force formed after assumption of its power," she also said.
The other steps, she said, undertaken by the government for implementing the SME policy include formation of a SME cell in the Ministry of Industry, formation of a high-level 19-member SME advisory panel, initiative to disburse $3 million from the ADB-funded programme among the women entrepreneurs, measures to train up a total of 32,000 entrepreneurs to enhance their skill and holding of a national conference for the SME women entrepreneurs in the last week of the current month.
Under the $50 million programme, the prime Minister said, $30 million is being disbursed among the SME organisations as loans through 18 banks and financial institutions.
Bangladesh earned the highest ever remittance at about $4,816 million from the Non-resident Bangladeshis (NRB) during the just concluded 2005-2006 fiscal year.
Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia informed this while replying to a question from Zahir Uddin Swapan (BNP-Barisal) during the Prime Minister's question-answer session in the Jatiya Sangsad on Wednesday.
She said the government has undertaken several steps to simplify the process of sending home the remittance the Bangladeshi expatriates. "The NRBs are now confident on the progressive development programme initiated by the present government," she said.
As part of the steps, she said, 15 money exchanges have been set up in different countries at the initiative of Finance Ministry to ease the process of sending money home and encouraging the expatriates towards investment.
Other steps include freeing the remittance from tax, implementation of the Money Laundering Resistance Act-2002, reduction in service charge of the banks in case of sending remittance, introduction of US dollar Banking Premium Bond and US dollar Investment Bond, and withdrawal of income tax on the interests of 'Foreign Currency Deposit' accounts of the NRBs.
Source: The New Nation