Govt preparing for Covid vaccine production from 2022: Salman F Rahman

The government has been taking all necessary initiatives to go into Covid-19 vaccine production from next year, said Salman F Rahman, private sector industry and investment adviser to the prime minister. Speaking to reporters, he also said pharmaceutical giant Incepta has an agreement with a Chinese company in this regard."They have full capacity to produce vaccines," Salman said during a 'Meet the Reporters' programme organised by the Dhaka Reporters' Unity.

Beximco Pharmaceuticals may also complete all processes to earn the capacity of producing Covid vaccines within the next four to six weeks, hoped Salman, who is the pharma's vice chairman. Meanwhile, he also said India's Serum will resume delivery of the remaining Covid-19 vaccines under a tripartite agreement signed last November between Beximco, Serum, and the Bangladesh government. Commenting on the country's capital market, Salman noted that there is an acute lack of institutional investors in the country.

"80% of all transactions here comes from retail or general investors. Compared to the capital market of the developed world, the picture in Bangladesh is the opposite. Our capital market is equity-based. There is no bond market here," he said."We are working to develop the bond market. The present [regulatory] chairman and commissioner are also sincere in this regard. Hopefully, the capital market will recover once the bond market becomes popular," he added. The veteran businessmen also spoke about the crisis in the banking sector and the rise of defaulted loans.

"The problem with our banking sector is that long-term investments are made here using short-term loans. This is a big problem." He said defaulted loans exist in all countries. However, he pointed out that in Bangladesh the problem mostly occurs with government banks. Salman, who is also the chairman of the Board of Editors of English daily 'The Independent', said a decision is on the way regarding the fate of the newspaper. He said the board will decide on whether both its magazine print and newspaper editions will continue to exist or will the print edition come to an end. "Our passion is involved with this newspaper. Various parties, including the Information Minister, do not want the newspaper to stop printing. It is the first 16-page colour newspaper of the country," he said. However, Salman added, "You also have to look at the financial capacity to keep a magazine running."

Regarding the recent fuel price hike, the PM's adviser said the price has increased in the country owing to the ongoing volatility in the international market for crude oil. The price will be reduced when the global rate falls.

Bangladesh a compelling case for UK investors

The UK is already the second-largest investor in Bangladesh, but there is vast potential to do more, Mohammad Sirazul Islam, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), said recently.

"Bangladesh's liberalised investment policies and concessions encourage foreign investment. Our government is keen on facilitating more investments from the UK, which is a strong partner in our progress," Sirazul added. He was addressing the "Showcase Bangladesh 2021: Bangladesh-UK Investment Summit," recently where public and private sector leaders of Bangladesh and the UK came together to discuss the many win-win propositions that can take UK-Bangladesh trade and investment relations to new heights. The event was jointly organised by Standard Chartered and BIDA and took place in London on November 4.

Salman F Rahman, Private Sector Industry and Investment adviser to the prime minister, State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak; Md Sirazul Islam, executive chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority; Robert Chatterton Dixon, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh; Saida Muna Tasneem, Bangladesh High Commissioner to the UK, Ireland and Liberia and Md Jashim Uddin, president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industry attended the event.

The speakers made the case for greater engagement for UK investors in Bangladesh, one of the world's fastest-growing economies, hoping that foreign direct investment and international technical collaboration will greatly accelerate the attainment of the country's sustainable development plans. Salman F Rahman said, "The sustained, broad-based growth Bangladesh achieved over the last decade did not happen by accident, it was achieved through insightful planning and visionary leadership of our honourable prime minister." "Bangladesh's growth in nominal GDP in the first 36 years since independence has trebled in a third of the time, over the last 12 years," Naser Ezaz Bijoy, chief executive officer of Standard Chartered Bangladesh, said. "Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the country achieved one of the highest economic growth rates in the world, thanks to judicious policy intervention by the government and the resiliency of the people," he added. "The country is expected to maintain a growth trajectory that will enable GDP to exceed economies like Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Denmark and others. This is the right time to invest in Bangladesh, which I believe is the 'Best Kept Secret of Asia'."