In this globalized world, trade finance (TF) is an essential tool to enable the trade of goods, and increasingly services, allowing local firms and value chains to sell into global markets. Up to 80% of trade is financed by some form of credit, guarantee or insurance. TF is usually without collateral and the security is inbuilt in trade finance mechanism, that includes; Pre-shipment financing; Post-shipment financing; Warehouse receipt financing; Factoring; Supply Chain finance; Leasing; guarantee etc. However; banks in Bangladesh is far away from these modern financing products. In Bangladesh credit is believe to be capital machinery finance and loan given against collaterals. These statements came from speakers attending a webinar on "Ease of doing business: status of 2021" jointly organized by the International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB) and the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) on Monday. Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Executive Chairman Md. Sirazul Islam was the guest of honour at the webinar presided over by IBFB President and Energypac Power Generation Managing Director and CEO Humayun Rashid. BIDA Director (One Stop Service and Regulatory Reform) Jibon Krishna Saha Roy presented the key note paper.
BEI President Ambassador M Humayun Kabir delivered the welcome remarks in the webinar, while M.S. Siddiqui, Legal Economist and Vice President, IBFB, Dr. Muhammad Abdul Mazid, Former Secretary and Ex- Chairman, NBR & Chairman, Finance Committee, IBFB and Dr. A.F.M. Matiur Rahman, Former Secretary & Vice-Chairman, Industry Leadership Committee, IBFB spoke as Designated Discussants. Among others Lt. Gen M. Harun-Ar-Rashid, Bir Protik (Retd.), Director, IBFB, Rear Admiral M Shahjahan, Chairman of Chittagong Port Authority and Major General Md Nazrul Islam, Executive Chairman, Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) were the discussants. Speakers said the Doing Business report is not intended as a complete assessment of competitiveness or of the business environment of a country and should rather be considered as a proxy of the regulatory framework faced by the private sector in a country. TheFactoring is a post shipment export trade finance without any collateral. Factoring has emerged as the most important source of working capital for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). A perfect factoring needs global standard common rule for cross border assignment of receivable. The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) has prepared and UN Convention on the Assignment of Receivables in International Trade adapted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2001, the Convention provides uniform rules for the cross-border assignments of receivables and to provide uniform rules to facilitate cross-border receivables financing. Bangladesh yet to sign the UN Convention on the Assignment of Receivables in International Trade, the webinar was told Speakers lauded the government policy decision that allowed re-export of LPG adopted on February 16, 2017. Bangladesh can also allow exporters to allow export all possible products in a manner similar to LPG export to our neighbours. It may take advantage of being neighbours of India, China and ASEAN countries. All the countries around us such as India, China, Sri Lanka and all other ASEAN country allow re-export but why the re-export is restricted except LPG may be a surprise question. In a recent study find that Dhaka airport service is costlier than Kolkata and Colombo. Exporters to find alternate route of delivery of their garments to buyers in west. The alternate ports are Kolkata and Colombo. The cargos are transported to Benapole land port where Indian tracks are transporting to Kolkata Airport. Some other consignments transported to Chattogram and the shipped to Sri Lanka than the airlift to western customers through Colombo airport. After all these transportation, the services of Kolkata and Colombo airport are practically cheaper than Dhaka airport. At last, National Board of Revenue (NBR) has, in principle, decided to allow setting up private inland container depot under Dhaka Customs House to ease congestion at air cargo village at Dhaka Airport.
