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Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed on Tuesday described the interim government’s success in the macroeconomic sector as a positive step forward, saying that the sun has already risen and it is not surrounded by darkness.
“I think dawn shows the day. The sun has already risen and it’s not surrounded by darkness…yes, there are expectations, but we didn’t make a bad start,” he said at a press conference at the Secretariat.
Salehuddin said reforms in various sectors are a continuous process and the interim government is focusing on short-term measures while long-term reforms will be the responsibility of the succeeding administration.
“We’ll leave a footprint… we’re giving an outline of reforms, and the successive government will follow those,” added.
In response to concerns over the capital market, the finance adviser acknowledged the struggles of small investors but assured that the government is working to compensate them, though he cautioned that this would take time.
He mentioned the government’s efforts to support the market, including a Tk 30 billion (Tk 3,000 crore) support for the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) aimed at reviving the market. “Efforts are underway to bring new companies in, deepening market penetration,” he added.
The adviser also highlighted the government’s immediate action to stabilize troubled banks and support well-performing ones, ensuring long-term benefits and welfare for the people. “We’re not looking for ad-hoc solutions,” he added.
On the modernisation of services by the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Dr Salehuddin said that over four lakh e-returns have been submitted.
He said that the NBR aims to fully automate income tax, customs, and VAT services, ensuring transparency to foster trust among taxpayers and businesses.
About the response of the development partners to the interim government, Dr Salehuddin, also a former central bank governor, said that they have seen signs of some serious commitments and actions by the development partners.
“We’ve got a very good response, but still we’ve a lot to do,” he added.
Regarding inflation, he said that it has not grown overnight and it is also a complex issue adding that the previous regime had printed Tk 600 billion (Tk 60,000 crore) which had also created a problem.
The adviser said the interim government has already reduced the arrear bills from $2.5 billion to $400 million without taking any amount from the foreign currency reserves.
Finance Secretary Dr Khairuzzaman Mozumder, NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan, ERD Secretary Shahriar Kader Siddiky and Financial Institutions Division Secretary Nazma Mobarek were present.