Bangladesh became a sovereign state in 1971. Public undertakings (related to IT) established by the Bangladesh Industrial Enterprises (Nationalization) Order, no. 27, by acts or under the president's orders in 1972(1):
The Bangladesh Water and Power Development Boards.BTTB, the governmentally run telecommunications company, is now offering internet connectivity at lower rates than that being offered by independent ISPs, BTTB however is also the regulator and the provider of such services (7).
The Small industries Corporation.
The Printing Corporation.
The Television Corporation.
Any other body that may have been constituted before liberation but allowed to continue thereafter.
Any other Corporation/body that may be created after adoption of these Rules.
Page Index | Site IndexCommitted to a free market economy and liberalization (donors are tired of handing out aid), the government is pursuing privatization, though political sensitivity and trade union pressures slow down the reform. In fact, there is an actual Annual Open World Conference against privatization to which Bengalis actively participate (2). The Privatization Board has been revamped, and its mandate and technical capabilities upgraded. Hundreds of loss making state owned enterprises have been put up for sale. Because the country is so scarce in resources, the government is mainly going after foreign direct investments. The chairman of the Board of Investment, Farooq Sobhan, said, ''From day one, the present government under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina has given topmost priority to attracting FDI into Bangladesh (3).'' Apparently, its working: $2 billion in foreign direct investment was either their or on its way in 1998. (3).
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Officially, five sectors are reserved for government investment only (5):
1. Arms, ammunition, defense equipment, and machinery
2. Production of nuclear energy
3. Security printing and minting
4. Forestry in the reserved forest area
5. Air transportation (except air cargo and domestic air transportation) and railwaysUnofficially, many sectors are reserved at least in part for the government. Although occasionally the government has given way to the private sector for agriculture, due to the fact Bangladeshi people are starving, they have often stifled private sector initiatives and undermined legal and policy reforms. Industrial activity is still dominated by inefficient public sector enterprises. Privatized firms continue to behave as 'parastatals' and to be heavily regulated; for example, some foreign firms, whose joint venture partners were nationalized at independence, have been unable to persuade the government to sell them its shares at fair market value (5).
Page Index | Site IndexLabor in private sector enterprises is mostly not unionized and comparatively more productive. But general strikes (hartals) called by political parties and movements take their toll in downtime by intimidating people from leaving their homes (More government influence!). There were 7 hartals called in FY98 (5).
Page Index | Site IndexAlthough privatization is a critical part of the economic reform policy, privatization has not seen sufficient progress to attract many foreign investors. Some view the government's privatization efforts as the barometer of the official attitude towards the private sector. Although on paper the BDG has sold off a significant number of companies and shares, in practice it has retained control of many firms. And with work permits for expatriates other than CEOs restricted and re-enrty visas limited to two to three entries, its hard to bring companies to Bangladesh. Despite the governmental appointment of a prominent local businessman in late FY97 as Privatization Board Chairman, Privatization has slowed to a virtual stand still (5).
Page Index | Site IndexThe Cellular Telephone market, as well as telecom infrastructure development in the rural areas have been handed over to private businesses. Now telecom services are reaching slowly into rural areas. In addition, cellular services are so available and affordable that rural people are using them (6).
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