If Bangladesh is to remain competitive in the global textiles market, they’ll have to get their current bank interest rate down from over 18 percent.
While inaugurating the 14th Textech Bangladesh 2013, an international exposition on textiles and garments in Dhaka, Abdul Latif Siddique, Bangladesh’s Minister of Textiles and Jute, said the interest rate should be in single digits to ensure industrialization in the country.
Siddique said, with a single digit interest rate, companies could pay higher wages, which would help resolve labor problems, The Financial Express reported.
The minister suggested fixing the interest rate at 2 to 3 percent when an industry is being set up and then gradually raising the rate once it is established.
The Dhaka exhibition was a chance for Bangladesh to display their latest developments and technologies and demonstrate their presence as competitors in the market. More than 450 exhibitors from over 10 countries attended the 4-day long fairs.
Vice President of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), Mohammad Hatem, encouraged foreign investors to make use of the facilities offered by the government and to invest in backward linkage.