Magura Group Chairman Mustafa Kamal Mohiuddin has said that the country’s private sector is grinding through many problems including lack of funding access, urging the government to facilitate access to easy business loans.

He made the remarks at a pre-budget discussion session organised by the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh (ICMAB) at a hotel in the capital on Tuesday ahead of the budget announcement for the fiscal year 2024-2025.

In every fiscal year’s national budget, some of the recommendations and demands made by the businessmen are honoured, but in some cases none are incorporated in budget plans, the Magura Group chairman said.

The government needs to adopt smart budgets with emphasis on the private sector, he noted.

Among the issues plaguing the country’s businesses, Mustafa Kamal Mohiuddin highlighted high costs for purchasing dollars from banks, corrupt foreign currency trading practices, repeated hike in energy prices and surging interest rates, among others.

In this backdrop, businesses have to make over 40% profit to cover operations costs and eventually repay bank loans, which is extremely challenging. Remedial steps have to be taken under the next budget, he said.

At the pre-budget discussion, other stakeholders and economic policy specialists also called for reforming the currently volatile stock markets and increasing the number of taxpayers.

Addressing the session, State Minister for Finance Waseqa Ayesha Khan said the country’s stock markets are plagued with various problems for which there are repeated price volatilities and lack of interest among businessmen in stock trading.

However, avoiding bourses cannot be a solution and businessmen have to raise capital through these to meet their financial needs. Banks cannot be the only reliable source of funds, she added.

Discussions are needed among concerned stakeholders to address the issues causing repeated stock volatilities, she said.