Forma # 1.ai - ICAB

Management related
measures
a) Strengthen the SEC
Management: The SEC should
be staffed by a group of people
who are conversant with the
nitti‐gritties of the market, are
highly competent, and are of
good reputation with wide
public exposure. They should
be honest and be able to take
stern actions against misdeeds,
wrong doings and illegal
practices. The high profile of
the management body of SEBI
in India should act as an
example for Bangladesh if any
such restructuring of the
management of the SEC is
contemplated.
b) Demutualization: DSE should
take appropriate measures for
demutualisation in the market
through enforcement of
appropriate regulations by
putting in place restrictions so
that owners of brokerage
houses cannot become
members of DSE management
board.
Policy measures
a) Government’s decision to
off‐load shares in the market:
The progress with regard to
offloading of shares of SoEs has
been rather scant, although on
a number of occasions
government had announced
(latest in November 2010)
offloading of those shares,
particularly of eight SoEs.
Government should offload
those shares without delay.
b) Increase spread of corporate tax
rates between listed and
non‐listed companies: The
existing spread of corporate tax
rates between listed and
non‐listed companies (10 per
cent) may be further widened (15
per cent) from its existing level
(27.5 per cent) by further
reducing tax rates to encourage
new enlistment in the market.
3.5 OVERSEAS
EMPLOYMENT AND
REMITTANCES
Both in terms of the number of
workers going abroad and the
remittance flow, the first half of
FY2010‐11 has posed formidable
challenges for Bangladesh.
Number of migrant workers has
decreased by almost half
compared to average figure for
comparable periods of FY2006‐07
and FY2007‐08, and for the first
time growth of remittance has
entered into negative terrain. Both
of these performance indicators
are likely to have adverse impact
on Bangladesh’s labour market
situation and balance of payment.
Deceleration in Overseas
Migration
During the first five months of
FY2010‐11 (July to November),
overseas migration fell by about (‐)
24 per cent compared to the
corresponding period of the
previous fiscal year. This
disturbing development owes to
both demand side developments
in importing countries and the
supply side constraints arising
from the structural weaknesses
which characterise Bangladesh’s
migrant workforce.
Changing Economic
Scenario in the Post‐Crisis
Period
In the backdrop of the post‐crisis
macroeconomic scenario,
particularly the slowdown in
economic activities in the
construction sectors, traditional
manpower destinations of
Bangladesh have hosted lower
number of migrant workers in the
recent past. Although by now
recovery has set in motion in most
of these countries, the lagged
response of the crisis is reflecting
on the number of workers
demanded in various sectors of
the economy in these host
countries. This is corroborated by
the fact that overseas migration
from Bangladesh to Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the UAE,
two of her key manpower export
destinations, fell respectively by (‐)
51.7 per cent and (‐) 10.3 per cent
during July‐November period of
the current fiscal compared to the
corresponding period of
FY2009‐10 (Figure 17). Similar
trend is also found for several
other markets where Bangladesh
has been a major supplier of
migrant labour force in the past.
30
January - March 2011
The Bangladesh Accountant