DT e-Paper, Friday, Decdember 20, 2017

14
FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 2017
DT
Muhith hopes
for double digit
growth in 4 yrs
• Afrose Jahan Chaity
A consistent 7 plus GDP
growth can lead to achieve
10% growth in next 4 years,
said Finance Minister AMA
Muhith.
“If we can maintain consistency
in 7-plus GDP growth
and improve infrastructure,
the growth will reach 10% in
next four years,” he said.
Muhith was speaking as
the chief guest at a regional
conference on “Rethinking
Political Development: Security
and Freedom Based on Justice”
in Dhaka yesterday.
International Political Science
Association (IPSA) and
Policy Research Institute (PRI)
jointly organised the conference.
“The biggest problem of
Bangladesh is lack of administrative
reforms, and whatever
we say, we really don’t do anything
for local government,”
finance minister said.
He suggested deploying 1.8m
government employees to local
government level to help the
institutions function effectively.
Dr Sadiq Ahmed, vice chairman
of PRI, presented a keynote
paper on “Political Economy
of Income Distribution
and Inequality in Bangladesh.”
He said local government
institutions are “generally
weak with low administrative
capacities, unclear and overlapping
mandates, and little
financial autonomy.”
He said: “Bangladesh experience
shows that income inequality
has increased as GDP
growth rate increased.”
“Higher growth and employment
have no doubt
helped lower poverty but the
poverty reduction impact
of higher growth has been
curbed by rising income inequality,”
Dr Sadiq said.
Dr Zillur R Khan presented
a paper which analyzed how
to apply the most fundamental
human value of justice and
fairness to alleviate growing
inequality in mostly developing
nations.
HT Imam, PM adviser,
Enam Ahmed Chowdhury,
adviser to BNP Chairperson,
Dr Mizanur Rahman Shelly,
former minister, and Dr Ataur
Rahman, president of Bangladesh
Political Science Association,
were also present. •
Business
China-backed trade pact gains as Trump
threatens to ditch TPP
• AFP, Davos
Asia will push ahead with a Chinese-supported
free trade agreement
if Donald Trump follows through on
pledges to ditch the Trans-Pacific Partnership
(TPP), global leaders in Davos
were told yesterday.
Speaking at the World Economic
Forum, a panel of regional experts
said Asia must be prepared for a world
in which the United States will take a
back seat in global trade while China
assumes a bigger leadership role.
Trump, who takes office on Friday,
has promised to tear up existing freetrade
deals and withdraw from the
TPP negotiated by his predecessor Barack
Obama.
Trump has also said he will focus
on creating employment at home and
threatened to impose punitive measures
on companies that move business
overseas at the expense of local jobs.
“We really have to prepare ourselves
for a very different world where America
- instead of becoming the cheerleader
for trade -- becomes in some ways the
biggest obstacle to trade,” said Kishore
Mahbubani, dean of the Lee Kuan Yew
School of Public Policy in Singapore.
Mahbubani praised Chinese President
Xi Jinping’s speech at Davos on
Tuesday in which he warned against
blaming globalisation for the world’s ills
or retreating behind protectionist walls.
“It’s amazing. In the past, American
presidents usually gave those kinds
of speeches. Now it’s the president of
China who does it,” he said.
‘Let’s pedal harder’
Malaysian Trade Minister Mustapa
Mohamed said that with TPP “dead”,
countries are pushing for an alternative
free trade deal in the form of the
Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership (RCEP).
“Because the TPP is dead, therefore
all of us are committed to ensure that
RCEP becomes successful,” he said.
“It’s a win-win, the concept is a balanced
outcome, there’s something for
everyone.”
The RCEP covers 16 countries: the
10 members of the Southeast Asian
ASEAN group plus their regional
trading partners China, Japan, South
Korea, Australia, New Zealand and
India. It notably excludes the United
States. •
Mediacom ties up with
Madison Media
• SM Najmus Sakib
Mediacom – the largest advertising
agency of Bangladesh
– got affiliated with Madison,
the Indian 2nd largest independent
agency in an effort to
facilitate Mediacom Limited
functioning and provide training
to its staff both in Bangladesh
and India.
Mediacom, a sister concern
of Square Group, will also have
access to Madison media tools
and operating software which
has come into effect from 1st
January this year, said representatives
of the agencies at a
programme in Westin, Dhaka
Tuesday night.
Anjan Chowdhury, managing
director of Mediacom limited,
and Sam Balsara, chairman
and managing director of Madison
World, spoke on behalf of
their respective sides while addressing
the agreement.
Through the agreement, the
scientific advertising agency of
Bangladesh would bring world
class tools, resources and
knowledge into Bangladesh
market, said Anjan Chowdhury
in his speech. •