Happy New Year to all of our readers!
Last year was a year of death, social distancing and isolation due to global Novel Coronavirus outbreak. Every sector of a life was affected and all governments of the world took preventive measures to limit the pandemic. This New Year is not immune from that virus, but the good news is, several vaccines are available and people are getting vaccinated to fight the virus. We hope that we will get rid of this unwanted and invisible enemy and live a life in normalcy.
The concept of the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ comes from a research paper titled ‘The Regulation of Entry’ developed by the Bulgarian economist Simeon Djankov. Bangladesh implemented 15 reforms before the World Bank released its latest ‘Ease of Doing Business’ report. In the latest report, the reform work was done on three indicators. The process of starting a business has been simplified by reducing the company registration fees and time. Besides, electricity connection in Dhaka has been made easier through digitisation and investment in human resources. Similarly, the amount of security money has also been reduced in getting new electricity connections. At the same time, with the expansion of the Credit Information Bureau, loan-related information is becoming more readily available than before which have been reflected in the ‘Ease of Doing Business Report 2020’. In our lead story, we shed lights on the initiatives and progress of Bangladesh to improve in ‘Ease of Doing Business’ ranking.
Rear Admiral M Shahjahan, NPP, ndc, psc, BN took office as the chairman of the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) on 31 January 2021. On that day, he took over the charge from outgoing chairman Rear Admiral SM Abul Kalam Azad. Rear Admiral M Shahjahan previously served as the chairman of the Mongla Port Authority before joining as the CPA chairman. CPA News team greets him as the new lighthouse of Chattogram port and has included a short profile of him with eagerness in this issue of the magazine.
To raise the ranking of Bangladesh in the Ease of Doing Business, different ministries, departments and agencies of the government are carrying out several reforms. In there, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) is working as the coordinator. This issue of CPA News has published an interview of the Executive Chairman of BIDA, Md Sirajul Islam.
By sending the old year into the history books, the New Year arrives. Throughout the past year, thousands of small and big news have been made. Some were encouraging, some were fearful. And, in the abyss of time, some news dissolved. Some explain the course of the future. Some leave everlasting impressions in the mind; and in the memory, some become unfailing. In this respect, CPA News shed light on some of the news that made headlines in the Bangladesh maritime sector in the year 2020.
Besides, the ‘Newsbytes’ section will inform you of all the important maritime events and developments which took place during the final quarter of the last year.
We cordially welcome your invaluable feedback and suggestions of new ideas for further improvement of this maritime magazine. Thank you for being with us all the while, and keep staying with us.
Thanking you
