Sectoral reforms vital to spur business growth

It is encouraging to read the latest World Bank Group report on investment prospects in Bangladesh.

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Prepared by the group's International Finance Corporation (IFC) and unveiled at the ongoing Bangladesh Investment Summit on Tuesday, the report identifies four strategic sectors – green ready-made garments (RMG), middle-class housing, paint and dyes, and digital financial services – as ripe for reform. These sectors, it argues, are mature and politically feasible enough to be restructured in ways that could create millions of jobs, draw both local and foreign investment, and spark a ripple effect of productivity in other interconnected sectors. The question is, can we do what's needed to bring about this change? In recent days, there has been much talk about Ba