Businesses seek extension of stimulus packages: Kamal

Businessmen want the extension of stimulus packages in the next budget due to the second wave of COVID-19, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has said.

“Since the coronavirus is still in our country. They still have to deal with the problems. So, their main demand was the extension of stimulus packages further, “he told reporters after a pre-budget virtual meeting with the country’s apex trade bodies on Thursday.

He said the prime minister had announced 23 incentive packages for the businesses last year to weather the Covid-19 pandemic.

“And they have not denied that they have benefited from it. They are now seeking to increase these benefits due to the second wave of the pandemic,” said the finance minister.

Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) President Sheikh Fazle Fahim, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Rubana Huq, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) President AKM Selim Osman, Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Building (MCCI) President Nihad Kabir, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) President Rizwan Rahman, Bangladesh Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Selima Ahmed, Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) President Rupali Haque Chowdhury, E-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (E-CAB) President Shomi Kaiser joined the event, among others.