Bangladesh commerce minister, Tofail Ahmed said the government has decided in principle to lower corporate tax on the readymade garment (RMG) sector from the current rate of 35 per cent.

He said the Seventh Five Year Plan targeted to raise the textile industry’s contribution to gross domestic product to 33 per cent from the present 29 per cent. The textile is Bangladesh’s biggest industry. “As a business-friendly government, we are providing all cooperation to the business community so that they can contribute to the national development and the economy,” Ahmed said.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president, Siddiqur Rahman viewed the RMG industry would need three million skilled workers to increase annual export revenue from the current level of 25 billion to 50 billion US dollar in next five years. BGMEA has plans to train 43,000 workers to help the apparel sector overcome a worker shortage of around 25 per cent. The BGMEA is collaborating with the SEIP in training workers.