Services Policy Review of Bangladesh (Ii)
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES POLICY REVIEW (II) BANGLADESH New York and Geneva 2016 ii SERVICES POLICY REVIEW OF BANGLADESH (II) NOTE The symbols of United Nations documents are composed of capital letters combined with figures. Mention of such a symbol indicates a reference to a United Nations document. The views expressed in this volume are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Secretariat. The designations employed and the presentation of the material do not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of authorities or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or regarding its economic system or degree of development. Material in this publication may be freely quoted or reprinted, but acknowledgement is requested, together with a reference to the document number. A copy of the publication containing the quotation or reprint should be sent to the UNCTAD secretariat, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland. Some of the values in this document were subjected to rounding. All references to dollars ($) are to United States of America dollars. For further information on the Trade Negotiations and Commercial Diplomacy Branch and its activities, please contact: Ms. Mina MASHAYEKHI Head, Trade Negotiations and Commercial Diplomacy Branch Division of International Trade in Goods and Services, and Commodities Tel: +41 22 917 56 40 Fax: +41 22 917 00 44 E-mail: [email protected] www.unctad.org/tradenegotiations UNCTAD/DITC/TNCD/2015/3 Copyright © United Nations, 2016 All rights reserved. Printed in Switzerland. ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS iii ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS BASIS Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services BMET Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training FDI foreign direct investment GATS General Agreement on Trade in Services GDP gross domestic product ICT information and communications technology IT information technology LDC least developed country SAARC South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation WTO World Trade Organization iv SERVICES POLICY REVIEW OF BANGLADESH (II) CONTENTS NOTE ii ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS iii PART ONE: STRATEGIES FOR ADVANCING THE DEVELOPMENT OF KEY PRIORITY SERVICES SECTORS 1 CHAPTER 1: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY SERVICES SECTOR 2 1.1. Information and Communications Technology Services Sector 2 1.1.1. Overview 2 1.1.2. Market Structure 4 1.1.3. Freelancing Activities 5 1.1.4. Standards and Certification 6 1.2. Demand and Supply 6 1.2.1. Demand-Side Analysis 6 1.2.2. Supply-Side Constraints 8 1.3. Policy, Regulatory and Institutional Frameworks 10 1.4. Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats 11 1.5. Policy Recommendations 12 1.5.1. Information Technology Infrastructure 12 1.5.2. Financial Transactions and Incentives 13 1.5.3. Human Capital Development and Productivity 13 1.5.4. Market Expansion and Development 14 1.5.5. Import and Export Policy 14 1.5.6. Other 15 CHAPTER 2: TOURISM SERVICES SECTOR 16 2.1. Role and Performance 16 2.1.1. Contribution to the National Economy 16 2.1.2. Performance 16 2.1.3. Comparison of Performance with that of Regional Partners 17 2.2. Trade and Investment 18 2.2.1. Trends in Trade 18 2.2.2. Trends in Investment 18 2.3. Competitiveness 20 2.4. Policy, Regulatory and Institutional Frameworks 21 2.4.1. Tourism in National Development Policies 21 2.4.2. Policy Framework 22 2.4.3. Regulatory Framework 23 2.4.4. Institutional Framework 24 2.5. Recent Initiatives for the Development of Tourism 26 2.5.1. Initiatives by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism 26 2.5.2. Initiatives by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 26 2.5.3. Initiatives by Public–Private Partnerships 27 2.6. Trade Liberalization Commitments Affecting the Sector 27 2.7. Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats 27 2.8. Policy Recommendations 29 CHAPTER 3: LABOUR FORCE EXPORTS 31 3.1. Trends 31 3.2. Policy, Regulatory and Institutional Frameworks 37 3.2.1. Institutional Framework 37 3.2.2. Policy and Regulatory Frameworks 38 3.3. Supply of Professional Labour Force Exports 41 3.3.1. Nursing and Midwifery 42 3.3.2. Engineering and Architecture 46 3.3.3. Accounting and Auditing 49 CONTENTS v 3.4. Opportunities and Challenges in the International Market 51 3.4.1. Africa 51 3.4.2. Central Asia 51 3.4.3. East and South-East Asia 52 3.4.4. Eastern Europe and Western Asia 52 3.4.5. Middle East 52 3.4.6. Oceania 53 3.4.7. South America 53 3.4.8. Western Europe and North America 54 3.4.9. Challenges 54 3.5. Possible Non-Traditional Destinations 54 3.5.1. Canada 55 3.5.2. Republic of Korea 55 3.5.3. United States 55 3.6. Market Access under Mode 4 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services 56 3.6.1. Least Developed Country Modalities 56 3.6.2. Issues Related to Notification by Recipient Countries 56 3.6.3. Difficulties in Recognition, and Way Forward 57 3.7. Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats 57 3.8. Policy Recommendations 58 3.8.1. Diplomacy and Institutional Coordination 58 3.8.2. Regulation and Legal Issues 59 3.8.3. Education and Skills Development 59 3.8.4. Market Research 60 CHAPTER 4: TRADE LIBERALIZATION AND NEGOTIATIONS 61 4.1. The General Agreement on Trade in Services and the World Trade Organization 61 4.2. Regional Services Trade Agreements 62 4.2.1. Agreement on Trade in Services of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation 62 4.2.2. Framework Agreement on the Promotion and Liberalization of Trade in Services under the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement 64 4.2.3. Free Trade Area Framework Agreement of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation 64 4.3. Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats 65 4.4. Policy Recommendations 66 PART TWO: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 69 CHAPTER 5: POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 70 5.1. General Recommendations 70 5.2. Sector-Specific Recommendations 70 5.2.1. Information and Communications Technology Services 71 5.2.2. Tourism Services 72 5.2.3. Labour Force Exports 73 5.3. Trade Liberalization and Negotiations 75 PART THREE: ANNEXES AND NOTES 77 ANNEXES 78 NOTES 88 vi SERVICES POLICY REVIEW OF BANGLADESH (II) Tables Table 1 . Information and Communications Technology Development Indicators, 2006-2013 4 Table 2 . Certifications Obtained, by Number of Firms 6 Table 3 . Costs of Broadband Internet Access in South Asia, 2012 8 Table 4 . Information and Communications Technology Services: Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats 11 Table 5 . Contribution of Travel and Tourism to Gross Domestic Product and Employment, 1990-2030 16 Table 6 . Relative Importance of Travel and Tourism's Contribution to Gross Domestic Product (Rank out of 186 Countries) 17 Table 7 . Key Indicators of Travel AND Tourism: Figures for 2012 and Projections for 2023 17 Table 8 . South Asia: Inbound Tourism Arrivals (Hundreds of Thousands) 17 Table 9 . South Asia: Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index Rank by Country Group, 2013 18 Table 10 . Bangladesh: Tourism trends and Targets, 1990-2030 18 Table 11 . Foreign Direct Investment in Tourism 20 Table 12 . Comparative General Corporate Income Text Rate, Selected Countries, 2012 (Percentage) 20 Table 13 . Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index Rankings, 2011 and 2013 21 Table 14 . Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index Subindex A (Travel and Tourism Regulatory Framework) Rankings, Selected Countries 24 Table 15 . Tourism Services: Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats 28 Table 16 . Skill Composition of Migrant Workers, 2001-2013 32 Table 17 . Employed Persons Aged 15 years and Over, by Occupation, 2010 42 Table 18. Nursing and Midwifery Services: Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats 45 Table 19 . Engineering and Architecture Services: Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities And Threats 48 Table 20 . Enrolment of Cost and Management Accounting Professionals 49 Table 21 . Accounting and Auditing Services: Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats 51 Table 22 . Labour Force Exports: Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats 57 Table 23 . Trade Liberalization and negotiations: Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats 65 Tables for Annexes Table 1.1 . Persons Consulted 78 Table 1.2 . Foreign Exchange Rules for Software Business and E-Commerce 78 Table 1.3 . Definitions of Activities of Software Firms 79 Table 1.4 . Tax-Related Policies for the Information and communications Technology Sector 80 Table 1.5 . Significant Information and communications Technology-Related Policies 80 Table 1.6 . Chronology of Information and Communications Technology-Related Policies 81 Table 2.1 . Persons Consulted 83 Table 2.2 . Potential Opportunities for Employment in Canada and Western Europe 83 Table 2.3 . Potential Sectors and Positions for Employment in Canada, the United States and the European Union 83 Table 2.4 . Potential Sectors for Employment in the Caribbean, Central America and South America 84 Table 2.5 . Potential Sectors for employment in East and South-East Asia 84 Table 2.6 . Potential Sectors for Employment in Europe and Western Asia 85 Table 2.7 . Potential Sectors and Positions for Employment and Opportunities in the Middle East 86 Table 2.8 . Potential Sectors for Employment in Oceania 86 Figures Figure 1. Exports of Software and Information Technology-Enabled Services, 2005-2012 (Millions of Dollars) 2 Figure 2 . Leading Destinations for Exports of Software and Information Technology-Enabled Services (Percentage of Organizations) 3 Figure 3 . Types of Firms in the Information and Communications Technology Services Sector 4 Figure 4 .