Describing the lobbying not a very bad thing, Finance Minister AMA Muhith has said it can be brought under a system.

“Then, no one will blame for taking money for lobbying,” he told a meeting of the national steering committee to improve the “Ease of Doing Business index” in the city on Tuesday (Dec 4).

The octogenarian minister said, “Lobbyists’ help is required to avail services in New York and they received payments in return.”

Claiming the launch of a business in Bangladesh easy, Muhith said, “Even with a cart, a business can start here whether it’s legal or illegal.”

According to “World Bank Doing Business 2019: Training for Reform” report, Bangladesh ranks 176th among 190 countries globally – one place up from last year’s ranking of 177th place.

Since 2015, Bangladesh has increased the network capacity in Chattogram and Dhaka, it said adding, as a result, the distribution utilities in both cities are now able to accommodate more connection requests, reducing the time required for businesses to obtain a new electricity connection, from more than 400 days in 2014, to less than 150 days in 2018.

“The marginal change in position indicates that while the country has taken some initiatives to make doing business easier, the pace of reforms needs to be increased significantly,” the report added.

Admitting the clearance of imported products at the ports still faces problems, the minister said, “There has been some progress too.”

“However, the National Board of Revenue needs to step in to resolve the problems,” he said.