In a sudden reversal, the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) has withdrawn its claim that the government had established a formal Private Sector Advisory Council.
The clarification came just hours after BIDA issued a statement naming nine prominent business leaders as inaugural members of the body. The Daily Star had published a report on its business page, based on that initial press release issued yesterday evening.
In a revised message posted on its Facebook page, BIDA said the meeting with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman was merely convened to gather observations and recommendations from selected entrepreneurs and identify priorities for private sector-led growth.
“It was not a formal advisory council of the government or the honourable prime minister,” BIDA said, adding that the council had no organisational or legal basis.
BIDA also said “similar engagements” would continue in the future, although it did not specify what form they would take or how they would differ from the council it had earlier announced.
The authority blamed the confusion on “misleading information circulating on social media”, without acknowledging that the source of that information was its own press release, which explicitly announced the council’s formation and named its members.
It offered no explanation for why the earlier claims were made, or what prompted the abrupt reversal within hours.
The backtracking is particularly notable as BIDA Executive Chairman Ashik Chowdhury had described the council in the original statement as “one of the key reforms proposed by BIDA”, suggesting a structured initiative rather than an informal engagement.
The nine business leaders present at Saturday’s meeting were initially described as council members personally selected by the prime minister. They are Arif Dowla, managing director of ACI; Syed Nasim Manzur, managing director of Apex Footwear; Hafizur Rahman Khan, chairman of Runner Group; Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, chairman of PRAN-RFL Group; Ziaur Rahman, managing director of Bay Group; Abdul Muktadir, chairman of Incepta Group; Md Abdul Jabbar, managing director of DBL Group; Sohana Rouf Chowdhury, managing director of Rangs Group; and Syed Mohammad Tanvir, managing director of Pacific Jeans Group.
