The Bangladesh government has introduced a new Property, Plant, and Equipment and Lease Manual to strengthen asset governance and curb long-term liabilities amid growing concerns about hidden fiscal exposures and weak oversight of public resources.

The move came as the finance division revealed that Bangladesh’s total contingent liabilities have reached Tk 6,39,782.58 crore, much of which is linked to state-owned enterprises and poorly monitored asset and lease arrangements, posing serious risks to macroeconomic stability, officials said.

They revealed it at a workshop titled ‘SOEs and ABs Governance: Progress Review and Way Forward’, held on Friday and Saturday at a hotel in Cox’s Bazar, according to a press release.

The workshop was organised under the Scheme on SOE Governance of the Strengthening Public Financial Management System to Enable Service Delivery programme of the Finance Division.

Addressing the inaugural session as the chief guest, Md Hasanul Matin, additional secretary (budget and macroeconomics) of the finance division, said that inefficient performance by several state-owned enterprises had significantly increased contingent liabilities.

The creation of multiple authorities for similar purposes has resulted in overlapping functions, which must be avoided, he said, adding that Bangladesh needs to realign its governance approach with global best practices.

‘Our major challenges include rising debt burdens and declining revenue generation, and addressing these issues requires a whole-of-government approach,’ he added.

Ziaul Abedin, additional secretary (budget) and national programme director of SPFMS, said that in a market economy, only commercially viable SOEs should continue to operate, while others should be restructured or phased out.

‘But this has not happened in Bangladesh, and transforming SOEs requires strong political commitment through broader, sustainable business models,’ he added.

Rahima Begum, director general of the monitoring cell of the finance division, chaired the session and said that the government had been identifying key challenges and focusing on practical solutions, including stronger audits, digital systems, and improved oversight to ensure good governance.

Four business sessions were held at the workshop, outlining various technical aspects, strategies, modernisation, governance and transparency, and legal issues.

The sessions also highlighted the need for institutional reforms, capacity building, independent performance evaluations, standardised reporting procedures, and stronger internal audit mechanisms.

Around 80 officials from the finance division and various ministries and autonomous bodies participated in the workshop.