The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) has taken an initiative to create a new Economic Position Index (EPI) designed to capture the true state of Bangladesh’s economic activities and to generate actionable policy recommendations for improving the country’s economic performance.

Announcing the initiative at a focus group discussion held in Dhaka today, DCCI President Taskeen Ahmed said that while several international and local indices evaluate Bangladesh’s business environment, they often fall short in portraying the real dynamics behind economic shifts.

“These indices typically rely on limited parameters that do not always reflect how and why business activities expand or contract,” he said.

To address these gaps, DCCI has initiated the EPI project, beginning with Dhaka city as a pilot area, with plans to expand the coverage to other regions of the country in later phases.

The chamber aims to make the index a quarterly exercise that would provide regular, data-driven insights into key economic indicators and private sector trends.

The Economic Position Index will function as a composite indicator, integrating multiple macroeconomic variables to produce a single numerical score that represents the economy’s overall condition.

It is expected to track economic health across sectors, providing policymakers, investors and analysts with timely information about production levels, sales trends, export orders, employment, business confidence and investment flows.

During a presentation, AKM Asaduzzaman Patwary, acting secretary general of DCCI, outlined the index’s structure and methodology. He said the EPI would be based on sample data drawn from eight major industrial sectors — food products, textiles, ready-made garments, leather and leather goods, pharmaceuticals and medicinal chemicals, rubber and plastic products, non-metallic mineral products, and basic metals.

Additionally, the EPI will incorporate data from three key service sectors: wholesale and retail trade, land transport, and real estate. According to Patwary, this selection reflects sectors that collectively account for the largest shares of output, employment and investment within the country’s private economy.

The focus group brought together economists, regulators, and private sector representatives who shared feedback on how to refine and expand the index to ensure it becomes a credible barometer of the country’s economic climate.

Miah Rahmat Ali, senior private sector specialist at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), highlighted that the government is currently working on a new Insolvency Act aimed at making business operations easier. He noted that once enacted, the legislation could complement the EPI by addressing barriers that currently hinder business efficiency and financial stability.

Meanwhile, Md Salim Al Mamun, director of the Chief Economist’s Unit at Bangladesh Bank, recommended that the index include agricultural data in future versions. Given agriculture’s enduring role in employment and food security, he said that omitting it could leave out a vital component of the national economy.

From academia, Md Deen Islam, associate professor of economics at the University of Dhaka, advised revising the research methodology to strengthen the EPI’s analytical depth. He suggested that the framework incorporate advanced econometric tools and qualitative assessments to better capture the underlying macroeconomic forces shaping business cycles.

DCCI officials said the chamber expects to finalise the methodological framework after further consultations with the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), Bangladesh Bank, and other government agencies. Once operational, the EPI is expected to serve as an early warning tool for policymakers and business leaders, helping them respond proactively to changing economic conditions.