Dhaka, Oct. 15 -- The government has opened the door for private sector participation in running state-owned enterprises (SoEs) under the Ministry of Industries (MoI), as most of them have become loss-making ventures, MoI Secretary Md Obaidur Rahman said on Tuesday.

"There are between 200 and 250 entities under the MoI. However, most of them are now incurring losses," he said without mentioning the reasons.

He clarified that the government's focus is not on doing business, but rather on providing regulatory and facilitative support to businesses.

"We are now inviting the private sector to run the businesses as joint ventures," Rahman said, adding that effective public-private collaboration is crucial for the country's development.

The...