Bangladesh, Aug. 1 -- Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has sat down with Bangladesh's leading businessmen and industrialists for four hours, as concerns over the state of the economy took centre stage in a wide-ranging exchange.

The meeting, organised by the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), was held at the Prime Minister's Office in Tejgaon on Saturday, his Deputy Press Secretary Hasan Shiplu said.

"The prime minister exchanged views with the country's top businessmen and industrial entrepreneurs, who raised concerns about the current state of the economy.

"He listened intently and issued the directives to officials to address them."

Discussions ranged across the investment climate, the energy crunch, industry-wide bo...