Bangladesh, July 1 -- The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) has voiced strong concern over Bangladesh Bank's decision to hold the policy rate steady at 10 percent, calling the move "highly disappointing" for businesses as private sector credit growth slowed to 5 percent in May.

A contractionary monetary stance maintained over the past four years has failed to rein in inflation, which instead rose to 9.42 percent in May - the highest in South Asia, DCCI President Taskeen Ahmed said in a statement on Tuesday.

The chamber pointed to a disconnect between fiscal and monetary policy, noting that the newly approved Tk 9.38 trillion national budget carries tax and duty incentives meant to spur investment and industrialisation, but ...