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DHAKA: Bangladesh must enforce law and order to restore business confidence and put its shattered economy back on track, the country's chamber of commerce chief said on Wednesday.

Salman Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said in an interview that recent political chaos had dealt a "death blow" to the country's image abroad and shaken investor confidence.

Bangladesh was virtually paralysed by nearly a month of opposition anti-government strikes until President Abdur Rahman Biswas dissolved parliament last Saturday and appointed a caretaker administration to oversee fresh polls.

Rahman said the turmoil -- triggered by opposition demands that Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia resign -- severely damaged the South Asian nation's emerging economy.

He said the country's economy was in disarray because of port shutdowns and lost export orders.

Rahman, vice-chairman of the country's biggest business house, the Beximco Group of Industries Ltd, said Bangladesh's vital garment sector had been badly affected by the political crisis as many companies had defaulted on shipments.

The chamber chief said he hoped the economy would react favourably with the formation of the caretaker government, chaired by former chief justice Habibur Rahman, who will head an 11-member administration to oversee polls due in three months.-Reuter