Bangladesh paying for past policy mistakes: Finance adviser
Many foreign giant investors, including Saudi Arabia’s Aramco and South Korea’s Samsung could not make investment in Bangladesh due to policy shortcomings, he says
Highlights
- Past government policies hurt investment, as seen with Aramco and Samsung
- Interim govt. aims to improve investment climate
- Aramco interested in setting up a refinery in Bangladesh
- Skill shortage and past policy issues hinder progress
- Government needs to ease doing business to attract investment
Bangladesh is still grappling with the repercussions of corruption and flawed policies implemented during the previous Awami League regime, which have deterred foreign investments and hindered economic progress, Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed said today (5 January).
"Corruption and various policy mistakes in the past have cost us," he said while speaking as the chief guest at the launch of a report titled "Enhancing Saudi-Bangladesh Economic Engagement: Trends, Key Challenges & Long-Term Growth Prospects" at the foreign ministry here.
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The adviser pointed out that many foreign giant investors, including Saudi Arabia's Aramco and South Korea's Samsung could not make investment in Bangladesh due to policy shortcomings.
"They approached us but were not received well and eventually (Samsung) moved to Vietnam. Those were policy mistakes. These need to be corrected now," he said.
Salehuddin stated that the interim government aims to implement reforms during its brief tenure of one to one-and-a-half years.
"We may be here for a short period, but we aim to leave behind a clear pathway for others to follow and build upon," he added.
The foreign ministry hosted the report launching ceremony, which attended by Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain as the special guest and Foreign Secretary Md Jasim Uddin presided over the event.
Saudi Ambassador Essa Yousef Essa Alduhailan and other officials also addressed the gathering.
Highlighting the multidimensional relationship between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia, Salehuddin noted the importance of fostering stronger trade and economic ties.
"Saudi Arabia is a crucial partner for us, and our trade volume, currently at $2 billion, holds immense potential for growth," he said.
On securing funds, he revealed that Bangladesh recently received $1.6 billion from various sources, with an additional $700 million expected soon.
"However, the challenge lies not in raising funds but in their effective utilization and ensuring repayment," he pointed out.
Criticizing the stock market, the adviser said, "Some companies continue to see rising share prices despite their factories being shut down. Such anomalies must be addressed to ensure market integrity."
Foreign Affairs Adviser Touhid said Bangladesh needs to do much more to attract economic opportunities to the country.
"This is a reality we must accept. For a long time, we've claimed that our country is the most investment-friendly, but this is not always true in practice," he said.
To address the issue, he said, the interim government is striving to change the scenario and make doing business easier for investors.
"If Saudi investors come now, they will find a favourable environment," he said, urging Saudi investors to consider investing in the country.
Reading the human resource sector, Touhid said, that the country's workforce must become more skilled as not only abroad but even inside country there is a shortage of Bangladeshi skilled workers.
"We lack skilled workers. This is not just an issue for Saudi Arabia, other countries as well, we are not producing skilled workers in line with demand. The more skilled workers we produce, the more they can contribute to the country.
We need improvements in skill-based training to develop a skilled workforce," he said.
Saudi Ambassador Essa said that the world's largest oil company, Aramco, is interested in coming to Bangladesh to establish an oil refinery in the Bay of Bengal.
"If a refinery is set up here and oil products are manufactured, they could supply these products to Bangladesh and the region," he said.
If a maritime route is established between Chattogram and Jeddah or Dammam, it could bring transformative changes to Bangladesh and the region," he said, adding that the refinery's products could also be exported to China, India, and other neighbouring countries.
"We have some success stories. Our international company, Red Sea Gateway Terminal, is operating the Patenga terminal and is interested in working at the Matarbari deep-sea port," the envoy mentioned.
The outgoing Saudi Ambassador also highlighted the obstacles to foreign investment in Bangladesh.
"Between 2016 and 2018, Aramco sent high-level delegations to Bangladesh three times, but they were not received by anyone. However, we will not talk about the past.
We will talk about the future," he said.
Foreign Secretary Md Jashim Uddin, Foreign Secretary (East) Md Nazrul Islam, and Policy Exchange Chairman Masrur Riaz also spoke at the event, emphasizing the need for coordinated efforts to attract foreign investments and foster economic growth.
