Bida prepares for post-pandemic investment

Over the last one and a half years, with foreign investment coming to a halt amid Covid-19, the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida) has been doing the groundwork for drawing in investors the moment the pandemic blues go away.  

Bida's main task is to bring investment opportunities to the attention of potential investors. For that to happen, in-person marketing is very essential. But the pandemic has come in the way, said Bida Executive Chairman Sirajul Islam while talking to The Business Standard on the occasion of Bida's fifth founding anniversary. 

"We have lagged behind because of Covid-19 and there is a kind of stagnation in investment," he said.

Nevertheless, Bida is in touch with foreign investors online and is offering a slew of opportunities to investors from Japan, China, South Korea, the United States and other countries on making investments in Bangladesh. 

"We are informing potential investors on the advantages they will get in Bangladesh. But they cannot reach a final decision until they physically come here," Sirajul Islam said. 

When the situation becomes normal, Bida will go for aggressive marketing. 

Bida is working on creating an investment-friendly environment and has introduced a one stop service (OSS) platform to facilitate businesses.

The country brought in foreign investment amounting to around $11 billion in the four years before the pandemic struck, but there has not been much investment in the last one year. 

Businesses have commended Bida for the launch of the one-stop service to attract investment as well as improving ease of doing business, said Sirajul Islam, adding, however, that the implementation of OSS is becoming difficult owing to the non-cooperation of some organisations.

If the pandemic situation normalises, Bida is going to organise an international investment summit on 28-29 November to attract both local and foreign investment.

"We are targeting around 15 countries to bring in investment. We have invited potential investors as well as countries from which we get more investment," Sirajul said. 

Moreover, there is a plan to arrange a "London Road Show" this year. Bida will also attend the Dubai expo. In this way, foreign investment will come to Bangladesh, the Bida executive chairman believes.

Bida was formed on 1 September 2016 through the merger of the Board of Investment and the Privatisation Commission, with the aim of encouraging domestic and foreign investment through providing necessary facilities for setting up industries. It was also tasked with using underutilised government land or establishments to further the country's economic activities.

Sirajul Islam said Bida is playing the role of coordinator in making doing business easier. 

Bangladesh has been hovering between the positions of 173 and 177 for a long time in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index. The country made a big jump in the index by advancing 8 notches in 2019. 

"If the 2020 ranking were published, we would go further ahead. We are now working on taking the country's position to double digits in 2021. If this happens, foreign investment will increase further."

In 2019, Bida launched the OSS portal in collaboration with the ministries concerned. The portal was launched in 2019. It has been providing 51 services to investors through the platform.

The Bida chief said investors can take services from home. Bida is offering 17 services fully online. It is also working to ensure that foreign investors can open a bank account online.

However, Sirajul Islam's observation is that there are many service providers who do not work with enthusiasm.

"We are working on this issue. A high-level committee, headed by the finance minister, has been set up to ensure that investors get services quickly. The committee will meet as soon as the finance minister gives time. We will discuss how to provide services fast from all the organisations that have signed agreements with us," the Bida executive chairman said.

An initiative has been taken to create a database of all investment projects in the country, he said, adding, "We will register the projects we have with us. E-monitoring is very important. Once this is done, we can easily know about the progress of the reports."