Foreign investors meet CA, urge swift action on security, energy challenges 

Faced with deteriorating law and order and unreliable energy supply, foreign investors urged the interim government, in a meeting with the chief adviser, to take swift action to improve the ease of doing business in Bangladesh.

Top executives of multinational companies operating in Bangladesh have also called for establishing predictable tax policies and addressing the country's negative branding.

The leaders of the Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) raised the points during the meeting with Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at his official residence Jamuna today (26 November).

"We mainly focused on four concerns of foreign investors. We placed the highest importance on law and order, as it hinders our ability to operate businesses properly, ultimately creating a negative image abroad," a Ficci leader who was present at the meeting told The Business Standard.

He said the deterioration in law and order is hindering the maintenance of supply chains, and Bangladesh's brand image is being damaged due to inadequate security measures.

"As a result, foreign buyers and investors are losing confidence. Ficci, the platform representing foreign investors, has proposed a swift resolution to these issues," he added.

In his turn, Professor Yunus urged the Ficci leaders to collaborate with the government to advocate for and promote Bangladesh to potential investors, ensuring the expansion of business opportunities in the country.

"As a team, we must work together. We are a team for the country," the chief adviser said during the meeting with over a dozen CEOs, managing directors, and country heads of multinational companies, who called on him to discuss business and investment opportunities in Bangladesh.

"Be the brand ambassador of the country, and it will encourage potential investors to come to Bangladesh," he added, urging the executives to maintain transparency in their businesses.

"Help us identify issues and challenges so that we can address them," he said.

Ficci President Javed Akhtar, who led the delegation, said, "The chief adviser gave us a patient hearing and appreciated our candid feedback to facilitate trade and investment in Bangladesh. As the largest investors, we remain committed to Bangladesh and will continue to be strong advocates for the country, as we believe that what is good for Bangladesh will also be good for business."

A CEO of a multinational company said the second major concern of foreign investors is energy security, adding, "We want a reliable energy supply, both in the mid-term and long-term. This energy should be affordable and sourced from sustainable, green alternatives."

He said they also raised the issue of a level playing field as the third concern. "Multinationals always comply with local laws as well as our group's regulations. We pay more taxes than our market share would suggest—market share versus revenue share."

"Let's say my market share is 7%, so the tax we pay to the government should be 7% of the total sector's tax. But we are the number one taxpayer. We suggested setting up a research firm to conduct industry research to determine the market share across the sector and how much revenue is generated relative to that share. If this is calculated, the tax gap could be reduced."

He continued, "Our fourth point is predictable policy. If new policies keep changing every year, it erodes investor confidence. Investors come to Bangladesh for the long term, and they need consistent, long-term policies that allow them to predict the future of their investments."

The business executives urged the government to ensure predictability in licensing and tax measures, improve ease of doing business, facilitate one-stop service in Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida), and improve credit ratings to encourage investors to come to Bangladesh.

They also brought to the attention of the head of the interim government the negative propaganda against the country.

"There is negative PR circulating about Bangladesh. We have also emphasised the need to showcase immediate results from the reforms this government is undertaking and to highlight them in various forums," said the CEO at a multinational company who attended the meeting.

Lutfey Siddiqi, special envoy to the chief adviser, Ashik Chowdhury, executive chairman of the Bida, and Abdur Rahman Khan, Chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), were also present in the meeting. 

Lutfey Siddiqi termed the CEOs as standard bearers in business, saying, "There was a trust deficit in the past. We need to bridge that." 

Ashik Chowdhury said they are introducing relationship managers in Bida to ease the business.

He added that he and Lutfey Siddiqi will travel to Singapore next month to have discussions with the rating agencies. 

The NBR chairman spoke about the launch of the National Single Window, which would significantly improve the ease of doing business.