Shah Alam Nur :Local businessmen are travelling abroad for finalizing new supply orders as their buyers remained concerned over the country’s law and order situation and not willing the visit Bangladesh after the recent killing of a Japanese and an Italian citizens.Such foreign tours for signing new supply orders are causing additional costs for businesses making the situation worse, business sources said.They said more than 70 per cent international buyers are now asking their Bangladeshi suppliers to travel to Hong Kong or Thailand for finalizing the orders.In recent times a number of international business partners deferred their scheduled visit to Bangladesh citing security issues. “Now the signing of agreement abroad has become quite common as the global business partners not interested to come here,” AK Azad, Chairman and Managing Director of Ha-Meem Group told The New Nation on Thursday.He said, “Currently, my company is signing business agreements with global companies in the United States and Singapore.” Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia are the preferable places to hold deal signing as foreigners feel insecure to come to Bangladesh because of current law and order situation.Syed Nurul Islam, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Well Group told this reporter, “We are now meeting with our international buyers in Hong Kong and China since they are asking us to meet them in those places for their convenience.” He said their brand clients are JCPenney, C&A, Kmart, Wal Mart, Carrefour, Aeropostale, and George Target, Sears, Family Dollar, Dollar General and Tesco.Meanwhile, a BGMEA leader said that a buyer from the UK had postponed his visit to Bangladesh scheduled for this month while another client from Australia also deferred the scheduled visit for October 5-17 citing security concerns.Both the UK and Australian governments along with the US, Canada and South Korea have warned their citizens over visiting Bangladesh on security grounds.He also said many of the exporters have been flying to the buyer’s country or any other third country to negotiate order as buyers started to cancel their scheduled tours. ‘We have been discussing with the representatives of global business partners and brands over the prevailing law and order situation,” said BGMEA President Siddiqur Rahman.He said they are explaining to their foreign buyers that the killing of the two foreigners was an isolated incident and it will not pose any security threat for them.Although most of the foreign missions are discouraging fresh entry of their citizens to Bangladesh citing security concerns, he hoped that Bangladesh would be able to overcome the situation soon.
