Kazi Zahidul Hasan :
The Board of Investment (BoI) is going to hold roadshows in the United Kingdom, Netherlands and France in the last week of this month. The similar programme will be arranged in Japan in the third week of April with a view to attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), official sources said.
They said, the BoI in the recent years staged a series of investment roadshows around the world with the same objective, but did not get positive response from the foreign investors due mainly to political instability, inadequate infrastructure, energy crisis and scarcity of lands to set up industrial ventures.
“A similar outcome is expected from these roadshows this time when the country plunged into a deep political crisis, with infrastructure bottleneck remains there,” a senior BoI official told The New Nation on Tuesday, on condition of anonymity.
He added: The ongoing political turmoil is sending wrong message abroad. Many developed countries have already issued statements expressing concern over the current political situation of the country. Such a development has forced the potential foreign
investors to cancel their visit in Bangladesh creating an uncertainty over the country’s investment front.
The investment proposals from the overseas investors are also showing a declining trend in the recent months following the fresh outbreak of political violence in the country, he said.
So, in my mind, the main objective of the roadshows may not be achieved this time also.
When asked, the official said, the state run investment promotion agency (BoI) will spend cores of taka to arrange the road shows in these countries.
“These roadshows may not experience much successes due to the prevailing political situation in the country. These programmes will give nothing but wasteful government expenditure,” said Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, former governor of Bangladesh Bank (BB).
He also said that BoI arranged similar roadshows in different countries in the recent past, but they also brought nothing good for the country.
“Political stability, adequate infrastructures and availability of gas and electricity are keys to woo foreign investment. As the country is lagging far behind to ensure these determining factors to foreign investment, investors are not coming here,” he noted.
Dr Salehuddin Ahmed further said that bureaucratic tangles, poor service delivery by the concerned agencies, underdeveloped rail and road connectivity and inadequate port facilities are also deterring foreign investment.
He said, the investors are aware about the current situation in the country and they may not come to Bangladesh for investment unless these bottlenecks are removed.
“So, the government should concentrate more on developing a congenial investment climate first, rather chasing foreign investment though roadshows, he added.
Bangladesh received $1.55 billion FDI in the fiscal year 2013-14 down from $1.73 billion in the previous fiscal, according to a statistics of BB.
BB officials said that the inflow of FDI marked 10.2 per cent fall year-on-year basis due to political turmoil and inadequate supply of gas and power.
The Board of Investment (BoI) is going to hold roadshows in the United Kingdom, Netherlands and France in the last week of this month. The similar programme will be arranged in Japan in the third week of April with a view to attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), official sources said.
They said, the BoI in the recent years staged a series of investment roadshows around the world with the same objective, but did not get positive response from the foreign investors due mainly to political instability, inadequate infrastructure, energy crisis and scarcity of lands to set up industrial ventures.
“A similar outcome is expected from these roadshows this time when the country plunged into a deep political crisis, with infrastructure bottleneck remains there,” a senior BoI official told The New Nation on Tuesday, on condition of anonymity.
He added: The ongoing political turmoil is sending wrong message abroad. Many developed countries have already issued statements expressing concern over the current political situation of the country. Such a development has forced the potential foreign
investors to cancel their visit in Bangladesh creating an uncertainty over the country’s investment front.
The investment proposals from the overseas investors are also showing a declining trend in the recent months following the fresh outbreak of political violence in the country, he said.
So, in my mind, the main objective of the roadshows may not be achieved this time also.
When asked, the official said, the state run investment promotion agency (BoI) will spend cores of taka to arrange the road shows in these countries.
“These roadshows may not experience much successes due to the prevailing political situation in the country. These programmes will give nothing but wasteful government expenditure,” said Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, former governor of Bangladesh Bank (BB).
He also said that BoI arranged similar roadshows in different countries in the recent past, but they also brought nothing good for the country.
“Political stability, adequate infrastructures and availability of gas and electricity are keys to woo foreign investment. As the country is lagging far behind to ensure these determining factors to foreign investment, investors are not coming here,” he noted.
Dr Salehuddin Ahmed further said that bureaucratic tangles, poor service delivery by the concerned agencies, underdeveloped rail and road connectivity and inadequate port facilities are also deterring foreign investment.
He said, the investors are aware about the current situation in the country and they may not come to Bangladesh for investment unless these bottlenecks are removed.
“So, the government should concentrate more on developing a congenial investment climate first, rather chasing foreign investment though roadshows, he added.
Bangladesh received $1.55 billion FDI in the fiscal year 2013-14 down from $1.73 billion in the previous fiscal, according to a statistics of BB.
BB officials said that the inflow of FDI marked 10.2 per cent fall year-on-year basis due to political turmoil and inadequate supply of gas and power.
