Bangladesh interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday asked the authorities to bring all the investment promotion agencies under one umbrella to attract more foreign investment in the country.
He also asked the authorities to resolve the land rights issue of the Korean Export Processing Zone by the early next month.
The directives were given when Kihak Sung, chairman of Youngone Corporation, leading exporter from Bangladesh, and several other top foreign investors met him at the state guest house Jamuna in Dhaka, according to a release from the press wing of the chief adviser.
Urging he chief adviser to improve the conditions for large-scale investment in the country, the Youngone Corporation chairman raised several issues that he believed were discouraging FDI in Bangladesh.
The FDI flow FY24 dropped to a decade to $1.47 billion after the previous lowest recorded at $1.48 billion in FY14, according to Bangladesh Bank.
Kihak Sung and British investor Mohammed A Matin spoke for the need to bring all the investment promotion agencies under one umbrella, saying it would offer efficient one-stop services to foreign investors.
The chief adviser said he had asked the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority chief, Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, to bring all five investment agencies under one office.
Ashik said the five different agencies for investment promotion were a legacy of the inept and corrupt governments in recent decades.
He also said the BIDA had undertaken a move to bring the agencies under one umbrella.
The chief adviser told Sung that the land issue of the Korean EPZ, which acted as a key deterrent to FDI in the industrial park, would be solved by February 6.
鈥榃e want the Korean EPZ to be the model for everyone in Bangladesh. We hope it will attract big investments and create a lot of jobs,鈥� the chief adviser said.
Kihak Sung appreciated the interim government鈥檚 fast-tracked move to resolve the long-standing issues involving the KEPZ.
He said more Korean investors would now be keen to invest in Bangladesh.
鈥業t will open the doors for other investors. The KEPZ surely will be a model for the investors,鈥� he said.
The Youngone Corporation chairman also urged the government to expedite shipments through the Chittagong Port, saying slow turnaround time in the country鈥檚 largest port was largely to blame for the lack of high-end and fashion clothing orders from top global brands.
Fashion clothing needs very quick exports, possibly in 10-15 days, he said, adding that Bangladesh does not have high-end fashion orders because sometimes it takes months to ship the orders.
He cited the example of Vietnam, as to how the Southeast Asian nation, where he invested hugely in recent years, took moves to expedite exports.
The chief adviser said he had asked the authorities to make port operations efficient.
He said special envoy Lutfey Siddiqi was working on a series of plans to make Chittagong a top port in the region.
Sung said Youngone was building one of the world鈥檚 largest textile institutes in the country, which will train thousands of young Bangladeshis every year.
He invited the chief adviser to join the opening ceremony to be held within three months.
Matin has called for streamlining labour laws and introducing a net metering system for solar panels set up in the export processing zones.
He also said due to discriminatory policy, investors in EPZ pay at least 26 per cent taxes on the import of solar panels.
The chief adviser said the interim government had moved to carry out vital labour reforms and said his special envoy, Lutfey Siddiqi, was working on the issue.
He also said the government was likely to introduce green channels in the Chittagong Port to fast-track exports from the country.
鈥榃e need clarity. We need it simple,鈥� Kihak Sung said, referring to the labour laws.
Javier Carlos Santonja Olcina, the country head of clothing giant Inditex, praised the efforts of the interim government to conduct vital business reforms and ease the conditions for doing business in Bangladesh.
鈥業 am really impressed. This is the new Bangladesh we need,鈥� he said, adding that he hoped the country鈥檚 exports would increase substantially this year.
Paul Anthony Warren, director of Dewhirst, which operates several garment factories in Bangladesh, also attended the meeting.
