FBCCI president sees ample scope of overseas investment by local firms

FBCCI President Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin sees ample scope of Bangladeshi entrepreneurs to invest abroad. "Many African countries are offering lands for foreign investors. Bangla-deshi entrepreneurs can go there, set up plants, mills and agricultural firms. It will ensure food and cotton security for Bangladesh," he said.

 The president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) was speaking as chief guest at the 2nd roundtable discussion on "Overseas Investment by Bangladeshi Entrepre-neurs" organized by the International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB) in its conference hall in the city yesterday.

Currently, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) is working to formulate a policy for liberalizing overseas investment by the Bangladeshi entrepreneurs, said Ajit Kumar Paul a member of BIDA who was present as the special guest.

IBFB Hafizur Rahman Khan chaired the seminar It was told in the seminar that as a business think-tank IBFB has been conducting research and advocacy on overseas investment by Bangladeshi entrepreneurs for last three years. In the discussion, Director of IBFB and Legal Economist MS Siddiqui presented the keynote paper titled "Policy Recommendations for Facilitating Overseas Investment by Bangladeshi Entrepreneurs.
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Among others, Ex Army Chief Lieutenant General M Harun-Ar-Rashid, Trade Commissioner of Canadian High Commis-sion in Bangla-desh Kamal Uddin, Trade Commissioner of Indian High Commission in Bangladesh Shishir Kothari, Senior Assistant Director of WALTON Md Sahabudddin Sabuj, Research Director of Center of Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr Golam Moazzem also took part in discussions. The round table discussion was attended by eminent business leaders, academia, civil society members and dignitaries from different foreign missions and international agencies.

In the keynote paper presentation, MS Siddiqui said that global FDI flows are projected to surpass $1.8 trillion in 2018. There are some restrictions on overseas investment by Bangladeshi entrepreneurs since its birth, which contradicts with government policy of pursuing free market economy.

According to Global Financial Integrity report unrecorded capital flow from Bangladesh stood $61.63 billion between 2005 and 2014. Here, an average, $6.16 billion was siphoned out of Bangladesh each year during 2005 and 2014, added Siddiqui.

Bangladesh can invest in China for technology supported intermediate product and component and bring these products into Bangladesh for labor intensive finishing or assembling final products, he added. In order to promote, facilitate, and deal with all the relevant issues of overseas investment, the seminar suggested formation of an independent "Overseas Investment Cell."

In addition to this, IBFB suggested amendment to  the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 to liberalize the overseas investment, establish global financial integrity and electronic dashboard system for effective and strengthening the Financial Intelligence Unit with a view to reduce capital flight.

Speakers in the round table discussion said overseas investment has numerous potentialities to increases the efficient use of productive resources especially when home country faces infrastructural inadequacies including shortage of adequate land, power and energy.

They urged, if Bangladesh fails to take advantage of such opportunities, then other countries will definitely do so for which it will limit the scope of increasing GDP growth and poverty alleviation at least to some extent.

-Shaporan Haque