Apparently worried over the recent law and order situation in Bangladesh, foreign investors, in good numbers, have postponed their planned visits while the others on business here are not feeling secured. This was the gloomy picture of the current foreign investment scenario painted by the leaders of different chambers and traders’ bodies. Those dealing with foreign investment delegations said many foreign investors have postponed their scheduled business trips to Bangladesh and even some staying here do not feel comfort in regard to security concerns. At the latest, Buyers Forum, a platform of buyers that outsource apparel from Bangladesh, postponed a meeting with the new office-bearers of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries scheduled for Monday. It was learnt that the buyer representatives postponed the meeting on security grounds as most of the foreign missions here have issued security alert to their citizens living across the country. Deterioration of law and order will lose investor confidence in the friendly business atmosphere here and ultimately decrease the inflow of foreign direct investment if it is not being handled with zero tolerance, traders observed. Law and order went downhill fast after the killings of two foreign nationals—an Italian and a Japanese—by unknown assailants in a speed of events last week. Following the incidents, foreign missions in Dhaka like the US, the UK, Japan and Korean embassies alerted their citizens living in Bangladesh. Sources said such an eerie situation has worried the foreign investors. Md Hatem, former vice-president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the government should strictly handle the situation of killing incident. Foreign investors have voiced concern over the current situation that calls for prompt action adequately, otherwise they will lose confidence, he added. “I held a meeting with a JICA team on Monday when the Japanese entrepreneurs asked me about the current volatile situation here,” Hatem said. “I told the delegates that these are stray incidents and the government will bring the miscreants to trial,” the business leader told daily sun. Information has it that Bangladesh now enjoys roughly the $2 billion FDI while it is expecting to increase the amount to $3 billion this year for a moderate growth of the national economy. However, it is claimed that security challenges may put the dream of the government in uncertainty. There is no choice but to restore investor confidence, said Kazi Akram Uddin, former president of the FBCCI. “A vested quarter is trying to destabilise the country through interrupting the pace of its development.” Buyers want to know about the present situation in Bangladesh, said Kazi Iftekhar, president of Bangladesh Garment Buying Houses Association. He has called upon the government to take stricter action to this end. Iftekhar observed that foreign investors will not arrive in Bangladesh for lack of a better investment climate in the country. To attract more FDI, sources said, the government has established several economic zones across the country. It was learnt that China, Japan, India have already shown interest to establish such special zones for their investors in Bangladesh. Leaders of International Business Forum Bangladesh said recent killing incidents have dramatically decreased the FDI volume. IBFB President Hafizur Rahman Khan in a statement said such incidents will put an adverse effect on socio-economic lives of the people and pleaded the government to tackle the situation deftly. Meanwhile, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industries leaders said these incidents may have an adverse impact on FDI inflows as well as exports, imploring the state agencies to take immediate steps to ensure safety of foreigners here. Asked about impact of the incidents on foreign investment, Paban Chowdhury, executive chairman of Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority, said such incident is being occurred in many developed countries like the US and Australia. Thailand has recently faced more horrific attacks, he cited. “Did the foreign investors leave Thailand?” he queried. Paban asserted that the government is resolute to bring the culprits to book.
