Leave us alone

Businesses yesterday urged the government not to make them prisoners of messy politics.   

“Leave us alone. Don't put any roadblock. We don't want any money from the government -- just the right environment so that we can conduct our business freely,” said Mahbubur Rahman, president of International Chamber of Commerce, Bangladesh.

He said Bangladesh is the best place in the region to invest and make profit -- only a small understanding and patience in the political arena will make a world of difference.

Anis A Khan, vice-president of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka (MCCI), echoed the same, adding that for the country to prosper there should be no strikes and blockade.

“The businesses must be left alone to do their thing. Policies must be friendly to them. The bureaucracy must be amiable,” he said, adding that there must not be any red-tape.

They spoke at a meeting on “Doing Business in Bangladesh”, organised by American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham) at Sonargaon Hotel in the city.

Bangladesh came in at 173 among 189 nations on the Doing Business list, down from 170 last year, in the World Bank's index on the ease of doing business. The decline was due to the slower pace of reforms relative to other countries.

The AmCham meeting comes as the BNP-led alliance sponsored nationwide blockade is nearing three months. 

Mahbubul Alam, president of Chittagong Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the whole country has been suffering as a consequence of the ongoing political unrest.

“Production is being hampered. Exporters are failing to meet deadlines,” he said.

Alam urged the political leaders to understand the reality without further delay for the sake of the economy.

He said many foreign investors want to set up businesses in Chittagong but are unable to for power and gas shortages and other infrastructure bottlenecks.

Rupali Chowdhury, president of Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said too many laws under different ministries and departments governing the business community sometimes work as a hindrance.

“There is ambiguity and we need to address them,” she said.  Chowdhury, who is also the managing director of Berger Paints Bangladesh, said most multinational companies are making profits in Bangladesh because of the people they employ. She called for a change in the mindsets of the state institutions to serve the business in the twenty-first century.

Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed, president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said the apex trade body is working with the government to set up a one-stop service for facilitating the business community. 

David Meale, deputy mission chief of the US embassy in Dhaka, said the business climate in Bangladesh is very important to American investors.

“The question everybody is asking right now is: how we do business in this environment?”

“In answering the question, the business chambers are key, because they serve as information clearing houses, are hubs for networking and provide match-making services and have roles in policy advocacy.”

He said the country has great potential given its population of 160 million and 6 percent average annual growth. But, it faces numerous challenges too, particularly on the political front, and the foreign investors are very concerned.

Apart from strikes and blockades, the American investors are also talking about infrastructure and bureaucracy routinely. “So, we should not lose sight of long-term issues while discussing short-term problems.”

The diplomat also said trade and investment increases between countries when they acknowledge the challenges of doing business. “In order to move forward you will have to discuss the hard stuff.”  

AmCham President Aftab Ul Islam said the private sector could go far ahead if it had appropriate political leadership.

“The biggest hindrance that the private sector is facing at the moment is not the labour unrest, the port mismanagement or the lack of adequate electricity and gas, it is the fear, threat, killing, missing and uncertainty, which have slowed down trade and investment in the country.”

He said the lack of enthusiasm among local investors is apparent, which sends out wrong signals to the foreign investors. “Today, the stakes are too high but time is too short. So, an improvement in law and order is necessary from the party that is now ruling the country and the others who are hoping to rule in future.”