‘Reconsider limiting expats’ investments against govt bonds’
Non-resident Bangladeshis yesterday urged the government to reconsider its decision of "limiting" expatriates' investment opportunities against some government savings instruments.
Leaders of NRB CIP Association during a "meet the press" event at a city hotel urged the government to consider re-introducing the previous system.
They said the government has recently set Tk 1 crore or its equivalent in foreign currency as the maximum collective investment for expatriates against wage earners' development bond, US dollar premium bond and US dollar investment bond.
They said if a limit is imposed on expatriates' investment against bonds then the ill practice of sending money through illegal channels could rise, and this might affect the country's foreign reserves negatively.
Earlier, expatriate Bangladeshis had been investing against government bonds through formal channels, since there was no limit of investment against those savings instruments, said Mahtabur Rahman, president of the association.
He said expatriate Bangladeshis in Middle Eastern countries, who get pension benefits following retirement after 20-30 years of employment, need to bring their benefits to the country.
"These expatriates consider investment against government bonds as safe investment," he added.
Mahtabur thanked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for awarding expatriate Bangladeshis as Commercially Important Persons (CIPs) during a ceremony yesterday.
Yasin Chowdhury, organising secretary of the association, urged the government to create a separate economic zone in the country for expatriate Bangladeshis, so they can safely invest their hard-earned money there.
The association leaders also urged the government to take steps to bring back corpses of expatriate Bangladeshis free of cost through Biman Bangladesh Airlines flights.
Besides, they urged the government to arrange low-cost special flights to bring back undocumented Bangladeshi migrant workers from Lebanon, who got registered under a special amnesty programme there.
Tateyama Kabir, vice president of the association, among others, addressed the programme.
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