Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday urged top executives of multinational companies operating in Bangladesh to team up with the government to advocate and promote Bangladesh to potential investors and ensure business opportunities expanded in the country.
“As a team, we have to work together. We are a team for the country,” said the Chief Adviser, adding, “Be the brand Ambassador of the country and it will encourage potential investors to come to Bangladesh.”
The Chief Adviser made the call when over a dozen chief executive officers, managing directors, and country heads met him at the state guesthouse Jamuna to discuss business and investment opportunities in Bangladesh.
Lutfey Siddiqi, special envoy to the Chief Adviser, Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) and Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) and Abdur Rahman Khan, Chairman, National Board of Revenue (NBR), were also present at the meeting.
The business executives urged the government to ensure predictability in licensing and tax measures, improve ease of doing business, facilitate one-stop service in BIDA, and improve credit ratings to encourage investors to come to Bangladesh.
The business executives lauded the government's initiatives of labour rights reforms and assured all kinds of support.
The Chief Adviser asked the executives to maintain transparency in businesses. “Help us identify issues and challenges so that we can address them,” he said.
Lutfey Siddiqi termed the CEOs as standard bearers in business. “There was a trust deficit in the past. We need to bridge that,” he said.
Ashik Chowdhury said they are introducing relationship managers in BIDA to ease the business.
He added that he and special envoy Lutfey Siddiqi will travel to Singapore next month to have discussions with the rating agencies.
The NBR chairman spoke about the launch of the National Single Window which would significantly ease the way of doing business.
Zaved Akhtar, Chairman & Managing Director, Unilever Bangladesh Ltd, Eric M. Walker, Managing Director, Chevron Bangladesh, Yasir Azman, Chief Executive Officer, Grameenphone, Md Mahbub ur Rahman, Chief Executive Officer, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd (HSBC), Muhammad Alauddin Ahmad, Chief Executive Officer, MetLife Bangladesh, Abdur Rashid, Country Managing Director, SGS Bangladesh Limited, MHM Fairoz, Managing Director and CEO, Singer Bangladesh Ltd, Najith Meewanage, CEO, Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC, Rubaba Dowla, Country Managing Director, Oracle Bangladesh, Manabu Sugawara Country Head, Marubeni Corporation, Faisal Ahmed Chowdhury. Chairman, Baraka Power Ltd. Mohammad Iqbal Chowdhury, CEO, LafargeHolcim Bangladesh Ltd, Md Miarul Haque, Managing Director, DHL Worldwide Express Bangladesh Private Ltd., and Sumitava Basu Country Head, Marico Bangladesh Limited, were, among others, present.