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Businessmen, bureaucrats lock horns over FDI policy

STAR BUSINESS REPORT
A debate sparked off at the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) yesterday over whether the government should continue with its liberal policy on foreign direct investment.
Local entrepreneurs and government officials participated in the debate while attending a seminar on Foreign Investment and Local Industry at the FBCCI auditorium.
The businessmen said though foreign direct investment (FDI) was necessary for the country but that should not be at the cost of local mills and factories.
They urged the government to be cautious on permitting foreign investment and sought some protection for local industries for their survival.
Government officials, however, said there should not be restrictions on investment as it would give a
wrong signals abroad.
They also opposed the idea of protectionism that they said was contrary to the idea of free market policy.
Some local entrepreneurs said the country has attained selfsufficiency in some sectors where strict policies should be followed for safeguarding the local companies.
Minister of Commerce Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury attended the seminar as chief guest which was presided over by FBCCI President Yussuf Abdullah Harun.
Board of Investment (BOI) Executive Chairman Mahmudur Rahman, Foreign Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) President Wali Bhuiyan, local entrepreneurs Abdul Matlub Ahmed, Niaz Rahim, Abdul Khaleq, Delwar Hossain, Shamsul Alam and Rouf Chowdhury took part in the discussion.
Quazi Hamid Uddin, director of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB),
presented the key-note paper.
The businessmen observed that the government should not allow any further foreign investment in a number of manufacturing sector like battery, pen, cement, carton and light engineering.
Commerce Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said the country needs FDI for foreign currency and technology transfer but not at the cost of local industries.
The minister admitted despite adopting liberal investment policies, the flow of FDI was not at the desired level.
"Putting restriction on foreign investment in any sector would not send right signal to the world. Rather we should identify the sectors where the country has enough potentiality," the minister said.
He underscored the need for creating a level-playing filed for all investors.
BOI Executive Chairman Mahmudur Rahman observed the
lack of infrastructure was the biggest problem in the country. Giving example, he said inefficiency of the Chittagong port is increasing the cost of business in Bangladesh.
"We should not open everything in the name of free economy" said Yussuf Abdullah Harun. "There should be some protection but that should not give any wrong signal."
Niaz Rahim alleged India has been ruthlessly dumping their products in Bangladesh to hamper industrial development here.
Abdul Matlub Ahmed demanded the opening of the gas sector for local investment. "The government is only encouraging foreign investors in natural gas sector but there should be some legal support so that local investors can participate in drilling natural gas," he said.
Rouf Chowdhury said the way government is looking for FDI is not correct. The FDI should come through private sector people, he added.