Dhaka //

Traders are concerned about the overall law and order situation, including the ongoing unrest in the country’s industries. They feel that there is a need to increase the government’s communication with the businessmen to bring back the normal course of business. The local heads of various US-based companies operating in Bangladesh expressed this sentiment to a visiting US government delegation.

The US delegation was led by Brent Neiman, Assistant Secretary for International Finance at the Treasury Department.

The meeting was held at the residence of the US Ambassador in Dhaka, Gulshan in the capital on Saturday morning. In this meeting lasting about two and a half hours, the economic situation of Bangladesh, investment environment, banking and financial sector, law and order situation were discussed. The issue of dividends and money owed to the government by US business organizations also came up in the discussion of the meeting.

Bangladesh heads of various organizations including soft drink company Coca-Cola, multinational financial company Citibank NA, Mastercard, General Electronics or GE participated in the meeting. Members of the visiting delegation including Charge d’Affaires of the US Embassy in Dhaka, Helen Lafave, were present in the meeting.

Speaking to several businessmen who participated in the meeting, representatives of US companies operating in Bangladesh expressed their concerns on various business issues. Most traders expressed their concern over the current law and order situation. At this time, they expressed their concern as there is no representative of the businessmen in the current interim government and emphasized on increasing the government’s communication with the businessmen.

Syed Ershad Ahmed, President of American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) and Managing Director of Expeditors Bangladesh, told the media that the US delegation was mainly interested in learning about the business environment in Bangladesh. The members of the delegation wanted to know what are the problems in doing business in this country and what steps need to be taken to overcome the problems. They also wanted to know the challenges faced in the business and whether the situation has improved in the changed country.
Syed Ershad Ahmed said that many of the traders mentioned the harassment of the customs authorities and said that there has been a lot of improvement in this field after the interim government took over. Many traders said the law and order situation needed improvement. In particular, the Industrial Police needs to be activated. Apart from this, there is a need to improve in the case of congestion in the movement of goods at the port. The issue of dollar-crisis is also discussed.

In the meeting, Bangladesh heads of American business organizations identified the balance of foreign transactions of the banking sector and the lack of good governance in the banking sector as problems in the field of trade and commerce. Apart from this, these businessmen said that discrimination and harassment in the taxation system is hindering investment and trade.

The United States government delegation was also told that the tax system of Bangladesh is such that those who pay tax in accordance with all the laws, the tax burden falls on them. As multinational companies conduct their business in accordance with the law, the tax burden on them increases every year. This is why it is necessary to change the tax system. Businessmen also highlighted the need to increase coordination between various government departments to increase domestic and foreign investment.

According to the sources of the meeting, Metlife, a US-owned insurance company operating in this country, has not been able to send its dividends to the US for more than four years. Besides, the delegation was also informed about Chevron’s huge unpaid amount due to the government. Meta, the company that owns social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp, has pointed out various problems in sending profits from Bangladesh. Businessmen said that such a situation is sending a wrong message to foreign investors.

According to several related sources, since 2019, Metlife has not been able to send their profits to the United States due to various reasons including the dollar crisis. As a result, a huge amount of money is stuck in this country. Similarly, Chevron has not been getting its dues from the government for a long time.

Meanwhile, after the meeting, a photo was published on the verified Facebook page of the US Embassy in Dhaka. It is said that US companies are playing a positive role in various sectors of Bangladesh’s economy, starting from energy-security to data center and transportation sectors. With the right economic reforms, the US private sector can help unlock Bangladesh’s development potential through trade and investment.