The prototype of the much-awaited 'One-Stop Service' scheme will be rolled out in November, executive chairman of state-run Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Kazi M Aminul Islam has said.
"We will launch the prototype next month," Mr Islam said after attending a meeting with the foreign investors at a city hotel on Wednesday.
"We have already developed a prototype, which will go through an auditing process", the BIDA executive chairman said when asked about the possible timeline for implementing such a service in the country.
"We are hopeful that once the prototype is successfully implemented, the full-fledged one stop service scheme will become operational within a few months," Mr Islam added.
One Stop Service, which is a flagship initiative of the newly-established Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, is intended to ease the process of setting up or bringing in new business or investment in the country.
The launch of the service has already missed deadlines.
When the parliament passed a 'One Stop Service' bill back in February this year, BIDA targeted launching it by June.
Brushing aside such instances of delays, the BIDA chairman said on Wednesday that he aims to go for the prototype by next month.
Earlier, during the meeting with the foreign investors, the BIDA executive chairman identified the cumbersome rules and regulations as well as infrastructure as the major bottlenecks for bringing new investments in the country.
"Regulatory regime, infrastructure and skill base-these are the three areas where we are lagging behind countries like Vietnam," Mr Islam said while speaking to the foreign investors.
Leading foreign investors in the meeting also identified Bangladesh's negative oversees image as one of the major barriers to bringing more investment in the country.
"There are two major challenges for increasing FDI in Bangladesh," said Shehzad Munim, president of the Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).
"One is the negative image of the country and the other thing is our attitude," said Mr Munim, who is also the managing director of British American Tobacco in Bangladesh.
He said Bangladesh needs international campaigning similar to India's 'Incredible India' or Malaysian 'Malaysia- Truly Asia' for enhancing its image abroad.
CEO of Standard Chartered Bangladesh Naser Ezaz Bijoy, in his speech, called for setting up a dispute resolution mechanism within BIDA.
"There should be a high-powered committee in BIDA who can resolve the issues whenever there is a dispute," Mr Bijoy said.
He also pointed at the cumbersome process that is followed in opening a new company in the country.
"Whenever, we apply for a new company, there are multiple applications that we have to fill in. Why can't there be a single application form online, which can cover all these things?" he added.
Chief executive officer of Grameenphone Michael Foley identified overregulation as one of the major challenges for doing business in the country.
"We have received well over 25 regulatory directives from BTRC this year. This is strange," Mr Foley said.
"Regulations need to be minimum, strategic, consistent and effective. They need to be measurable, cost effective, enforceable," he added.
Chief executive officer of HSBC Bangladesh Francois De Maricourt identified the lengthy and cumbersome visa issuance process for the expatriates as a major hurdle for foreign investors coming to Bangladesh.
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