Chinese investors find BD visa, work permit system complicated

Obtaining any visa and work permit in Bangladesh is complicated and time-consuming, Chinese investors said at a seminar on Saturday.
Besides, there are different other issues with Bangladesh's tax regime as well as ownership of land for establishing industrial units, they said.
They came up with the observations at the seminar titled "Stakeholders' Consultation with Chinese Investors: Challenges, Expectations & Prospects".
The Bangladesh-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCCI) and the Chinese embassy in Bangladesh jointly organised the seminar at the Bangabandhu Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre in the city's Purbachal area on the sidelines of the three-day 'Belt and Road Initiative in Bangladesh Exhibition 2023'.
Executive member of the Bangladesh Investment Development  Authority (BIDA) Avijit Chowdhury was the chief guest at the seminar while Commercial Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh Song Yang was the guest of honor. Executive Director of Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) Tanvir Hossain was the special guest.
BCCCI President Gazi Golam Murtoza, the chamber's secretary general Al Mamun Mridha,
President of Chinese Enterprises Association of Bangladesh (CEAB) Ke Changliang, director general (DG) of BIDA Shah Mohammad Mahboob, National Board of Revenue (NBR) first secretary Khandakar Nazrul Haque spoke on the occasion among others.
Hailing the Chinese investors' participation in Bangladesh's economic development, Avijit Chowdhury said BIDA is eager to know about the bottlenecks the Chinese investors face and provide all required support to them.
"You will be delighted to know that BIDA has opened an after-investment care service to provide all necessary support," he said, highlighting various fiscal incentives and programmes launched by the government to facilitate investment.
Tanvir Hossain said predictability of policies and communication are big issues for the investors.
He also said the one-stop service (OSS) centres of different investment promotion agencies offer time-bound services to investors.
However, it is necessary to follow them up on whether the services are provided within the timeframe, he said.
BIDA DG Shah Mohammad Mahboob made a presentation on Bangladesh's investment climate, elaborating the potential the country holds out to international businesses.
Food processing, agro machinery, information technology, health, medical device, automobile and parts, and blue economy are some of the potential sectors for investment, he said.
Ke Changliang said there are approximately 1,000 Chinese enterprises engaged in investment, trade or engineering and construction services in Bangladesh.
Hailing the government role in this regard, he said, however, most of them face some challenges, since Bangladesh is still in the early stage of rapid economic development.
"Without any doubt, we are in need for our coordinated joint efforts to address all the challenges we have faced during our business operations," he said.
Al Mamun Mridha said the BCCCI tirelessly worked towards fostering stronger economic relations between the two friendly nations.
"We are blessed with more than 700 members, among them over 430 are Chinese enterprises," he said.
During open discussion, investors raised questions on different issues including visa policy, taxation, customs, LC openings, land ownership and utility services.
Representatives of different government agencies responded to their queries and objections as much as possible and clarified them.
This seminar was the second in a series of discussion programmes aiming to boost Chinese investment in Bangladesh.
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