Do nations need investment summits at home and abroad?

South Korean Young One Group is the largest overseas investor in Bangladesh. But unfortunately, now they are being forced to relocate some of their investments to Vietnam due to the higher cost of products manufactured in Bangladesh. 

This is despite the fact that Bangladesh offers significantly lower labour costs, with garment worker wages ranging from $0.60 to $1.30 per hour, compared to Vietnam's $2.00 to $3.00 per hour. 

The Chairman of the Young One group said in a TV interview that their investment will switch between Bangladesh and Vietnam based on Ease of Doing Business and Cost of Doing Business in both countries. 

Many overseas investors are withdrawing from the Bangladesh market and relocating to more comfortable locations in other countries, citing regulatory barriers, an increase in the cost of doing business and corruption. 

Bangladesh's media and social media were flooded with news that a Bangladesh-born Australian billionaire, Robin Khuda, has announced plans to invest $30 billion in India. 

Bangladesh continues to trail its regional competitors in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), according to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Between 2019 and 2024, Bangladesh received an average of $1.5 billion in FDI a year, less than half the level of Cambodia. Vietnam attracted more than $17 billion a year on average over the same period.

The primary task of reducing the cost of doing business is trade facilitation. Bangladesh also ratified the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in September 2016. Bangladesh did not reform the trade-related laws and has not yet submitted its transparency notifications related to import, export, and transit regulations. 

The outdated legislation, including the Investment Act of 1980, does not clearly define investor protection or consolidate FDI rules. Entry procedures remain complex and require multiple approvals, while digitalisation efforts are undermined by continued reliance on manual processes. Challenges such as foreign exchange repatriation, access to land, infrastructure shortages and limited skilled labour mobility continue to weigh on investor confidence, he said.

A recent report by the US administration has identified precisely what's holding the country back -- corruption, bureaucracy, an anti-competitive procurement system, violation of intellectual property rights, unreliable logistics, and lack of skilled labour, among others.

Corruption is a pervasive and long-standing problem in Bangladesh. The anticorruption law is inadequately enforced. The Code of Criminal Procedure, the Prevention of Corruption Act, the Penal Code, and the Money Laundering Prevention Act criminalise attempted corruption, extortion, active and passive bribery, bribery of foreign public officials, money laundering, and use of public resources or non-public state information for private gain. However, bribery and extortion in commercial dealings have been common features of business despite the illegality of facilitation payments and gifts.

There have been continuous efforts to curb the independence of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the main institutional anticorruption watchdog. The Sarkari Chakori Ain Bill (Government Job Act), enacted in October 2018, requires the ACC to seek permission of the authorities concerned before arresting any government official and limits the ability of the ACC in investigating corruption allegations against government officials. While the ACC has increasingly pursued cases against government officials, mainly lower-level officials and some higher-level officials, there remains a large backlog of cases.

A UNCTAD review of Bangladesh's investment policy 2026 observed that a national investment policy and a consolidated investment law would help reinforce investor confidence and focus on attracting and leveraging FDI in support of national development objectives through a whole-of-government approach.

Policy uncertainty remains one of the key barriers hindering both local and foreign direct investment. For example, fiscal and taxation policies are "unpredictable". Foreign investors want to see predictable long-term policies extending at least 10 years ahead to plan their business operations.

Strengthen investment promotion and facilitation activities through a single national agency

with delegated windows for zones and sectors, supported by inter-ministerial focal points.

Focus on the priority sectors identified by the FDI Heatmap, adopt targeted measures to enhance their growth and engage with other institutions to develop a shared understanding. Mitigate the impact of losing preferential LDC status by engaging with key investment and trade partners and by strengthening the capacities of the local private sector.

The high cost of capital, distorted tax incentives, lack of transparency, and supply chain and infrastructure challenges — including access to power, electricity and water — were among the other major obstacles. Bangladesh must address key bottlenecks to investment by improving access to land and infrastructure.

According to the World Bank findings, key constraints to creating a business environment that delivers jobs include a heavy regulatory burden, with senior managers spending around 13 per cent of their time complying with regulations. The report suggested smart deregulation, creating a level playing field, enabling private capital, and enhancing productivity for SMEs and informal firms as the way forward.

The country has a young and expanding workforce, but a shortage of skilled labour, especially in technology-driven sectors, which is a major concern for investors.

In the Bangladesh Investment Summit 2025, it has been said that efforts to attract more FDI are often undermined by the ease of doing business in Bangladesh for foreign investors. The arbitrary changes in investment policies create difficulties for investors in getting clear guidance on tax policies, environmental clearances, and land acquisition procedures. Regulatory authorities in Bangladesh frequently impose barriers on profit repatriation, making it difficult for investors to access their earnings and dividends.

Corruption has often been highlighted by national and international experts as one of the prevailing barriers to increased FDI. It is also behind the negligent development of infrastructure and transport networks needed for smoother operations of business throughout the country. Instead of working diligently to create transparency and minimise corruption, adopting legislation such as the Sarkari Kormochari law, which limits the investigation of corruption allegations against government officials, points out deficiencies in our legislative and rule-making processes. 

Bangladesh undoubtedly possesses strong economic potential and strategic advantages. However, durable investor confidence depends less on conference branding and more on credible institutions, regulatory consistency, and administrative readiness. 

Bangladesh has not yet implemented the recommendations of the Bangladesh Investment Summit 2025 and organised another "Trade, Economic Growth & Economic Diplomacy Conference" on 13 June 2026 in Dhaka. The present and past future government is fond of local and overseas "Investment summits" at different locations of the world. The outcomes and recommendations of such expensive investment conferences are similar, but all past governments were not keen to implement the decisions of the previous summits. Let the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) do the homework on the recommendations of previous summits. 

By this time, can authorities contact Bangladesh-born Australian billionaire Robin Khuda as to the reason for his investment in India, not in Bangladesh?

M S Siddiqui is a legal economist and the CEO of Bangla Chemical.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.