Page 64 - November 2020

The central bank
will form a pool
of firms, instead

of merchant
banks or
authorised dealer

banks, to
determine the
prices of shares of
foreign investors.

of FDI-induced development determine the share prices. country. The Bangladesh
requires an appropriate balance government has decided to
between the two competing Simplified Repatriation reduce the period from three
Process
interests in any FDI regulatory According to the existing Foreign years to one year.
regime in host states. It is Exchange Regulation, approval of
essential to evaluate the current the Bangladesh Bank is required Commencing e-signature
regulation to ensure Bangladesh for repatriation or transfers of The existing regulations of the
remains competitive as an more than $100 million. In some Registrar of Joint Stock
investment destination. In light of cases, the valuation of shares by Companies and Firms make it
the global developments, the merchant banks is not acceptable mandatory for shareholders in
registration processes, tax policy, to the Bangladesh Bank. As a non-listed companies to have to
customs and bankruptcy act must result, it takes a long time and appear in person before the
be re-evaluated to improve our creates complications in sending registrar if they want to transfer
ranking in the World Bank's ease money from share sales, causing shares. In case if the transferee is
of doing business indicator. concern among foreign investors. a foreigner or resides abroad,
he/she has to sign the transfer
To solve this problem, the central
A Step in the Right Direction bank will form a pool of firms, letter in the presence of a notary
In a drive to make FDI more of that country and get the letter
The Big Picture amounting to US$ 3.6 billion in lucrative in the country, the instead of merchant banks or attested by the Bangladesh
According to the United Nations 2018 that was slightly more Bangladesh government has authorised dealer banks, to embassy or consulate in that
Conference on Trade and than one per cent of the decided to ease capital determine the prices of shares of country. The regulation makes
Development (UNCTAD)'s World country's GDP. repatriation for foreign investors. foreign investors. the transfer of shares impossible
Investment Report 2020, FDI The inflow of Foreign Direct The new set of incentives also Reduction of Lock-in Period for anyone living in a country
inflows to Bangladesh fell by Investment (FDI) has been reduces the lock-in period for Currently, listed companies have where there is no Bangladeshi
56% to USD 1.6 billion in 2019. woefully insufficient. foreign investors in the capital to maintain a lock-in period of embassy or consulate.
The figure mirrors an Inadequate infrastructure, market and the introduction of three years from the date of their Addressing the issue,
adjustment from a record level Bangladesh" noted that the coupled with bureaucratic e-signature to facilitate the business commencement. Most amendments have been made to
in 2018. Concurrently, the inflow of FDI in Bangladesh complexities and a wide range process of share transfers. In the foreign investors believe the the existing rules to introduce the
recently-launched US was one of the lowest in Asia. of corruption, has been keeping case of money repatriation by period is a very long one. As a process of transferring shares
government report on "2020 The report also noted that investors away from foreigners, now the central bank result, many among them are through e-signature by next
Investment Climate Statements: Bangladesh had received FDI Bangladesh. The achievement December.
will also allow the firms to losing interest in investing in the

62