How not to win friends

Telenor’s public reservations regarding the upcoming 3G-license auction is another instance of the government failing in its duty to improve the investment climate.    As things currently stand, the nation direly needs improvements in its reputation abroad. After the Tazreen and Rana Plaza tragedies, foreign investor confidence in Bangladesh is understandably shaky.    As a result, if the nation would like to move forward without crippling its economy, we should focus on taking steps to ensure that investors are not scared off.    Unfortunately, it seems the government has decided to do the exact opposite.     Instead of making things easier for investors, they have dragged one of our most important investors into their Grameen Bank witch-hunt.    As Grameenphone is the largest player in our significant mobile telephony sector, efforts should be made to ensure that all the investment made by the company, and its affiliates, should not go to waste.     The fact that Telenor, which even the commerce minister said has made significant contributions in developing GP, has mentioned that they are uncertain of their future investments in Bangladesh should have us worried.     While we support initiatives to uncover any subversive activities, we think that the government would do well to understand that the transparency, with which they undertake these “investigations,” and their speed and fairness are of the utmost importance.     The country cannot afford to alienate any more prospective partners.