And The March Continues

Global brands rally behind the exit queue
Mocking govt efforts to bring investment new.

One after another global brand continues to quit Bangladesh at a moment when Bangladesh badly needs their presence to augment employment opportunities and revenue.South African Nandos and French Lafarge are two of the latest incidents to start with.

Nandos started its journey in Bangladesh back in 2008.Later it opened several outlets in Bangladesh. As per news report, Corona made a heavy dent in its operation here, forcing it to shut down all 4 outlets in Bangladesh.¹

Lafarge was one of the few companies that had strong presence in Bangladesh. Recently, it decided to sell stocks of its operation here following a gas bill row with the government². Lafarge went to court but the court ruled in favor of the government. It is unclear why Lafarge left the country while infrastructure boom is going on.

Earlier Corona-battered big brands stopped sourcing from Bangladesh. UK-based Debenhams closed its Bangladesh office without clearing the dues. Later Debenhams' employees held press conference demanding their arrears and compensation³.

Being a less developed country that enjoys relaxation of ownership right laws on drugs,Bangladesh has long been destination of global pharmaceutical brands. However, many opted to leave the country without giving any valid reason. GlaxoSmithkline announced its closure three years ago. Its consumer division was making profit back then. So the announcement came as a surprise. French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi and Purdue Pharma followed suit.There has been some issues in business environment or governance. None bothered to search the answer.

In IT, Accenture, an Indian IT firm doing some content related work for Telenor in Bangladesh, abruptly declared closure of its operations in Bangladesh. This kind of announcement did not send positive signal abroad to foreign investors. Meanwhile, key businesses and funds to stimulate business are being concentrated into the hands of some cronies who have proven that they are unable to bring the much needed wind of change in the economy. From garbage collection to public infrastructure construction, one can see the footprints of powerful oligarchs who spare no means to get rid of any competitor or obstacle. Recent drive against casino is an eye opener. Greed of the few brings down the whole system and corrupts the process of transparent dealing. In the end, government spending does not stimulate the private sector, plays no role to create any meaningful jobs and finds innovative ways to be laundered abroad.

A handful of groups are responsible for the bad loans that cause bankers and government officials to spend sleepless nights as piling up of bad loans poses serious menace to the economy. From container transportation through waterways to direct to home TV services, powerful oligarchs control the vital businesses , leaving little room for private sector, which will take the onus to propel the economy, to play any leading role.

This is indeed not a very promising sign for the future course of the economy, which requires a holistic growth approach to create more opportunities for all and to accelerate the trickle down process to dispel inequality.

One global brand after another abandons Bangladesh, mocking the indicators that say business climate is improving. Meanwhile, concentration of wealth into the hands of the powerful few augurs ill for Bangladesh economy⁴.

Notes And References:

1 “Nandos Keno Bangladesh Chhere Gelo (Why did Nandos leave Bangladesh)? “,Business Inspection Bd,December 17,2021Link here

2 “Lafarge Ki Bangladesh Chharte Chain(Does Lafarge want to quit Bangladesh)?”,Mehedi Hasan Rahat,Bonikbarta, October 06,2021 Link here

3 “Winter Is Coming!”, Rezaul Hoque,https://hoquestake.blogspot.com,January 17,2021,Link here

4 “Big Brands Ditch Bangladesh”,Rezaul Hoque,https://hoquestake.blogspot.com,November 07,2019,Link here