Though dragged down by all-engulfing coronavirus pandemic, huge possibilities are peeping on the opposite side for the country as it can witness huge export orders and foreign investment in a changing world order after the pandemic.
The global economic downturn, Europe's negative attitude towards China due to the spread of coronavirus and the hint of withdrawal of investment of developed countries, including Japan, from China indicate positive prospects ahead of the country.
The country's economic policymakers and analysts, analyzing the global news, have vented such impression.
They opined that the Commerce Ministry, including Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) and Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), should take effective steps in this regard considering the changing world context after the pandemic.
Former National Board of Revenue (NBR) chairman Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, highlighting the possibilities, has written a post on his social platform quoting global media. His status read, as Japan has decided to shift its investment and companies from China, Bangladesh can be its destination along with other countries. Immediately after his post, supporting his idea there has been a widespread response observed from government policymakers to economists, bureaucrats, and analysts.
DrMashiur Rahman, Economic Affairs Adviser to Prime Minister, in his response said, “Japan is keen to invest in Bangladesh due to its land, proper communication network, and port facilities. But it cannot take a long time to allocate land. Easing land allocation can attract more foreign investment.”
He said, “Not only using cheap labor, technology and transaction process should also be made easier. What investors seek should be made available for them to attract more investment”.
BEZA executive chairman Paban Chowdhury told The Bangladesh Post, “A different situation will arise after the coronavirus pandemic. Then it will be clear what investment and export-import strategies will the countries adopt. But it is clear that we are at a very potential stage. Already Japan has made investment in our country. Later in the changing world context, the country could invest more here”.
Entrepreneurs of readymade garment, knitwear, leather and other production industries are now also seeing hope of huge export orders in the coming days when the lethal virus will stop spreading.
It is to be noted, on April 29, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven assured that his country will not cancel any garment product order from Bangladesh while talking to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina over telephone.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) former president said, “At present, a negative impression about China is prevailing in the Western World which may transfer their export orders to other parts from China. But till that, we have to survive under certain circumstances”.
While connected, Executive Director of South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) DrSelimRaihan told The Bangladesh Post that, “Certainly we have opportunities ahead when the pandemic is over. But there is a question that how much we are prepared to seize those possibilities while our neighboring competitor countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, and Myanmar are ready to grab those opportunities”.
“For further betterment of the country after the pandemic, inter-ministerial combined act is very much important so that none of the opportunities is missed”, he added.
Across the globe, a backlash is building against China for it's initial mishandling of the crisis that increased the coronavirus. According to Nikkei Asian Review, Forbes, The Diplomat, BBC, Bloomberg and other international media, China's image in the Western world is now in question because of coronavirus.
US President Trump has blamed China for the contagion and is seeking to punish it. Some governments want to sue Beijing for damages and reparations. Australia has called for an inquiry into the origin of the virus.
Meanwhile, a good number of European governments have rejected Chinese-made testing kits and medical masks and returned them citing they are below standard. According to authorities in Spain, Turkey and the Netherlands, said that they had found some testing kits ordered from Chinese companies not sufficiently accurate.
As China is the biggest exporter to the Western world, this pandemic issue can hit hard its supply chain when the situation will improve. Economic and political analysts in those countries are responding that imports from China may decline in a changing world context. Many of them can also take away investment.
Already Japanese government is allocating about $2.25 billion from its stimulus package to help Japanese firms move manufacturing supply chains out of China when the world is suffering a pandemic-induced shutdown affecting all major economies.
