No scope for delay in investment-related services

Salman F Rahman, private industry and investment adviser to the prime minister, yesterday instructed the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida) to connect all investment-related services to its One Stop Service (OSS) as soon as possible.

"There is no opportunity to delay investment services for the development of the country," he said while addressing a review meeting of Bida's OSS yesterday.

He said putting a stop to such delays would accelerate investment.

Rahman also asked them to provide services transparently and quickly and to ensure that people do not have to go to another office or department for investment-related services.

Mohammad Salah Uddin, secretary to the Prime Minister's Office, said investment was very important given the challenging global economic landscape.

"We have to remove all obstacles to increase domestic and foreign investment and we have to work together to do that," he said.

Lokman Hossain Mia, executive chairman of Bida, said Vietnam provides investment-related services in 29 days while it can take 48 to 60 days in Indonesia.

He added that Bida was providing 124 services through its OSS and that all investment-related services could be added within three months.

Afterwards, it will be possible to provide investment services quickly, even within a month, he said.

Mohsina Yasmin, an executive member of Bida, presented the implementation and progress report of the OSS at the meeting.

According to the presentation, the OSS Rules 2020 was approved under the One Stop Service Act 2018 on April 26, 2020 and gazetted on May 10, 2020.

The Bida signed an agreement with Business Automation Ltd on September 16, 2018 to provide all types of online services.

It launched the OSS on February 24, 2019 with many services, but not investment-related services.

Bida has so far signed memorandums of understanding with 48 companies. Out of them, 41 companies have added 101 services to the OSS. Additionally, Bida offers 23 services.

Tasks such as online application, uploading of documents, deposit of fees and authorisation can be completed from anywhere in the world, Yasmin said.

According to her, licences, permits, and clearances issued through the OSS are stored in the portal, so they do not have to be uploaded when availing other services.