Bangladesh has earned a bad name among investors abroad due to the ongoing tussle between the government and the Korean Export Processing Zone over the allocation of nearly 2,500 acres of land.
According to the Daily Star, the government plans to take back 2,000 acres of the 2,500 acres of land that it had allocated to KEPZ in 1999 to establish factories.
Mohammed Farashuddin, the former governor of Bangladesh Bank, said at a discussion, jointly organised by the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the South Asian Network on Economic Modelling (SANEM) at the MCCI office, that the discord has the potential to have an adverse impact on the country's investment climate.
Farashuddin added that the government should 'talk to the Koreans behind closed doors in an amicable manner' and solve the issue through the Board of Investment.
An impasse between Youngone Corporation, the operator of the KEPZ in Anwara, Chittagong, and the government has been going on for a long time over delays in executing the deed transfer of the land.
The government has blamed Youngone for its failure to fully use the industrial land in the KEPZ.