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Eminent industrialist Syed Manzur Elahi on Monday called for an investment-friendly fiscal policy to court required foreign direct investment in Bangladesh.
For this, according to him, the revenue board has a role to play in ensuring an investment-oriented budget as question arises about taxing investment.
"You keep on taxing the investment means you're killing the golden goose that lays the eggs," said Mr Elahi, urging the NBR to allow investment to grow first.
"When investment grows, you have more taxes," he asserted.
The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) hosted the webinar styled 'Opportunities and Challenges for Overseas Investment in the Renewable Energy Sector of Bangladesh: The Case of China'.
Speaking as the chair, Mr Elahi, also chairman of the Apex Group, said the miraculous and phenomenal growth of China was due to FDI.
"Now, FDI has gone largely but they have served the purpose," he said, adding that FDI brought technology and capital for the capital-starved China.
The similar story goes for Thailand, Korea and many other countries, according to Mr Elahi.
He said FDI was extremely important for export-led growth. "But for all of these, we need energy."
He said target of FDI or more revenue of NBR would fall flat if there was not sufficient energy.
"And we can't go for fossil fuel as sustainability is a big question in export-led growth," he said, adding that buyers, especially bigger institutional ones, now question whether the production is sustainable.
Citing its necessity, he said, "We need renewable energy and there is no other alternative. We need it because we have the most densely populated country in the world where land is scarce and expensive."
Mr Elahi said joint efforts from ministries and departments were needed to get renewable energy across the country at an affordable cost.
"Energy means industry, industry means growth, and more growth means more employment," he commented.
Chinese Ambassador in Dhaka Yao Wen said renewable energy was the key sector of China-Bangladesh economic cooperation, and the use of renewable energy was also a path towards sustainable development of both countries.
He said cooperation between the two countries in the field of renewable energy has not only attracted investment from China, but also driven the development of the local renewable energy industry, meeting Bangladesh's demand for renewable energy and sustainable development.
As a strategic partner, according to him, China stands ready to share its experience, technology and capital with Bangladesh, and help Bangladesh realise its 'Vision 2041' and 'Smart Bangladesh' goals.
Waseqa Ayesha Khan, chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, said Bangladesh was ready to welcome FDI, especially in the sector of renewable energy.
Director General Power Cell, Power Division Mohammad Hossain said renewable energy Bangladesh was heavily dependent on China in terms of supply of equipment to building a plant.
CPD research director Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem moderated the webinar where four papers - two each from CPD and Chinese experts - were presented.
The papers recommended wooing FDI into backward- and forward-linkage industries, including testing laboratories, common facility centres, industrial park development and global value-chain linkage industries.
The set of recommendations also emphasised cluster-based investment to upgrade existing 177 SME clusters in Bangladesh.
SME clusters can stimulate economic growth by enhancing the productivity and competitiveness of these businesses.
Cluster-based investment often leads to the exchange of knowledge, best practices and technology among businesses within the cluster.