The recent attacks and looting of more than a dozen businesses, like Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Bata and Pizza Hut in many places including Dhaka, Sylhet, Chattogram and Cox's Bazar during a March for Gaza, organized to protest against the Israeli genocide of Palestinians, have raised businessmen's security concerns.
On April 12, several establishments including KFC, Bata and Pizza Hut were attacked and vandalised during March for Gaza, organised to protest the killing of Muslims in Gaza. Police said at least 140 people have been arrested and about a dozen cases have been filed in connection with these incidents.
Meanwhile, the government has decided to form a special police force for the security of foreign companies. The government will launch a special phone number for this as soon as possible and police are providing emergency hotline facilities.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Baharul Alam and Executive Chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Chowdhury Ashiq Mahmud Bin Harun informed.
The BIDA and police held a meeting with representatives of Nestle Bangladesh, Coca-Cola, Unilever Bangladesh, Bata Shoe Company, Reckitt Benckiser Bangladesh, Pepsi and Jubilant Food Works Banglades.
In this regard, senior official of Bata told the Daily Observer, "We have full confidence in the prudent decision of the government on this matter. We have been conducting our operations in Bangladesh for a long time with integrity and reputation.
In our journey, we received unwavering support and love from the people of Bangladesh. We believe the recent untoward incidents will not be repeated in future. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all our stakeholders, including the media, for their support and cooperation during the tough times.
On condition of anonymity, an employee of KFC at one of the capital's outlet, told this correspondent that sales have decreased a lot due to various negative campaigns against KFC in recent times. In addition, customers are afraid to come due to the lack of proper security.
TIM Nurul Kabir, Executive Director of the Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) told the Daily Observer, "We are confident in the government's initiatives. Several quick decisions have been taken. We hope that the government will take effective initiatives to ensure proper security of investors in the future."
Meanwhile, in some places in the capital, it was found that the Kakrail Bata Shoe outlet has been permanently closed due to security concerns. Work is now underway to open another showroom there. Some workers there said, "Recently, several showrooms of Bata have been vandalized. Due to this, security concerns have arisen in many minds. They have closed the showrooms for security reasons."
In particular, the attack on the business establishment occurred at a time when the interim government led by Prof Muhammad Yunus was holding a four-day Investment Summit in Dhaka to increase domestic and foreign investment in Bangladesh. Investors from different countries were in the country to attend it.
As a result, questions have also arisen about how much they will respond to the government's call after seeing the attacks and looting.
Economists say if the security of business establishments is not ensured, investors will lose interest.
"It goes without saying that foreign investors have received a negative message from these incidents. But what is more shameful and sad is that we are not able to protect the market system within the country. "It's scary," said Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya.
The perpetrators of the attacks are the 'real enemies' of the country's economy and stability, said BIDA Executive Chairman Chowdhury Ashiq. He called for those involved to be brought to justice quickly.
Rupali Chowdhury, former president of the Foreign Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and managing director of Berger Paints Bangladesh, said, "Even for a day, anarchy is not good for business," and added, "We don't know who is behind this situation. The industrial police are not yet fully functional, so we don't know who we will go to for security."
At that time, footwear company Bata also issued a statement expressing concern and anger over the attacks in different districts.
"We strongly condemn and indignantly condemn the attacks on our shops. Many of our shops have been vandalized and goods stolen in different parts of the country. "Such behaviour against a reputable multinational company is reprehensible and unfortunate," Bata authorities said in a statement.
