The Bangladesh Bank has maintained its adamant stance on allowing local businesses to invest abroad, recently turning down proposals from three industrial giants -- Akij, Nitol and Ha-Meem.

Akij Group proposed to invest $20 million in Malaysia, Ha-Meem $10 million in Haiti and Nitol $7 million in Gambia to set up a bank.

Ha-Meem intended to invest in the island nation's garment sector to prop up its shipments to the US, while Akij wanted to buy a Malaysian company that produce fireboard and hardboard.

Between 2011 and 2016, the BB allowed nine businesses to undertake foreign investment from their export retention quota.

“Those investment amounts were not as large as the ones being proposed by the three groups,” said a senior executive of the BB. The central bank has now sought the finance ministry's opinion on the matter, he said.

“The proposals are too big for the BB to approve on its own as per the foreign exchange guideline,” the official added.

In its review on the proposals, the central bank said both the remittance and export, the two main sources of foreign currency for Bangladesh, are on the slow lane.

In the first eight months of fiscal 2016-17, remittance slumped 17.6 percent year-on-year to $8.11 billion, according to data from the BB.

Export earnings in February stood at $2.72 billion -- down 4.49 percent year-on-year and 21.49 percent month-on-month.

Though the country's foreign currency reserves are healthy, the government is planning to form a sovereign wealth fund with sum, the review said.

As of February, foreign exchange reserves stood at $32.55 billion -- enough to honour at least seven months' import bills.

Moreover, the government plans to set up 100 economic zones that it plans to fill up with local and foreign investors alike.

“So, local investors should not be allowed to invest abroad when they have huge opportunities to invest in the country,” the report added.

“We are already investing huge amounts in Bangladesh,” said AK Azad, managing director of Ha-Meem Group, adding that the apparel exporter has plans to invest $50 million by next year.

But Ha-Meem also has designs to set up operations in Haiti, which gets a host of attractive trade facilities from Europe and the US, to boost its export earnings.

“Besides, foreign investors are reluctant to invest in Bangladesh as risk factors are still high,” Azad added.

Recently, the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industries urged BB Governor Fazle Kabir to relax the capital account by bringing in amendments to the foreign exchange guideline to facilitate foreign investment.  In response, Kabir said the BB will be more liberal about the use of export retention quota but it will not open up the capital account.

Bangladesh needs its own investment as the private sector investment to GDP ratio has remained stagnant at 21-22 percent, said AB Mirza Azizul Islam, former advisor to the caretaker government.

The private sector has huge scope to invest in Bangladesh, so it is perplexing that they want to invest abroad, he added.