BoI, CanCham team up to boost investment
The Board of Investment (BoI) yesterday signed an agreement with Canada-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry to promote local and foreign direct investment in the country.
The memorandum of understanding was signed at an event of foreign chambers in Bangladesh, at the auditorium of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the capital.
The agreement is a landmark for public-private partnership initiative, SA Samad, executive chairman of BoI, said at the programme titled “Second Joint Chambers Meet Up”.
Coordinated efforts from all government agencies are needed to boost the foreign direct investment inflow to Bangladesh, he said. He assured the business and entrepreneurs of pro-active support from the BoI, according to a statement of CanCham Bangladesh.
Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, adviser to the prime minister on power, energy and mineral resources, underscored the need for FDI inflow to Bangladesh to ensure higher growth.
He said the government considers the joint chambers as a conduit for FDI inflow in Bangladesh.
Masud Rahman, president of CanCham Bangladesh, called for a strong network of foreign chambers to strengthen their voice in the policy formulation of trade and investment as well as attracting FDI.
He said the chambers have the potential to play a pivotal role to promote trade and investment between Bangladesh and different countries.
Rashed Maksud Khan, president of Bangladesh Philippines Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Hasan Khaled, president of Dutch-Bangla Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Salahuddin Kasem Khan, president of Bangladesh Employers' Federation, and Murat Karaca, secretary general of Turkey Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce, also spoke.
The business leaders urged the government to allow more private sector investment in the power and energy sector, according to the statement.
The country received $1.53 billion in FDI in 2014, according to the World Investment Report 2015 of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
In the first six months of the current fiscal year, the net FDI flow to the country was $795 million, up 8.02 percent over the same period a year ago, according to Bangladesh Bank.
Jahangir bin Alam, secretary of India Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Danny Yang, director of Taiwan Trade Centre; Shah Md Sultan Uddin Iqbal, senior vice president of China Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce; Md Golam Mostafa, vice president of Italy Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce; Saad Omar Fahim, executive committee member of Switzerland Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce, and Montfort Gisage, representative of French Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce, were also present.
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