Bangladesh invites US firms to invest in infrastructure

American companies can invest in big infrastructure projects in Bangladesh as they offer exciting investment opportunities, Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali said yesterday.

The public-private partnership initiative opens up a new window of opportunity to invest in various sectors, particularly in infrastructure-building such as highways, subways, mono-rail and power stations, he said.

A mix of factors include strategic location, an endowment of industrious workforce, competitive cost of labour and a booming domestic market have placed Bangladesh as a lucrative destination for investment from the US, he said.

“As the US investments in Bangladesh diversify, we envisage concomitant developments not only in infrastructure and governance, but also in responsible business practices and corporate social responsibility.”  

Ali's comments came at a discussion styled “leveraging economic partnership with USA for development in Bangladesh” as part of the regular luncheon meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham) at the capital's Sonargaon Hotel.

He said investments from the US have focused primarily on the energy and power sectors covering roughly around 80 percent of its portfolio.

Their business presence is also prominent in the financial sector such as insurance, banks and allied services.

“There are many other sectors which may work profitably for both the countries,” the minister said.

“We are aware of the expectations and needs of our investor friends from the US.  The government is working to address some of the key bottlenecks and we believe a meaningful government-business coalition can take our economic profile to a new height.”

He hoped that Bangladesh would eventually become a hub in the network of distribution channel linking all the rising economies of Asia including China and India. 

Ali said the post-Rana Plaza situation has helped deepen business cooperation between the two countries, particularly in case of labour rights and workplace safety in the garment sector.

“We have been able to considerably improve on those issues and as such the future of the business seems upbeat,” he said, adding that the garment sector is forging ahead to reach an export target of $50 billion by 2021.

Among other sectors, the ICT, pharmaceuticals and shipbuilding hold great potentials, according to the foreign minister.

The IT companies have earned over $260 million last year, while the pharmaceutical companies have managed to meet 97 percent of the domestic needs before exporting to more than 90 countries, he said.

The sector is now awaiting the final clearance from US Food and Drug Administration.

The shipbuilders, who are capable of making medium and light vessels, have also joined the fray, he said.

The country now enjoys only a 1 percent share of this $200 billion-market, but holds the potential to earn billions more within the next ten years, he said.

Commenting on the World Trade Organisation, he said the country has urged all the developed countries including the US to fulfil the commitments made in the Doha round of negotiations.

“We believe this would help our business partnership with the US to grow and sustain in the days ahead. It would yield a win-win business proposition for all the stakeholders including exporters, importers, investors and the end level consumers,” he added.

In his welcome speech, AmCham President Aftab-ul-Islam proposed to the governments of the two countries to increase the validity period of visas from the existing 5 years to 10 years, as it will increase the level of connectivity.

He said the US exports to Bangladesh was $1 billion in 2014, while Bangladeshi exports to the US was $5.2 billion at the same period.

“The above statistics although generally positive are not enough -- we need to see much more happening than this.”

An accelerating and strengthening economic partnership of Bangladesh with the US means more economic engagements between the two countries, he said.

It can result into, especially for Bangladesh, more exports to the US, more US investment in       Bangladesh, more transfer of technology to Bangladesh, more educational progress, more industrial development and more employment, he added.