Take part in Bangladesh’s development journey
Policymakers of Bangladesh yesterday urged foreign investors to pour their money into the country, citing the economy's many potentials along with its conducive business environment.
The call came on the second day of a three-day Bangladesh Business Summit 2023 organised by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) in partnership with the government at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka.
The event aims to showcase the country's progress and potential to both global and local investors.
Bangladesh is providing various fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for investors such as tax holidays, reduction of value added tax alongside import tax on capital machinery and raw materials, provisions of export subsidies, and various banking facilities, said Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi.
Companies located in economic zones and export processing zones are entitled to receive different incentive packages featuring tax exemptions, he said.
Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) has also established a One Stop Service platform on its website to facilitate investors, he said.
The government is keen to formulate business-friendly policies and running many projects to facilitate trade and investment, said Munshi.
The reason people should pick the country for investment is that Bangladesh has the fastest growing consumer market and it is passing a period of demographic dividend, said Salman F Rahman, private industry and investment adviser to the prime minister
"Our priority is also opening up new export destinations," he said as chief guest of a plenary session titled "Bangladesh: $100 Billion Investment Opportunities in Key Sectors for Investors to Leverage".
It is evident that Bangladesh is going to make its dream true of conducting trade worth $100 billion. "So, don't miss the train," said the commerce minister.
"We have potential sectors of leather, jute, jute products, light engineering, agro products, plastic products, and freelancing in service sectors," he added.
The poverty rate is dropping every year, said Salman F Rahman, private industry and investment adviser to the prime minister, while presenting a paper.
Average economic growth rate has remained at over 6 per cent over the past 14 years and the GDP grew fivefold since 2008 to stand at $465 billion in 2022, he said.
A major reason for the development is women empowerment and that brought some social changes too, he said.
The reason people should pick the country for investment is that Bangladesh has the fastest growing consumer market and it is passing a period of demographic dividend, said Rahman.
Its strategic location makes it a gateway to India and China while connecting important and new regional markets such as Bhutan, Nepal and Myanmar, he said.
All in all, it provides access to 2.9 billion consumers who are spending more than $8.53 trillion annually, he added.
Bangladesh receives facilities under Generalised System of Preferences from 38 countries, said Rahman.
On cost competitiveness, he said worker wages were 47 per cent to 84 per cent lower than that in Karachi, Mumbai, New Delhi, Hanoi, Bangkok, Manila, Beijing and Kuala Lumpur.
Cheap water saved costs anywhere from 6 per cent to 89 per cent while electricity by 10 per cent to 55 per cent, he added.
Ki Hak Sung, chairman of Youngone Corporation, said he was lucky to have found Bangladesh as an invest destination many years ago.
Now the company was working on enhancing its man-made fibre production capacity setting up a 200,000 square metre facility. "We need, however, gas while solar power is meeting electricity demand," he said.
"The government is promising but it needs to implement. Everyone should be specialised, not fighting with each other in the commodity market," he said.
On government policies, he said predictability and reliability over policy continuation was guaranteed by Salman F Rahman.
Simplification or elimination of procedures should be such that can be competitive with China, Vietnam and Uzbekistan, he said.
Bangladesh has been implementing many mega projects, including the Padma Bridge, metro rail and Matarbari deep sea port, said Md Shahriar Alam, state minister for foreign affairs.
If anyone looks for prospects, a steep upward curve can be drawn that will enable the country to transition to a developed nation, he said.
"So, participate in the journey and contribute as well as make your business," he urged.
The special economic zones are offering a lot of opportunities to investors through allotment of adequate land and ensuring delivery of approvals required, said AK Azad, a former FBCCI president.
Now a container handling port is necessary to send goods to the Matarbari deep sea port easily, he said.
Customers are looking for man-made fibres and recycled products and so foreign investors can invest in these sectors, he added.
Political stability and national security are very much important and basic issues for investment, said Takeshi Mamiya, regional CEO (ASEAN and Southwest Asia) and managing director of Marubeni Corporation.
The positive side is that most people have no doubt about the increasing GDP growth and when an investor sees such prospects, they become aggressive for investment, he said.
Many British entrepreneurs are interested in expanding their business in Bangladesh, said Anne-Marie Trevelyan, minister of state in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office of the UK.
"…but at the same time we hear concerns from businesses that new rules and regulations will make it difficult," she said.
So, trade and investment related dialogue is important, she added.
Bangladesh has a huge domestic market and is next to the over 1 billion people's country of India, for which this land is attractive for investment, said Mohammad Tofazzel Hossain Miah, principal secretary to the prime minister.
Md Jashim Uddin, president of the FBCCI, presided over the meeting participated by Rosie Glazebrook, chief executive of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, and Jongwon Kim, director general of Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.
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