Bahrain's Investcorp keen on Bangladesh
Bahrain-based private equity and venture capital firm Investcorp is set to invest in Bangladesh as the country's striking economic growth over the past five years continues to grab the eyeballs of global players.
“We have decided to invest in Bangladesh due to the sustainable and impressive performance of the economy,” said Mohammed Mahfoodh Alardhi, executive chairman of Investcorp, in a press briefing yesterday at the capital' Westin hotel
Alardhi is on a two-day trip to Bangladesh with a team to explore investment opportunities.
The Investcorp team has shortlisted three sectors to plough their funds into: infrastructure, consumer products and ICT.
The technology sector will get Investcorp's greater focus as the country is lagging behind in it, said Hazem Ben-Gacem, co-chief executive officer of the firm.
He, however, declined to give a timeframe by which their investment would roll in or how much they would invest.
Usually, an investment analysing team assesses the opportunities and then takes a decision. In case of India and China, it took 12 to 24 months to complete the investment process, he said.
In India, the initial investment was $10 to $15 million but in China it was $200 million.
“The investment amount will be decided after analysing the projects,” he added.
The delegation met with the business community on the first day of their visit. They held a meeting with the higher ups of the Bangladesh Bank, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) and finance ministry yesterday. The rules and regulations are business friendly for the foreign investors, Alardhi said.
“The willingness of political leaders to bring investment in Bangladesh is more encouraging for us,” he added.
Investcorp has offices in Bahrain, New York, London, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Doha, Mumbai and Singapore.
As of December last year, Investcorp had $22.5 billion in total investment.
Since its inception in 1982, Investcorp has made over 185 private equity deals in the US, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia, across a range of sectors including retail, consumer products and technology.
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