US trade show begins tomorrow

A three-day trade show will begin in the capital tomorrow to showcase American products and services in Bangladesh and give a boost to the bilateral trade.

The show jointly organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham) and the US embassy in Dhaka starts at Sonargaon hotel in Dhaka tomorrow.

The show will exhibit more than 150 US companies, represented by 43 exhibitors from home and abroad, Shadab Ahmed Khan, acting president of the chamber, said at a media briefing yesterday.

The show, which began its journey in 1992, will mark its 25th anniversary this year.

Since the beginning of the show, Bangladesh has experienced steady economic growth and progress, leading to an expansion of US-Bangladesh bilateral trade from $1 billion to more than $7 billion in 2017.

The annual trade show is one of the major activities that the AmCham Bangladesh undertakes with a view to stimulating greater understanding about each other's economic potential and opportunities.

Four seminars on different issues will also be organised on the sidelines of the exhibition.

At the media briefing, US ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Bernicat said the trade show is an opportunity to showcase high-quality products and services that US companies bring to Bangladesh and recognise the contribution of US companies to Bangladesh's economy and particularly its development.

The envoy said US exports to Bangladesh grew 61 percent to $1.47 billion last year thanks to the success of several American companies.

Still, there are huge potential to increase the sales of US products and services in Bangladesh, she said.

“This will help Bangladesh increase and improve its already impressive economic development,” Bernicat said, adding that the US is the single largest foreign investor in Bangladesh.

Most of the prominent US companies are taking part in this year's event, said Aftab Ul Islam, former president of AmCham Bangladesh.

The interest of US companies in doing business in Bangladesh is phenomenal, said Malcolm Burke, regional manager of the US Department of Commerce's Advocacy Centre.

The participating US firms include Metlife, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo International, Ford Motor, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Chevron, Microsoft, Cisco, Dell, HP, Intel, Cisco, Caterpillar, FedEx, Citi, Mastercard, Johnson & Johnson, YUM! Restaurants International and Visa.

Bell Helicopter, Burger King Corporation, Transfast and Uber Technologies are taking part at the show for the first time.

The entry fee for the show that will remain open to visitors from 10am to 8pm is Tk 30.