US NRBs launch venture capital investment services company

A group of non-resident Bangladeshi (NRB) investors from USA has taken an initiative to set up a specialised SME-focused venture capital investment services company in the private sector in Bangladesh.
The company with the name of Venture Investment Partners Bangladesh (VIPB) Ltd is registered as a public limited company, says a press release.
VIPB is a joint venture between US-based NRB institutional investors -- US-Bangladesh Investment Group, Inc and Terra Resources International, Inc -- and Bangladeshi institutional sponsors The City Bank Ltd, Southeast Bank Ltd, NCC Bank Ltd, National Life Insurance Company Ltd and TRIIMS Consultants Ltd.
The company was formally launched on January 29 at a function in Dhaka where M Haider Choudhury, chairman of National Life Insurance Company, Alamgir Kabir, chairman of Southeast Bank, Mani Rahman, director of US-Bangladesh Investment Group Inc (USA), and Dr Zia U Ahmed, chairman of VIPB, among others, were present.
Zia U Ahmed said VIPB will introduce innovative equity and quasi-equity (non-interest based) investment products and services to meet the specific needs of the SMEs (small and medium enterprises) in Bangladesh, particularly for the low-end small and cottage industry segments.
Haider Chowdhury said venture capital investment can be a new instrument for insurance companies to invest in the growth and development of SMEs. Alamgir Kabir emphasised the role of banks in supporting venture capital operations for the expansion of SMEs.
The NRBs formed the US-Bangladesh Investment Group Inc in USA to provide a formal and professional platform for NRBs to invest in Bangladesh, said Mani Rahman.