DHAKA, Feb 24, 2020 (BSS) – Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) President Sheikh Fazle Fahim today said Commonwealth countries should feel secure to invest in Bangladesh as the country is heavily investing in infrastructure development and other areas to attract foreign investment.
In a meeting with visiting Deputy Chairman of Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC) Hugo Swire at Federation Bhaban, Fahim said Bangladeshi businesses were also eager to take their products to Commonwealth markets more.
He said the United Kingdom, which is the top export market for Bangladesh earning $4.1 billion a year, should come forward to invest more in Bangladesh.
Currently, Bangladesh’s major Commonwealth trade partners include the UK, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Australia and Canada, with $ 23.15 billion imports.
Explaining the overall growth and development in Bangladesh over last one decade under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, FBCCI President said Bangladesh seeks investment in various sectors including infrastructure, agriculture, leather and leather goods, information technology, power and energy, heavy and light engineering, tourism, furniture and pharmaceuticals.
He said Bangladeshi businesses are keen to form joint venture companies with Commonwealth countries while African nations could be a destination for Bangladeshi products with the help of the CWEIC.
Fahim said the government was setting up 100 special economic zones while country-specific economic zones are also being established.
Mentioning the UNCTAD World Investment report, the FBCCI chief told the CWEIC deputy chairman that the FDI growth was 67.94 percent in 2018 from 2017 with prudent diverse investments from the UK, India, Singapore, US, China, Netherlands Canada, Korea, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Japan and others.
He said operations of some 500 Chinese and more than 200 Japanese companies in Bangladesh prove that the country is a lucrative investment destination.
He said FBCCI, which is a platform of 500 plus trade bodies, is eager to work more closely with the CWEIC to project Bangladesh’s investment scenario.
CWEIC is the Commonwealth’s business network with over 90 business and government strategic partners from 27 countries and territories. It has a mandate to facilitate trade and investment throughout the 54 member nations of the Commonwealth.
Hugo Swire said many Commonwealth countries are not well aware of the investment potentials of Bangladesh.
He said setting up of a hub office in Dhaka in the future could help facilitate engagements in trade and investment between Bangladesh and other member nations of the Commonwealth through a strategic partnership.
“Bangladesh is a good story for investment. . . I am learning more about Bangladesh, we can introduce Bangladesh to other Commonwealth countries as a good destination for investment,” he said.
Swire, also a former UK Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Office, invited Bangladeshi businessmen to join the delegation of FBCCI to Commonwealth Business Forum in Rwanda in June alongside the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).