Bangla PM woos investors with 100 eco zones

27 Jan '16

3 min read

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reassured local and foreign investors of her government's commitment to facilitating the implementation of their pragmatic proposals and simplification of investment procedure for most productive use of their money.

At the Bangladesh Investment and Policy Summit 2016 in Dhaka, she also said her government was going to establish the Bangladesh Development Authority to help their businesses flourish, according to an agency report.

Jointly organized by the Board of Investment (BoI), Business Initiative Leading Development (BUILD) and Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the summit drew more than 100 local and foreign investors.

"We're planning to establish 100 economic zones across the country. More than 30 sites have already been selected for them while foundation stones of 10 zones will be laid next month."

"We achieved a 6.51 per cent GDP growth in the last financial year. During the previous five years, our average GDP growth was 6.2 per cent. We've been working to achieve 7 per cent GDP this year" she added.

The PM noted that the ability to attract private investment, both foreign and local, has increased now.

She said to identify private sector policy issues and resolve them in a systematic, research-backed and fact-based manner, the PMO has set up the Private Sector Development Policy Coordination Committee (PSDPCC).

For long an RMG export powerhouse, Bangladesh is trying to break new ground to boost its GDP.

The major opportunities for foreign investors in Bangladesh exist in the physical infrastructure sector, including gas and electricity generation, roads, highways and bridges, tertiary health care and pharmaceuticals, ports development, Hasina pointed out.

Assuring investors of security and profitability of investment, Hasina said this is the most opportune moment for dynamic investors and urged them to be part of Bangladesh's “historic” growth and development.

"This summit will give you the most appropriate platform to know Bangladesh's investment trend, policies and potential more concretely and systematically -- for seeing is believing," she told investors.”

She said Public Private Partnership in infrastructure investment offers a new window of opportunity for investors while the existing Export Processing Zones and Special Economic Zones are being expanded and developed for competitive manufacturing in local and global markets.

Wendy Jo Werner, country manager of the International Finance Corporation for Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal, said the World Bank's private sector lending arm's annual investment in the country would reach $2 billion a year within a couple of years, from $650 million a year now. (SH)

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