Bangladesh woos India Inc, eyes $5-bn investment in 3 yrs

Bangladesh offers conducive and investment- friendly climate, says Indo-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce, Industry prez Matloob Ahmed

Bangladesh, a part of the eight- member Saarc grouping, expects investment from Indian corporates to double to $5 billion in the next three years on the back of an improvement in investment climate.

"Indian investment in Bangladesh currently stands at $2.5 billion. However, we expect this to grow two-fold and touch $5 billion in the next three years," Indo-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Matloob Ahmed told reporters here at a Bangladesh-India partnership summit organised by industry body CII.

Ahmad said Bangladesh offers conducive and investment- friendly climate and provides all basic infrastructure like land, power, water and also bank financing for working capital loans.

He said a number of Indian companies have evinced interest to do business in Bangladesh, while some others are in the process of partnering with Bangladeshi firms.

Stating that there is a need to increase Indian investments, Bangladesh's Investment Board executive chairman Syed Abdus Samad said there is a lot of untapped potential which Indian companies can explore.

He said Bangladesh is an open economy with almost no trade barriers, and it allows 100% foreign direct investment across sectors except in nuclear energy, currency printing, forestry and defence.

CII president and Infosys Vice-Chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan said Bangladesh is a winning combination of competitive market, business friendly environment and a competitive cost structure. The CII is very keen to strengthen business ties with Bangladesh, he added.