Tatas hint at withdrawing from Bangladesh

Peeved at the delay in getting the approval of Bangladesh government, Tata Group today hinted it may shelve plans to invest over $3 billion to set up power, steel and fertiliser projects in the country.

"While we may be interested in investments in Bangladesh, the more time it takes to come to an agreement or more delays happen, the more difficult it will be for us to invest in the country," Indranil Sengupta, Bangladesh operations chief, Tata Group, told PTI.

"Any organisation has limited financial and human resources," he said, and warned the group was constantly looking for opportunities across the globe.

"As and when we keep committing to our resources to such opportunities, the resources becomes more limited," he said, citing the example of Tatas takeover of Anglo-Dutch steel company Corus Group in a $12 billion deal.

"For example, we did Corus and there are other opportunities in the pipeline and the more we commit before the agreement with Bangladesh happens, the more difficult it becomes for us to invest," Sengupta said.

Tatas, India's largest corporate house, had planned to invest more than $3 billion for setting up power, steel and fertiliser plants, but the Bangladesh government has so far not given its approval.