Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday met captains of industry and urged them to explore business opportunities in her country.
She interacted with a section of the industry in a closed-door meeting, whose main agenda was to explore India-Bangladesh business opportunities. Bangladesh is India’s biggest trade partner among the SAARC countries.
It was learnt that she stressed the importance of creating a conducive, a win-win situation for investors from both the countries to set up units in either country. Speaking for around 20 minutes, she said that three land banks — near Dhaka, near Kusthia on the West Bengal-Bangladesh border and near Chittagong (on the western side) — has been created for investors.
The government was also creating road and railway infrastructure to improve connectivity. She also spoke of the improvements in her economy and the emerging consumer market.
Ms. Hasina has been listing the several advantages that Indian industry could reap through investments in her country. These include a steady economic growth, competitive cost structure and a large market. Her government is offering attractive incentives to Indian investors like 100% repatriation of profits and invested capital, she said at a joint meeting with members of the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Associated Chambers of Commerce and the Federation of Commerce and Industry in April 2017.
She said Bangladesh was on its way to becoming a middle-income country by 2021 and was targeting a GDP growth of 8% by 2020. According to the External Affairs Ministry, Indian investment proposals in Bangladesh with the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority exceeds $3 billion.
