To attract investments from both home and abroad, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) is going to organize an international summit in Dhaka from 28-29 November.
Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida) executive chairman Sirazul Islam Said, “We are targeting 15 countries from which we expect more investment. And we will also invite other potential countries,”
The Bangladesh International Investment Summit will be the second after the first took place in 2016. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to inaugurate the event virtually.
Analysts, however, say organizing such an event will not suffice to pull foreign investors.
Proper implementation of laws related to investment and effective one-stop service facilities are needed to lure investments from abroad.
At a recent press conference, Salman F Rahman, private industry and investment affairs adviser to the prime minister, said Bangladesh is yet to fully utilize the investment environment that had been created in recent years. The country’s investment-to-GDP ratio is the lowest in South Asia.
Rizwan Rahman, president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, suggested focusing on the success story of foreign investors.
“We need proper branding of Bangladesh, focusing on investment opportunities, particularly for the foreign investors who have succeeded in Bangladesh,” he said.
However, the pandemic adversely affected the growth of investment as in fiscal 2019-20, and the country could attract only $2.37 billion, down by 39 percent from a year ago. It stood at $1.96 billion in the nine months to March of the last fiscal.
BIDA said the investment scenario has been favorable in Bangladesh and investors were optimistic until the pandemic.
