Bangladesh woos India Inc, eyes $5-billion investment in 3 years

MUMBAI: 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 per cent 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.