DCCI
Turkish entrepreneurs find Bangladesh favorable for investment
Visiting Turkish entrepreneurs on Monday said they want to invest in Bangladesh as the country is a favorable destination for them.
A 14-member Turkish business delegation showed this interest at a meeting with Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI).
The visiting delegation, led by Chairperson of Turkey-Bangladesh Business Council Hulya Gedik, met DCCI President Rizwan Rahman and other members of its Board of Directors. Turkish Ambassador to Bangladesh Mustafa Osman Turan was also present.
The Turkish entrepreneurs said the business environment, policy and regulatory regime of Bangladesh are congenial for them to make investment here.
Also read: Saudi entrepreneurs eye Bangladesh for investment, says its minister
Hulya Gedik said Bangladesh is not much known to Turkish entrepreneurs due to lack of communication. So, they opened ‘Bangladesh Business Centre’ in Turkey to facilitate their entrepreneurs to know more how to start business in Bangladesh, she said.
The head of Turkish delegation also stressed the need for ensuring the sustainability in the bilateral trade between Turkey and Bangladesh.
The Turkish Ambassador said Bangladesh wants to be a developed nation by 2041 and Turkey wants to be the 10th largest economy. So, it is important to strengthen partnership between the two countries to accomplish the respective goals of both countries, he said.
He said ICT, pharmaceutical and light engineering sectors of Bangladesh have huge potentials to attract FDI.
Though the quality of Turkish machineries is almost like that of European and American ones, the rates of Turkish machineries are cheaper, he said.
Mustafa Osman Turan a few large Turkish companies are already in operation in Bangladesh.
DCCI President Rizwan Rahman said infrastructure, construction materials, railway, renewable energy, automobile, healthcare, medical equipment, shipbuilding, agriculture and home appliance sectors of Bangladesh are among the potential areas for Turkish investment.
Also read: Grab investment opportunities in Bangladesh, PM Hasina to global investors
In the FY2020-21, Bangladesh’s export to Turkey was US$ 499.79 million, he said.
In FY2019-20, the total bilateral trade between the two countries was US$ 686.41 million. Bangladesh’s export was US$ 453 million against its import of $233.41 million from Turkey, which reflects a positive trade balance of US $220.06 million in favour of Bangladesh, he said.
Turkey sourced only 0.21 percent of its import from Bangladesh, said Rizwan, adding that Bangladesh can be a key focus of Turkey for trade and investment under its “Asia Anew” initiative.
The DCCI president put emphasis on utilizing Turkey-Bangladesh Business Council to facilitate both-way trade and investment.
Commercial Counsellor of Turkish Embassy Kenan Kalayci said the bilateral trade volume increased some 20 percent in the last nine months.
He expects that the total trade between the two countries will reach the mark of US$ 2 billion soon.
The Turkish business delegation is in Dhaka to participate in ‘International investment Summit 2021, organised by Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA).
DCCI, IBA sign deal for business-oriented research and innovation
The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) and Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka will work together for business-oriented research and innovation.
A Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) was signed between DCCI and IBA in this regard on Tuesday. DCCI President Rizwan Rahman and Director of IBA Prof Mohammad Abdul Momen signed the deed document on behalf of their respective sides.
Rizwan said that as per the agreement, mutually agreed training courses will be arranged for DCCI. Both DCCI and IBA will conduct sector wise business research activities, job fair, seminars, workshop, and business conference. DCCI will provide internship opportunities for the students of IBA.
Also read: Challenges of 4IR: DCCI, BUET ink MoC
He said skill development is the priority area for the government as well as for the private sector because in order to compete with the global standard, we must have better skills in every sector.
He called for extensive research and development works under the universities so that they can contribute to the development nation’s economy.
Director of IBA, Prof. Momen said that there should have a greater collaboration between industry and academia.
“To cope up with the changing global geo-political and technological transformation we have to be competitive in terms of skills and education,” he added.
Also read: DCCI plans investment summit in Singapore this year
He cited a few examples of some successful countries like USA, Germany, and Korea who are utilizing their universities for extensive wide ranging research and innovation activities.
The research facilities of our universities in Bangladesh are still unexplored and under-utilized. He invited the private sector to invest for expansion of university research in the country for the sake of industry development, Prof Momen said.
Dhaka calls for direct sea port connectivity between Chittagong and Ranong
Thai Embassy in Dhaka will organize a road show to celebrate the 50 years of diplomatic relation between Bangladesh and Thailand next year, said Thai ambassador Makawadee Sumitmor at a bilateral business meeting with DCCI on Tuesday.
Rizwan Rahman, president of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) led the meeting with the Thai ambassador at Chamber building here.
Read: Vaccinated Bangladeshis can visit Thailand without quarantine from Nov 1
The ambassador said that Thai government is planning to open the country step by step and by next two months it will be possible to open fully easing Covid-19 restrictions.
Makawadee Sumitmor said that still there is a trade gap between these two friendly countries.
She also said that expansion of India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral route will boost trade in this region.
Rizwan Rahman underlined direct port connectivity between Chittagong and Ranong sea ports for boosting existing trade.
During the meeting, Rizwan said that the bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Thailand reached $ 837.06 million in 2019-20. Bangladesh’s total export to Thailand was only $35.46 million whereas import from Thailand was $801.3 million in 2020.
Read: ADB appoints new country head for Bangladesh
Export from Bangladesh saw an upward trend in 2021 as it reached $39 million from $35.46 million of 2020.
In terms of FDI stock in Bangladesh, Thailand is the 15th largest investor in this country but there are huge untapped opportunities for Thai investors especially in the areas of infrastructure, automotive and light engineering, agro and food processing and tourism and health services, DCCI president mentioned.
He also requested the ambassador to relocate Thai labour intensive industries to Bangladesh.
He further said that bilateral FTA or PTA would facilitate increasing trade and investment.
Invest in infrastructure for potential halal market in Middle East: Speakers
Speakers in a virtual discussion on Thursday emphasized that Bangladesh has to invest more on infrastructure for potential halal business with the Middle Eastern region.
The volume of the halal market is growing in the Middle East, Europe and American regions sharply but Bangladesh cannot develop halal business outreach due to limited infrastructure, they said.
The discussion on “Shaping business landscape: economic cooperation of Middle East and Bangladesh” held on the 3rd day of ‘Bangladesh Trade and Investment Summit 2021’ was jointly organized by Ministry of Commerce and Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI).
Speaking as chief guest Economic Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister Mashiur Rahman said Bangladesh’s economic transformation is very fast, stable and steady.
He termed the present time as very favourable to invest in the infrastructure sector in Bangladesh.
“Sophisticated technological products, API and generic pharmaceutical, household electronic market are very potential sectors to invest in. To enter a market, it is essential to know the market first,” Mashiur said.
He also underscored chamber to chamber relation to boost trade with other countries.
DCCI President Rizwan Rahman in his brief presentation said that limited diversification of RMG and export products are challenges for export growth in the Middle Eastern countries.
Read: ‘Bangladesh can be global leader of halal products’
Bangladesh imports 19 per cent of its required mineral resources from the Middle East.
He also said unskilled labour is a challenge for manpower supply to the oil-rich region.
He also said that economic diplomacy should be strengthened by Bangladesh to ensure labour supply to the Gulf countries.
Middle Eastern countries can source diverse skilled and semi-skilled professionals in different sectors from Bangladesh to support their growing economic operations.
He also said that the Middle Eastern market is still untapped for the Bangladeshi entrepreneurs.
UAE Acting Ambassador to Bangladesh Abdulla Ali Al-Hamoudi said collaboration and partnership will expand the bilateral trade.
“We want to expand business, we want to deepen engagement through strategic partnership,” said the envoy.
He said Bangladesh-UAE business council will be formed in near future to strengthen bilateral trade relation.
Md. Fozlul Haque, Managing Director, Plummy Fashions Ltd. said UAE imports clothing worth of $2.5 billion every year and the GCC countries import clothing worth of $5.3 billion but Bangladesh share is less than 1 per cent.
Read: UAE keen to import halal meat, fish from Bangladesh
So, the Middle Eastern market is more or less untapped for Bangladesh, he said.
Haque invited the Middle Eastern countries to import more from Bangladesh as there are more than 150 green factories here.
Sulaiman Al Jedaie, Managing Director, Saudi Industrial Export Company said that they are interested to invest in the food processing sector in Bangladesh and export to Latin American and African markets.
Shamim Ul Huq, Country Director, DP World, said that there are massive scope of increasing bilateral investment between the Middle East and Bangladesh.
K Mahmood Sattar, Chairman, RSA Advisory and RSA Capital and Tajwar M Awal, Director, Lal Teer Seed Ltd, among others, took part in the discussion.
Bangladesh Trade and Investment Summit to kick off on Oct 26
The weeklong Bangladesh Trade and Investment Summit-2021 will begin on October 26, bringing together top policymakers, business leaders and investors from across the world on a virtual platform.
The international summit is going to be organized marking the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Bangladesh’s Golden Jubilee of Independence.
The Ministry of Commerce and Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) will organize the summit jointly from October 26 to November 1.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the summit from her official residence Ganobhaban.
Read: Bangladesh trade, investment virtual summit Oct 26-Nov 1
The summit will bring together the top policymakers, leaders of successful companies and leading investors, business analysts, CEOs of big conglomerates, multilateral agencies both from the host country and from across the world.
Interested businesses and companies of different sectors can join the virtual B2B meetings and connect suitable matches in Bangladesh.
The week-long investment summit includes nine sectors underscoring critical enablers and avenues of the economy, demanding massive investments especially in Infrastructure (Physical, logistics and Energy), IT/ITES and FINTECH, leather goods, Pharmaceuticals, Automotive and Light Engineering, Plastic products, Agro and food processing, Jute and Textiles, FMCG and Retail Business.
FTA with Algeria to boost bilateral trade: DCCI
President of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) Rizwan Rahman on Monday said a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Bangladesh and Algeria will boost bilateral trade between the two countries.
Algerian Ambassador to Bangladesh Rabah Larbi had a meeting with the DCCI President at the DCCI and discussed the issues of mutual interests.
During the meeting, Rizwan Rahman said the bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Algeria reached US$ 98.28 million in FY2019-20 of which, Bangladesh’s export was US$ 5.90 million and import was US$ 92.38 million.
Also read: Export diversification: DCCI for comprehensive trade policy
Bangladesh mainly exports RMG products to Algeria while it mainly imports mineral products from Algeria.
The DCCI President requested Algeria to hire more skilled manpower and professionals from Bangladesh.
He finally invited Algerian investors to register with the Bangladesh Trade and Investment Summit to be jointly organized by the Ministry of Commerce and DCCI.
Algerian Ambassador to Bangladesh Rabah Larbi said regular contact between the Chambers of Algeria and Bangladesh would pave the way of enhancing bilateral trade and investment.
He said Bangladesh can import fertilizer, cement and fruits from Algeria and Algerian investors are keen to work in the energy sector in Bangladesh.
Also read: Bangladesh can sign FTA with Thailand to boost trade: Thai envoy
The envoy said Algeria is a developing country and there are huge opportunities to explore for business.
Rabah Larbi appreciated DCCI’s effort to organize a business summit this month and he would request Algerian investors and traders to join this summit.
Bangladesh trade, investment virtual summit Oct 26-Nov 1
A week-long “Bangladesh Trade & Investment Summit” will be held virtually from October 26 to November 1, 2021.
The summit will be held to celebrate the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Bangladesh’s golden jubilee of independence.
The Ministry of Commerce and Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) will host the event. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate it.
Also read: DCCI plans investment summit in Singapore this year
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen assured of his fullest cooperation to the DCCI during a recent meeting with DCCI President Rizwan Rahman, said the DCCI on Monday.
The theme of the Summit is ‘Connecting the Economy of Tomorrow’ which coincides the spirit of 1971 where the number 1 stands for a single host nation, 9 stands for nine sectors, 7 stands for seven days and 1 stands for a summit.
The objective of the summit will be to promote Bangladesh as an attractive trading and FDI destination to global businesses, to extend global integration on trade and investment into a new global reality and secure investment in diverse priority and emerging industries for mutual benefits.
The summit will discuss nine sectors underscoring critical enablers and avenues of the economy, demanding massive investments, especially in infrastructure.
Also read: Bangladesh economy suffered due to Covid pandemic: DCCI Webinar
Followed by the inauguration, there will be a series of sector specific webinars where dignitaries, ministers, high government officials, researchers, think tanks, economists, policy makers and academicians both from home and abroad will also join.
More than 160+ B2B are expected to be held with the participation of 320+ business entrepreneurs.
Foreign Minister Dr Momen appreciated the endeavour of MoC and DCCI and said that it will be a very timely initiative to attract the readiness of Bangladesh to lure foreign investments.
Despite the pandemic, Bangladesh is poised to keep a positive economic growth, he said.
DCCI President Rizwan Rahman said despite the Covid crunch Bangladesh has registered a remarkable 5.47% GDP growth in FY2021.
He said the confidence of the global investors in Bangladesh has increased as some bold and strategic reforms are consistently being taken considering the changing geo-economic dynamics and private sector needs.
The DCCI President sought cooperation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to disseminate the summit information to the businesses around the globe through all the Diplomatic Missions of Bangladesh.
Stakeholders want coordinated policy, regulations to foster e-commerce in Bangladesh
Transparent automation, easy regulations, access to finance, inter-ministerial coordination, easy tax structure, cross border digital commerce trade facilitation are key to foster e-commerce in Bangladesh, stakeholders said at a discussion on Saturday.
The discussion titled “Building a Sustainable Ecosystem for E-commerce” was organized by Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI). Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh joined the discussion as the chief guest.
DCCI President Rizwan Rahman said the e-commerce ecosystem saw a massive vibe in recent past.
Also read: Muted response to e-commerce SOP reflects recent troubles in the industry
"Despite we have seen some challenges the sector is facing recently, but with the intervention of the government, regulators and stakeholders a sustainable development will come in the sector," he said.
According to an estimated data, in 2020 transaction in the e-commerce business was about USD2 billion, which may increase up to USD2.5 billion in the current year.
In 2020 transaction in only f-commerce sector was about 320 crore taka.
He also said that 15% VAT imposed on e-commerce sector may hamper the growth of small investors in this sector. Moreover if international market leaders like Amazon comes in our market, it may create opportunity for local CMSME traders and manufacturers, he said.
Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh said private sector is playing the dominant role in the economy.
Also read: Digital Commerce Policy, Lockdown, Eid: Perfect storm for e-commerce?
In the e-commerce, reliability is the key issue to help this sector to grow, he said.
"Government does not want to impose strong regulations upon the sector so that small entrepreneurs can come on board easily. Recently the Escrow system to see the compliance has been introduced but the number of transactions fell down."
He suggested for a coordinated platform to overview the compliance and said that government is working hard to create a congenial regulatory atmosphere for e-commerce business.
Barrister K. M. Tanjib-ul-Alam, Head of the Chamber, Tanjib Alam and Associates also underscored importance of reliability for a sustainable market.
He urged for a proper policy and guidelines with a scope of reward and punishment.
"Government should come forward to safeguard the ecosystem, he added. Government should upgrade the national postal system so that ecommerce platform can utilize this trusted system," he said.
Fahim Ahmed, President, Pathao said policy and regulatory guidelines are needed for a sustainable ecosystem.
"Unsuccessful ecommerce platforms with a huge liability and discounting method cannot sustain in the market as it is not economically viable. Based on short term investment and huge discount-giving model may create a bad name to the industries. For creating infrastructure, technological assistance and to create confidence of consumers long term investment is needed," he said.
Khorshed Anwar, Deputy Managing Director, Eastern Bank Limited said small e-commerce, start-ups or f-commerce entrepreneurs are sometimes deprived of access to finance due to lack of documentation. We are working on the issue and do training programmes for the small start-ups.
Khondoker Tasfin Alam, Chief Operating Officer, Daraz Bangladesh said excessive discounting model is not sustainable.
Customer readiness as well as seller’s readiness is equally important. Sometimes wrong model can become famous for the time being but it is not sustainable but will hamper the ecosystem.
He also said that Daraz Bangladesh has already invested BDT 500 crore in last two years in logistic infrastructure. He lastly emphasized on improving products quality for sustainability.
Ashish Chakraborty, Chief Information Officer, Nagad said Mobile Financial service plays a vital role in ecommerce.
Customers from rural area can get products from anywhere in the country using mobile wallet. Bangladesh Bank now allows small investors having NID to be on board which is a good move, he said.
For the growth, he emphasized on full automation of this sector and this system will ensure service delivery information.
Muhammed Abdul Wahed Tomal, General Secretary, e-CAB said that the ecommerce sector in Bangladesh has got a tremendous growth right at this moment which was supposed to come in 2030.
"The growth momentum came at a faster rate due to Covid, he informed. E-commerce is an integrated sector where agencies like Bangladesh Bank, NBR, LGRD, Commerce Ministry, ICT Division all are involved. Regarding Escrow service he suggested to make it more automated and easy functioning."
Khairul Majid Mahmud, Director, DCCI, Sameer Sattar, former Director, DCCI and Riyadh Hossain, former Vice President, DCCI also spoke on the occasion. DCCI Senior Vice President N.K.A. Mobin, FCS, FCA gave vote of thanks.
Experts seek master plan for sustainable river dredging
Experts at a webinar on Saturday urged the government to prepare a master plan for ensuring sustainable river and canal dredging and their management in a bid to accelerate further economic advancement of the riverine country.
They also said the number of rivers in Bangladesh is declining due to siltation and fall in streamflow affecting waterways that are the cheapest means of transportation.
Under the circumstances, the experts called upon the government to make an adequate allocation for river dreading and proper river training.
Also read: Capital dredging project: First phase set to miss deadline
Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) arranged the webinar titled ‘Sustainable River Dredging: Challenges and Way Forward'.
Water expert and Brac University Professor Emeritus Ainun Nishat presented the keynote paper at the programme while State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury joined it as the chief guest.
Dr Nishat said there are two types of dredging like maintenance dredging and capital dredging. “A master plan should be prepared for river and canal dredging in Bangladesh.”
He said dredging should be done in a sustainable manner so that the economy can be benefited as rivers not only carry water but also carry lives. “For an efficient river management, special emphasis must be put on maintenance dredging.”
Stating that the private sector can play a major role in dredging operation, the water expert said also underscored the importance of investments in dredging and de-siltation works. “Private dredging operators must be trained on sustainability issues. PPP can be a useful model for river dredging, sand extraction, land recovery, land accretion and land reclamation.”
Also read: Kaladumur River dying; immediate dredging needed
Dr Nishat said the current practice of dredging operations, both capital and maintenance, need to be evaluated urgently. “Rules and guidelines for sand dredging from river beds should be updated and followed strictly.”
He suggested establishing a river training institute to create skilled manpower for river management.
Institute of Water Modelling (IWM) Executive Director Abu Saleh Khan said the total river basin system should be analysed in an efficient manner. “Dredgers are now ultramodern and highly efficient but they need proper training for skill development and capacity building.”
He also focused on sustainable dredging and long-term strategic planning in the maritime sector. “For sustainable dredging, dredgers have to have the idea on soil condition, river system, stream nature and ecological system. There should have been a post-dredging evaluation system in the policy.”
State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said the government has been working sincerely to ensure effective river management as per its delta plan. “We’ve a plan to make 10,000 km inland river ways navigable.”
He said the capacity of Mongla Port has now increased manifolds, easing the pressure on Chittagong port. “We’ve limitations and challenges but we must have to manage our rivers through efficient dredging as these’re our natural assets.”
The junior minister said the government has been working on sustainable river dredging both in the form of capital dredging and maintenance dredging and 35 more dredgers will be procured soon.”
As per the delta plan, he said, the government is firmly committed to developing the riverine system in the country. “We invited the private sector to come forward with more investments, even in the PPP format, to materialize the delta plan.”
DCCI President Rizwan Rahman said waterways play a diverse role in the economy of Bangladesh as it is a riverine country.
“It’s a high time to improve the waterways for the sake of both industrial and socioeconomic development of the country as Bangladesh is poised to become a developing country by 2026. The 24,000 km of waterways come down to 6,000 km in monsoon and 3,600 km during the lean period due to dynamic characteristics of the rivers and its effect falls into the economic and ecological state of the country,” he observed.
He said navigable waterways have manifold positive cascading effects on the economy as it saves container movement time and ensures comparatively cheaper goods transportation system. “Navigable and well-managed waterways help ease cross-border trade growth with the neighbouring states. But lack of maintenance, weakening upstream flow and human interventions are some of the common problems for declining navigable waterways.”
Vaccination for all to help achieve GDP target: DCCI
Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) has said the country needs to control Covid transmission and ensure vaccination for all if the government wants to achieve the targeted 7.2 percent GDP in the proposed budget.
“Proposed budget is by and large inclusive and pro-people,” said DCCI President Rizwan Rahman thanking the government for reducing corporate tax both for listed and non-listed companies.
Read: DCCI for SME act, new definition of CMSMEs
He said it will help boost investment. But he suggested reducing it at a progressive rate of 2.5% in FY2022-23 and FY2023-24.
In its initial reaction, the chamber body President said the budget is a big one with an aim to economic recovery and effort to balance between lives and livelihood.
The proposed budget for FY2021-22 was announced on Thursday with a GDP target of 7.2% and inflation of 5.3%.
Read: Export diversification: DCCI for comprehensive trade policy
This year’s budget is 12.43% bigger than the revised budget of the last fiscal. In order to achieve the targeted GDP, all aspects of the economy have to perform better, which is challenging given the world-wide economic scenario, said the DCCI.
The budget tried to keep a balance between lives and livelihood, it said but the government may rethink the revenue target as it would be a great challenge to implement such a big budget considering the overall Covid situation.
The DCCI said the government has given importance to most of the proposals of DCCI especially increasing time limit for income tax and VAT return, reducing corporate tax and other taxes, engaging government owned schedule banks in SME financing, reducing advance tax on import of raw materials, increasing expenditure in the health sector and more allocation in the social safety net aiming to employment generation.
In the proposed budget, mitigating revenue shortfall, financing and ADP implementation are the biggest challenge, it said.
Since the proposed budget is an expensive one, it is more or less reflecting an inclusive approach through its indication to increase investment, fiscal incentives to the businesses, increased allocation in the health and social safety net programme and focus on economic recovery, said the DCCI.
In some cases the proposed budget slashes tax rate which may fuel investment, said the DCCI President.
The proposed budget allocated an increased amount for health and social safety net measures, which is a good initiative but need to implement ADP in the health sector, he said.
The DCCI President urged to widen the tax net, collection of due taxes, tax collection at the district level and tax automation for more revenue collection.
Mandatory e-TIN for national savings, cooperatives and postal savings will increase tax, said the DCCI.
Proposed budget deficit is 6.2% of GDP which is acceptable, Rizwan said.
New industries like home appliances, light engineering , automobile, ICT got tax exemptions, which is good for industrialization, he said.
The DCCI also recommended creating a strong capital and bond market for long term financing.
Tax exemptions have been given to the private sector to invest in hospitals and clinics for 10 years, he hailed the decision.
The DCCI chief said the automobile industry especially for 3 and 4 wheelers will get a boost as for local manufacturers, they will get 20 years tax benefits.
He also requested to rationalize advance income tax on export oriented RMG, jute and jute goods, agro processing and API raw materials.