United News of Bangladesh

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday urged Malaysia’s leading conglomerates to invest in Bangladesh’s affordable housing, ports, healthcare and education sectors. The call came during a series of meetings in Kuala Lumpur with some of Malaysia’s most prominent business leaders. Prof Yunus invited Jeffrey Cheah, chairman and founder of the Sunway Group, to invest in affordable housing in Bangladesh, particularly for the growing number of factory workers living near industrial parks and economic zones. “It is time to invest in Bangladesh,” said Professor Yunus, highlighting the reforms undertaken by his government to create a more business-friendly environment. Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Executive Chairman Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun underscored the urgent need for large-scale investment in housing and construction, especially in the southeastern region where new ports and economic zones are being developed, said Chief Adviser’s Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder. “Bangladesh is witnessing rapid urbanisation. We need massive investment to build homes and facilities for millions of workers and new city residents,” he said. He also encouraged the Sunway Group, one of Malaysia’s largest healthcare providers, to establish hospitals in Bangladesh. Cheah responded that his companies would ‘definitely’ explore business opportunities in the country and expressed interest in offering scholarships to Bangladeshi students, noting that tens of thousands of Bangladeshis currently work in Sunway’s construction and housing divisions. Praising Bangladeshi workers, Cheah revealed he had urged Malaysian authorities to extend their permitted stay beyond six years. In a separate meeting, Malaysian tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, the owner of national carmaker Proton and infrastructure giant MMC Corporation Berhad, voiced his commitment to supporting Bangladesh through investment. Prof Yunus vows to strengthen democracy, return power to people “It’s not just for profit-making; we want to do this because of the Bangladeshi people,” he said during his meeting with Prof Yunus. Syed Mokhtar also emphasised the importance of responsible relocation in projects affecting river development and fishing communities. Professor Yunus reiterated that the Interim Government of Bangladesh had introduced wide-ranging reforms to ease business and investment procedures. BIDA Executive Chairman Ashik Chowdhury identified solar energy and agro-processing as priority investment sectors. Syed Mokhtar expressed optimism about Bangladesh’s solar potential, noting his group’s interest in both renewable energy and food security. Prof Yunus honoured with UKM’s Doctorate for pioneering social business As a gesture of goodwill, Syed Mokhtar presented Professor Yunus with a book compiling 20 years of research on the 18th-century Indian anti-colonial ruler Tipu Sultan.  

Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to Bangladesh Essa bin Yousef Al Duhailan has said Saudi companies have expressed their eagerness to invest in Bangladesh in various sectors because of peace, political stability, rules-regulations and good incentives. "This will help take the strong bilateral  relationship to a new height as well as assist Bangladesh government to fulfill its vision of reaching  the list developing country by 2026," he said. As a brotherly country of Bangladesh, the envoy said, Saudi Arabia will always be beside Bangladesh in various aspects in order to make its dream come true towards the development of the South Asian country. Read: Govt to procure 100,000 mts of fertilizer from KSA, Qatar and Kafco The Saudi-Bangladesh relations witnessed more strength after the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the Kingdom in 2016 and meeting with the King of Saudi Arabia Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, as well as frequent high-level visits by a number of Bangladeshi high officials to Saudi Arabia and vise-versa, said the ambassador in a message marking the 92nd Saudi National Day on September 23. He said the Saudi-Bangladesh relations are deep rooted and excellent based on strong foundation of religious, cultural, economic and humanitarian ties. Saudi Arabia always stands beside Bangladesh helping it, especially in the time of hardship, the envoy said. The Bangladeshi nation, the lover of Islamic religion also gives great importanceto the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in recognition of its helps extended to them toimprove the living standards and achieving the social and economic development of the country, he said. On the other hand, huge numbers of Bangladeshi - around 2.6 million - are working in different sectors in the Kingdom, which is recognized asthe greatest labour market in the world. More than USD 3.5 billion remittance is sent by Bangladeshi workers from Saudi Arabia every year. The Kingdom has a great contribution to betterment of the living standards of all people of this country, said the ambassador. Read: Rohingya Crisis: KSA to keep supporting Bangladesh, The Gambia There are many districts of Bangladesh located on coastal areas, which are facing every year the natural disasters, floods and cyclones, the envoy said. The Kingdom is recognized as a leading country which always extends its hand for cooperation and help to Bangladesh whenever it is afflicted by disasters, he said. The ambassador mentioned that his country has given its assistance to Bangladesh for financing  different projects, like building the houses, schools, mosques, orphanages and shelter homes for the protection from natural disasters, as well as building hospitals, bridges andelectric power plants.

Planning Minister MA Mannan on Thursday said Bangladesh's growing economy offers good opportunities for local and foreign investment. He said every country gets a chance of such favorable opportunity once and this can used to develop like Japan, Korea and China. The planning minister was addressing as the chief guest at BIDA-BBF investment summit 2021 at hotel Le Meridien in the capital. He urged government officials and businesses to work more for investment and talk less. Executive Chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority BIDA Md.Sirajul Islam was the special guest in the function. Read: Energy efficiency essential for industries: Planning Minister Ambassador of Japan to Bangladesh Naoki Ito, High commissioner of Sri Lanka to Dhaka Professor Shudarshan Seneviratne, charge d affairs of the embassy of European Union Jeremy Opritesco, acting high commissioner of Australia to Dhaka Ms Nardia Simpson, President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturer Association (BGMEA) Faruque Hasan, among other spoke here. Professor Masud A Khan, chairman and CEO Better Bangladesh Foundation (BBF) moderated the summit. BIDA Director Arifur Hoque presented a paper on Bangladesh investment opportunities in different sectors. BIDA Chairman said “We try to bring both product and invest diversification so that all kind of investor can get space here.” He said currently BIDA provides 56 services online by single window which is ensuring hassle free and quick services for the investors. The Japanese ambassador said Bangladesh is becoming Asian Tiger and will lead the manufacturing sector for this reason. He said more Japanese companies will invest in Araihazar exclusive economic zone and it will be an excellent international investment hub. Read: Investment proposals grow 46.33 pc in July-September 2021: BIDA Sri Lanka High commissioner termed Bangladesh as a very good friend of his country and hoped for a balanced trade and investment relation between the two countries. The EU envoy said a good investment environment is prevailing now in Bangladesh and bilateral trade of EU countries with this country is increasing. BGMEA president said there is a huge potential of investment in Bangladesh and foreign investors can invest here with confidence.  More than 150 green factories in the RMG sector in Bangladesh and more eco-friendly factories are underway to establish here, he said. United News of Bangladesh (UNB) and ATN Bangla was the media partner of the summit which was organized on the occasion of 50 years of Bangladesh’s independence. Assure group, ASL, Sentry Security Services sponsored the BIDA-BBF investment summit2021.

Terming Bangladesh a land of opportunities, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Faruque Hassan has urged US businessmen and also the non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs) living in the US to invest in the country which offers an attractive and investment-friendly environment. The BGMEA chief made the call while addressing a business roundtable held in New York recently, said a media release Thursday. The US-Bangladesh Business Council of the US Chamber of Commerce hosted the roundtable with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and over 30 senior executives from the US and Bangladesh business communities on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).   READ: BGMEA wants to increase RMG exports to Canada, promote positive image The event was presided over by Jay R Pryor, vice-president of business development at Chevron and the council's chair of the board of directors, and Nisha Biswal, president of US-Bangladesh Business Council and senior vice-president – South Asia, international strategy and global initiatives at the US Chamber of Commerce. Sajeeb Ahmed Wazed, ICT Affairs Adviser to the prime minister, M Shahidul Islam, Bangladesh ambassador to the US, and Md Jashim Uddin, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries, also attended the roundtable. The virtual roundtable engaged high-level Bangladesh government officials as well as major US and Bangladeshi companies across sectors and supply chains as well as major Bangladeshi business associations, including the BGMEA. READ: BGMEA chief invites Canadian businessmen to invest in Bangladesh "With our ever-increasing economy, political stability and all-out effort made by our government to build infrastructures, we are now one of the most favoured countries in South Asia for trade and investment. We have favourable fiscal and non-fiscal policies for the foreign investors," Faruque said. The BGMEA president highlighted the prospects of investment in different potential sectors, including high value-added and non-cotton textiles along with others. Also, there are huge investment opportunities in other sectors that can substitute imports and complement industries in Bangladesh like spare parts, textile machinery, light engineering, jute, leather, pharmaceuticals, ceramics and shipbuilding, he added.

Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming has recommended Bangladesh as a golden investment destination to potential Chinese investors.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has urged the Australian companies to invest in Bangladesh taking the advantage of "attractive and investment-friendly" environment in the country.