$900m forgn investment arrives in Bangladesh this year

PM likely to inaugurate Nov 8-9 FICCI Investment Expo in Dhaka

Rafiqul Islam Azad: A total of $900 million in foreign investment arrived in Bangladesh during the last nine and a half months. The Acting Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), Mohsina Yasmin, disclosed this yesterday.

“As of today (Friday), foreign investment totaling $900 million has been received this year. The foreign investment is lower than before due to the Ukraine-Russia war and unstable dollar prices,” she said while speaking at a press conference at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon in the capital.

The Foreign Investors Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) organized the press conference to mark the FICCI 60 Years Celebration & Investment Expo 2023. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate the FICCI Mega Event, which will be held at Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden in Dhaka city from November 8 to 9.

In response to a question, Mohsina Yasmin said that a one-stop service has been launched to increase investment and solve investment-related problems for businessmen. “Ninety types of services are provided here. As a result, traders are are freed from both harassment and cost,” she added.

The BIDA chief said that BIDA has been working with FICCI for a long time to promote FDI and improve the investment climate in the country. In continuation of this, she said, “We are delighted to be the strategic partner of this mega FICCI event.”

She said that foreign investment is very important for the economy of any country, and Bangladesh has always welcomed it. “I believe this event will encourage existing foreign investors in the country and attract potential investors to invest in Bangladesh in the future,” she further said.

President of FICCI Chamber Nasser Ejaz Bijay said, “It is the best time to invest in Bangladesh. Foreigners are now interested in investing in Bangladesh; they are exploring the opportunities and investing,” he said, adding, “We will showcase the success stories of our member companies as well.”

The key objective of this event is to highlight FICCI’s contribution to developing the country’s economy since its inception and the transformative journey of our economy with policy support to ensure an enabling business environment.

FICCI Board of Director and Convenor of the event Mahbub Ur Rahman said, “The two-day-long investment expo will showcase the economic resilience, competitiveness, and sectoral investment opportunities of the country within around 40 stalls.”

FICCI Vice President Shwapna Bhowmick, Executive Director T. I. M. Nurul Kabir, among others, were present at the press conference.