Invest in Bangladesh's real estate, infrastructure, power

Bangladesh business people yesterday urged Kuwait entrepreneurs to invest in some potential areas such as real estate, power generation and transmission, financial market, infrastructure and hotel and tourism. The call came at a discussion between the visiting Kuwaiti business delegation and the country's apex trade body, Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, in Dhaka. The Bangladesh business side said trade volume between Kuwait and Bangladesh is substantial but slightly lopsided. Kuwaiti investment in Bangladesh may help reduce the trade gap, they opined. In the 2004-05 fiscal, Bangladesh's export to Kuwait stood at only $7.87million while it imported goods worth $517million.
--> Local business leaders also urged the government of Kuwait to recruit more skilled and semi-skilled manpower from Bangladesh. They also offered Kuwaiti importers to import pharmaceutical products to meet some of their requirements and also offered investment under joint collaboration in Kuwait. The 17-member Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) delegation was led by Hilal Meshari Al Mutairi, first deputy chairman of KCCI. The FBCCI team was led by its President Mir Nasir Hossain. Mohammad Abdul Awal, president of Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (Rehab), Khalifa Abdullah Al Fadala, chairman of Al-Raya International, Khaled Jassim Al Wazzan, chairman of General Trading and Contracting Co, also spoke at the meeting. Nazmul Hasan, chief executive officer of Beximco Pharmaceuticals, made a presentation on the pharmaceutical industry of Bangladesh at the meeting. Addressing the meeting, Mir Nasir said the Kuwaiti entrepreneurs, who are used to investing in Malaysia and Pakistan, can come forward to invest in different sectors, including financial market of Bangladesh. "I sincerely call on them to avail of the opportunity of using our gas and low-paid labour and invest here to meet the demand of a large international market as well as the domestic one," Mir Nasir said. "We welcome the Kuwaiti investors to come to Bangladesh for investment in 100 percent ownership or in joint venture in order to take an advantage of investment-friendly environment and packages available here," he said. Hilal Meshari told the meeting that a number of trade and investment agreements were signed between Bangladesh and Kuwait. "Nevertheless, we do believe that economic co-operation between the two nations should be enhanced," he added. --> He said the Kuwaiti private sector, which is strongly backed by supportive governmental polices, believes that it is high time to push forward these economic and trade relations with an aim of creating solid and fruitful economic partnerships between the two countries. Earlier, the FBCCI leaders underscored the need for formulation of joint chambers through two apex trade bodies FBCCI and KCCI.