Bangladesh will offer either an industrial park or a special economic zone for Chinese investors to invest in Bangladesh in a larger scale during business leaders’ coming China visit, said the FBCCI president Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed in Dhaka on Sunday. He also said Bangladesh’s export might reach $ 50 billion within a year if Bangladesh can grab 10 per cent share of Japan’s total import.
Akram was speaking at a press conference organised by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry on their recent Japan visit.
‘Invest and develop your [Chinese entrepreneurs] industries here. We promise, we’ll give you an industrial park or a special economic zone. We’ll tell them that Bangladesh is a safe destination for investment,’ Akram said.
He hinted that there might be a positive outcome over a deep seaport to be built at Sonadia Island near Cox’s Bazar during the prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s upcoming China visit.
The prime minister is scheduled to fly to China on June 6 on a five-day official visit while FBCCI delegation, led by its president, will go to China on June 4.
China Harbour Engineering Company, a subsidiary of state-owned China Communications Construction Company, has shown interest in financing and constructing the port, which would boost the country’s GDP growth by 2 per cent.
FBCCI first vice president Monwara Hakim Ali, vice-president M Helal Uddin,
Bangladesh Garment Manufactories and Exporters Association president M Atiqul Islam were, among others, present.
BGMEA president Atiqul Islam said Japan imports apparels worth US$ 31.78 billion. ‘It’s a huge… Japan imports only 1.77 per cent of its total apparel import from Bangladesh.’
He further said, ‘We told them to import more from Bangladesh and take it to 10 per cent to minimise the huge trade gap (almost 50 per cent) that remains in favour of Japan.’
Responding to another question on undisclosed money legalisation, the FBCCI president said they favoured investment of undisclosed money in education and human resource development with ‘certain conditions’.
-With New Age input
