Several rich Gulf countries seem to have put on hold their plans to invest in the billions in different sectors in Bangladesh because of the ongoing political instability and violence, said diplomatic sources. During different interactions with Bangladesh, they said that countries such as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman had evinced interest in making investments totalling as much as USD 10 billion in different sectors. But, owing to the political instability and violence, they appear to be hesitant to go ahead with their investments plans. “Some countries in the Gulf are ready to invest in important sectors, such as power, gas and oil, infrastructure and tourism. But they need the assurance of a sustainable stability in the country if it is to attract the investments,” a diplomatic source told The Independent.
“Unlike Europe, North America or Japan, Gulf countries are not bothered about democracy. All they want is stability and certainty, which will ensure that their long-term investments in Bangladesh will remain safe and secure and provide good returns,” he said.
“Unfortunately, the Gulf states feel that the present situation in Bangladesh is not favourable for making investments,” he added.
According to the sources, Qatar, which has the highest per capita income in the world, expressed its keenness to invest in a second international airport in Dhaka and power plants to generate 2,000 megawatt of electricity. In terms of investment size, it would have been USD 4 to 5 billion.
Besides, Doha also agreed in principle to deposit USD 1.8 billion in the Bangladesh Bank to help the central bank with its liquidity problem.
Yet, though several rounds of talks with Qatar have been held, there has not been much progress in any of these proposals mainly due to the prevailing uncertainty.
Kuwait showed its keenness to invest around USD 1 billion to construct an oil refinery in Bangladesh.
Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, during his visit to Bangladesh in 2012, expressed his desire to invest in the tourism and power sectors. The Bangladesh embassy in Riyadh is in touch with his company and if the situation becomes normal, the Prince may invest USD 1.5 to USD 2 billion, said a diplomat.
The UAE evinced interest in investing in four projects in Bangladesh’s shipping sector, worth billions of dollars. They offered to make investments in Chittagong Port and Mongla Port and to set up a dry dock and a deep-sea port.
A delegation of DP World, a UAE-based company, was scheduled to visit Bangladesh in October to discuss future investments. But the visit did not proceed, apparently due to the uncertain political situation.
-With The Independent input
