DHAKA: Executive Chairman of Board of Investment Bangladesh Dr Syed Abdus Samad revealed that Bangladesh has received Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) worth $ 1.78bn in 2013, registering 37.5% higher than 2012.      

This was disclosed according to provisional figures compiled by the Board of Investment, says a media release on Saturday.                                                                                                                    

Abdus Samad hoped current government can increase annual FDI to $ 5-7 billion in the next five years despite political upheavals.  

“The government is confident that FDI inflow will cross $ 2 bn mark in 2014. We could have easily achieved this target in the last year had there been no political unrest,” it added.                                                                                                                             

He highlighted the government’s success in attracting investment over the last five years.

“The FDI inflow has increased to over $ 1.78bn in the last five years of the 2009-2013 tenure of Awami League government compared to $ 792.50m in the five years tenure (2001-2006) of BNP government,” he said.      

He pointed out that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given the highest priority in improving the investment climate. It is her vision to make Bangladesh a middle-income country by 2021.   

“Human capital and skills development has ensured lower cost of doing business,” he said.    

Samad said Bangladesh is an attractive destination for infrastructure and technology investment. The implementation of Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative would increase foreign investment in these areas further.                       

The key sectors attracting investment are telecommunications, textile and banking. He said: “In this virtual world of connectivity, we have seen an explosive growth of mobile phones in the country. This is a major sector for investment growing exponentially.”

It also read Bangladesh is attracting investment from both Western and Asian countries. The major countries from which investment is originating are United States, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Egypt, Canada, Netherlands and United Arab Emirates.                                      

There is potential for greater investment from India and China too. The veteran economist said the government’s infrastructure projects to improve communication and power and energy would boost investor confidence further in the next five years.    

“According to most investors, there is visible improvement in overall national economic management. The ongoing infrastructure projects will attract further investment inflow to the country,” he said.                                                                      

He mentioned that Moody’s rating for Bangladesh is higher than Sri Lanka and Pakistan, but slightly lower than India. Despite the government’s successes in achieving record FDI inflow, Samad believes there is no reason to be complacent.                 

Samad is optimistic about the future prospects of investment saying “I believe the current government can increase annual FDI to $ 5-7bn in next five years once we cross the $ 2bn mark this year. Bangladesh is marching forward.”

BDST: 1931 HRS, APR 26, 2014