Jagaran Chakma

Just a decade ago there were only 82 Japanese companies with investments in Bangladesh – at a time when the country lacked a proper business environment with an economy that one could have barely called ‘healthy’ and with infrastructure suffering from deficiencies on many accounts.

Bangladesh is the top choice for Japanese companies seeking to expand business in Asia and Oceania in the next two years due to its high potential and profitability, according to a survey by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).

About seven large-scale international expositions and corporate conferences to be held in Bangladesh have been postponed following the coronavirus outbreak in China, denying organisers and other vested parties from about Tk 250 crore in revenue from the events.

Indian corporate giant Adani Group is likely to start the site development work of the India Special Economic Zone (ISEZ) by this June, where billions of dollars of investment are expected to pour in from the neighbouring country.

The interest rate on government Treasury bills and bonds, the main instruments for bank borrowing, doubled in the last one year -- a development that will fuel budgetary expenditure and may discourage private sector credit, both of which are already sources of concern.

The SBG Economic Zone in Mirsarai is expecting to be complete by the year end as promised.

Bangladesh’s per capita income was $1,909 last fiscal year, from $1,751 a year earlier. And proof of this improved wealth can perhaps be found if one visits the ongoing Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF).

Korea Industrial Complex Corporation (KICC) is urgently seeking 700 acres of land in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar that it intends to start developing from June.

Construction of a satellite town in Mirpur under public-private partnership (PPP) is likely to take off this year after the maiden initiative of National Housing Authority (NHA) was held up for years, most recently for objections, primarily from people illegally occupying the government-owned land in Section 9.

The market for various petroleum products has expanded at an average rate of about 6 per cent in the last eight years following a rise in the number of vehicles and power plants in service.

Climbing up the World Bank’s definitive Ease of Doing Business index is Bangladesh’s first priority as a solid performance in the ranking would accelerate the flow of domestic and foreign direct investment, said the chief of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA).

With just some clicks on a mouse investors can now get as many as 14 major approvals from the One-Stop Service (OSS) Centre on the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority’s (BEZA) website.

Two British companies have arrived with an investment plan of $1 billion, a heartening development for the government which has ramped up its efforts to woo in foreign investors.

BIDA has shelled out Tk 2 crore to set up a lounge at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport as part of its efforts to woo in foreign investors to boost the country’s historically low investment from abroad.

Foreign participants at the Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) eye Bangladesh as a potential market given the country’s rising per capita income and vast consumer class.

Le Méridien Dhaka began its journey a little over four years ago but the upscale hotel has already been able to win the hearts of both travellers and locals alike.

Water supply in the Purbachal New Town in the outskirts of Dhaka would be provided by a private sector player, in a development that can be viewed as the government opening up the country’s utility services.

A skyscraper much like those in high-flying Singapore, Hong Kong, Mumbai and Malaysia is on way to radiate exuberance over the Dhaka skyline within three years.

The price of liquefied petroleum gas has increased by 20 percent at retail stores in the country on Sunday, around four days after the prices rose in the international market amid a looming supply shortage.

City Group is set to get the licence today to establish an economic zone, which would be the 11th under the private sector, as part of the government’s push towards industrialisation.