A few years ago, Marks & Spencer (M&S) could not find a single factory in Bangladesh that could produce suits in bulk quantity although the country was already one of the largest apparel exporters in the world.

Bangladesh has eventually turned into the largest suits sourcing destination for Marks and Spencer (M&S) as the local suppliers have diversified the garment products and started making high-end items, said Shwapna Bhowmick, country manager of the British retail giant.

Bangladesh’s policy, regulatory regime and overall business environment are congenial for foreign investment, said a visiting delegation from Turkey.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) yesterday partnered with CNN International Commercial (CNNIC) to promote the local garment industry on a global scale.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday urged the investors from across the world to invest in Bangladesh, making the best use of the opportunities the government is offering for foreign investment.

Investment opportunities have opened up in Bangladesh for its competitive wages, strategic location, stable policies, exchange rate and political situation, developing infrastructure and huge youth population, said Ahmad Kaikaus, principal secretary to the prime minister.

A Japanese minister has said the socio-economic development of Bangladesh in the last decade has been a miracle but also raised a number of investment issues here.

The International Investment Summit, which begins today, will see a new Bangladesh, said Salman F Rahman, private industry and investment affairs adviser to the prime minister.

Timely adoption of regulatory changes and policy reforms will help attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) and access foreign finances, said Nuzhat Anwar, acting country manager for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal of the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Tourism’s contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated at 3.02 per cent by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

Samsung said on Tuesday it will build a microchip factory in Texas, a $17 billion investment that comes as semiconductor shortages are causing supply chain delays across many industries.

Most of the listed rod and cement producers in Bangladesh posted higher profits in the July to September period riding on higher sales as economic activities picked up thanks to the improving coronavirus situation.

The National Board of Revenue will honour the country’s top taxpayers today to celebrate their compliance and commitment to paying taxes regularly.

Olympic Industries Ltd, the maker of popular biscuit brands such as Energy Plus, Tip and Nutty, has announced that it would invest Tk 25.65 crore to expand its production capacity to meet growing demands.

The Tazreen Fashions fire, one of the nation’s deadliest industrial incidents, was an eye-opener for the garment sector, showing that the cost of non-compliance in business operations was very high.

There is a possibility of creating a huge demand for Bangladeshi branded products in Thailand, said Makawadee Sumitmor, Thai ambassador to Dhaka.

The government is set to undertake a nearly Tk 3,500-crore project to construct an 11-kilometre elevated road over haors in Kishoreganj to connect the northeastern backwater to the mainland.

Japan will provide $2.66 billion to Bangladesh to support construction of two major mega projects, including building of Dhaka’s first underground metro rail project, said a statement from the finance ministry.

Bangladesh has the potential to produce $1.2 billion worth of recycled textile and garment items as the country has a big production base for cotton fibre clothing items, according to a recent study by the Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) and McKinsey & Company.

Synthetic footwear and sports shoe exports from Bangladesh registered an average annual growth rate of about 20 per cent in the past five years thanks to increased demand from global brands.