PM seeks Malaysian investment in labour intensive industries

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KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 (UNB): Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged Malaysian entrepreneurs to invest in Bangladesh particularly in labour intensive industries, including RMG, textile, light engineering, electronics, agro-based products, ICT, power and infrastructure.
Addressing a roundtable dialogue with Malaysian investors at Hotel Istana Thursday, she also called for increased Malaysian import of Bangladeshi products like jute and leather goods, RMG, ceramics and pharmaceuticals, saying these are already being marketed in many developed countries of the world.
The Prime Minister told the Malaysian business leaders that her government had adopted Public Private Partnership (PPP) policy for building infrastructure projects as power, gas and water.
She said her government under 2009-2010 national budget allocated a huge amount for PPP in these sectors. "Malaysia, with its experience of PPP, can support Bangladesh in building such projects."
Hasina said a joint working group of the two countries could promote these potential areas of investment and trade.
"For first hand knowledge, I believe, frequent visits and participation in trade fairs by businessmen of both countries are important."
She said Bangladesh is pursuing a free market policy and it has liberalised trade regimes, investment policies; reduced interest rates and cost of doing business, removed infrastructure bottlenecks and improved port facilities.
The Prime Minister said investment climate is now attractive with liberal fiscal policies like tax holiday; concessionary duty on imported machinery; remittances of royalty, technical know-how, technical assistance fee, 100 per cent foreign equity, unrestricted exit policy; and full repatriation facilities of dividend and capital exit.
Bangladesh also maintains healthy macro-economic fundamentals, enjoys stable environment; and has a competitive workforce, she said.
"Despite recent world recession Bangladesh succeeded in maintaining 6.0 per cent growth rate. Our social economic indicators are outperforming others at similar income level," she added.
Besides, the rate of primary school enrolment in Bangladesh is highest in the developing world, and it has achieved gender parity in enrolment, food security, capacity to cope with natural disasters, and reduction of poverty, the Prime Minister said.
"I assure you Bangladesh's economy today rests on sound foundation," she said.
About her meeting with the Malaysian Prime Minister, Hasina said both of them are committed to finding new avenues for "intensifying the relations between our two countries."
"In the economic sphere, much is achievable, of course, by our private sectors," she said.
In this regard, she said Malaysian business could play a big role as it has already transformed Malaysia, in the last three decades, as a model of success for the developing countries.
The Prime Minister told the businessmen that as they may know the confidence in the global market has placed Bangladesh in the list of next 11 promising economies.
Bangladesh has also been rated by both S&P and Moody's ahead of all South Asian economies, except India, she said.
She said Malaysia and Bangladesh are bound by strong, durable relations founded on commonality in history, customs, traditions and values of life. "We are brotherly countries which must strengthen and consolidate our overall relations with mutual support and cooperation."
Since the establishment of diplomatic ties nearly 40 years ago, Bangladesh and Malaysia achieved remarkable progress in many areas of their relations. At present, Malaysia is the fifth largest investor in Bangladesh with a total investment of nearly US$ 1.5 billion, creating jobs for 13,000 people.
The Board of Investment (BoI) of Bangladesh registered 72 Malaysian joint venture projects in the private sector as of April 10, 2010.
With Chairman of Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) Tan Sri Datuk Mustafa Mansur in the chair, the function was also attended, among others, by Commerce Minister Faruk Khan, Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister Dr Mashiur Rahman, Ambassador at-large M Ziauddin, Foreign Secretary Mijarul Quayes and PM's Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad.