Dr. Mashiur Rahman, Hon'ble Adviser to Prime Minister on Economic Affairs

Thank you for inviting me to this important seminar organised by the Board of Investment (BoI) in collaboration with the Policy Research Institute (PRI) of Bangladesh.
Foreign investment is critical to the development of a country, particularly for developing nations. Foreign investment provides the much-needed capital flows for developing countries. It helps improve the management skills of workers and also facilitates the transfer of technology--both are crucial for a developing country like Bangladesh. We are trying to attract foreign investment. We have one of the most liberal FDI policy in South Asia, providing a good number of incentives. Despite that, the flow has not been too encouraging. We need to analyse this more rigorously. In recent years, mobile telecommunications sector has attracted the bulk of foreign investment. Other sectors which need or get FDI include manufacturing, services and oil and energy.
Shipbuilding is emerging as an important export sector. Currently, shipbuilders get advances from buyers but have to be guaranteed by a foreign bank, which is costly for local companies. The central bank has agreed to refinance part of the cost which will also lower interest rate for shipbuilding. However, to be truly competitive, the shipbuilding industry has to get out of the concessional financing regime and acquire the strength for ordinary financing at an early date.