FDI up 24pc in Bangladesh

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bangladesh increased by 24 per cent in 2013, a UN report says.
The annual World Investment Report by UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was published Tuesday worldwide.
The Board of Investment Bangaldesh (BoI) held a programme in the city to disseminate the report, according to a news agency.
Prime Minister’s Energy Adviser Tawfik-e-Elahi Chowdhury was the chief guest of the event. BoI Chairman SA Samad and other officials were also present.
Jahangirnagar University economics teacher M Ismail Hossain presented a summary of the report.
According to the report, FDI in Bangladesh reached $ 1.59 billion in 2013, up from $ 1.29 billion in 2012.
There has been $ 540 million in completely new investment, up nine per cent from 2012.
Most of the investment, however, has come from reinvested earnings. In 2013, reinvested earnings stood at $ 697 million, up 19 per cent from 2012.
The companies working in Bangladesh brought $ 361 million in loans from their parent companies, which is 74 per cent higher than the intra-company loans in 2012.
According to the report, FDI in telecom has gone down by $51 million.
Most of the investment in 2013 was for 3G network developemnt and payment of fees, therefore they did not generate much employment.
Investment in banking, on the other hand, has more than doubled. In 2012 FDI in banking was $136 million, and in 2013 it reached $327 million.
Bangladesh Bank Deputy General Manager Azizur Rahman said the banking sector had attracted such huge investment because it had fufilled the terms of the Basel II accord.
“Under the accord the banks had to raise their paid-up capital to Tk 4 billion by June 2013. Foreign banks have met this condition,” he said.
In 2013, most of the FDI came to the textile and RMG sector, around $422 million.