Sri Lankan investors have shown their interest to invest in the energy sector as the island nation is looking to tap into Bangladesh's growing demand for new energy resources.
Simultaneously, the South Asian nation is also interested to invest in Bangladesh's financial arena, said officials from Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA).
A high-level delegation of Sri Lanka-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce met executive chairman of BIDA Kazi M. Aminul Islam on Monday where they showed their interest to invest in these two vital sectors.
The Sri Lankan delegation in the meeting was led by the Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Dhaka Crisanthe De Silva.
"Sri Lankans are interested to invest in the LPG wholesaling including LPG shipping and bottling", BIDA chairman told the FE after the meeting.
"At the same time, they are keen to invest in the financial sector, information technology, port logistics and consumer products", he added.
Despite the close geographical proximity between the two countries, Sri Lankan investment in Bangladesh is rather meagre.
Recent figures suggest that 45 Sri Lankan firms have invested approximately US$ 300 million in Bangladesh, most of which has come in the apparel sector.
"However, we think there are opportunities for them to invest in diverse arenas," Mr Islam told the FE.
"The key issue is to properly brand Bangladesh overseas so that the rest of the world can understand the progress made by Bangladesh in recent decades," he added.
The BIDA chairman also informed he is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka later this month to attend the Bangladesh Investment Forum in Colombo.
"The forum is scheduled to be held on August 16 and it would focus extensively on possible areas of investment like finance and IT", Islam said.
Financial sector is an area where Sri Lanka already has some visible presence through entities like Commercial Bank of Ceylon.
The BIDA officials, however, said that a number of Sri Lankan banks and NBFIs are eager to come to the Bangladesh market.
In the energy arena, on the other hand, notable Sri Lankan entities include LAUGFS which is a major player in the local LPG market.
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