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Korean PM praises Bangladesh’s development – bdnews24.com


“I pay tribute to the people and the leadership of Bangladesh,” Lee Nak-yon said, using interpreters, as he spoke at the Korea-Bangladesh Business Forum in Dhaka on Sunday.

He arrived in Dhaka on Saturday evening on a two-day official visit, first at such level in 17 years.

South Korea is a strong development partner of Bangladesh. The rise of Bangladesh’s garment industry is credited to the initial support of South Korean entrepreneurs who trained Bangladeshis and also set up factories in the late 1970s.

With the visit, Bangladesh expects more trade and investment from Korea, Foreign Minster AK Abdul Momen told bdnews24.com.

Korean companies are keen to relocate their factories as they are facing problems of the rise of aged population, and increased wages in their own country along with the political tension in the Korean peninsula.

Bangladesh has allocated an export processing zone to Korea.

The prime minister, whose role is like that of a vice president, said the success of the EPZ will serve as the “catalyst” in bringing more investors to Bangladesh.

He put forward four ideas of enhanced cooperation between the countries — cooperation in energy and infrastructure, ICT sector development, diversification from garments to high-tech and shipbuilding and the Korean EPZ.

There is an “ample room for improvement on trade and investment, he said.

President of apex business body FBCCI Sheikh Fazle Fahim said bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Korea stood at about $1.5 billion in the last fiscal year with exports from Bangladesh worth $0.25 billion and imports worth $ 1.27 billion.

 “With duty free quota free market access to 90.4 percent of our tariff line to Korea, bilateral trade prospects are promising,” he said.

To attract FDI, “we have one of the most liberal & flexible investment regimes in South Asia and Ease of Doing business measures is being addressed at the highest policy level.”

He suggested some areas of potential opportunities to deepen bilateral cooperation, including business cooperation and investments through mergers and acquisition in electronics, automobiles, telecommunications, shipbuilding, chemicals and steel.

Joint high tech research, development and innovation, knowledge transfer to transition from 3rd IR to the 4th industrial revolution, and joint exploration and joint ventures on blue economy are some of the FBCCI president’s proposals.

Nabhash Chandra Mandal, executive member of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, highlighted a series of reform efforts, including one-stop service, to improve the doing business environment.

He also explained the investment climate in Bangladesh and said any foreign investment is secured by law in Bangladesh and “against nationalisation and expropriation”.

“Local and foreign investors are given equal treatment. 100 percent foreign equity is allowed along with unrestricted exit. Almost all industrial sectors are open for foreign investors,” he said.

According to BIDA, potential sectors for Korean investment include agro-based industries, automobile industries, digitalisation of industries, computers and electronics, chemicals and chemical products, rail transit and communication, food and food processing industries.

The foreign direct investment outflow from South Korea is steadily increasing from $28.32 billion in 2013 to $38.92 billion in 2018.

 “Bangladesh can be a good location for investing this enhancing capital to any sectors,” the BIDA member said. Last year, South Korea made only $72.97 million FDI to Bangladesh.

A MoU between FBCCI and Korea International Trade Association was also signed at the event in presence of the visiting prime minister.

Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun and Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi also spoke at the business forum and invited Korean investors.





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