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Rich in Bangladesh rising faster than anywhere

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Rich in Bangladesh rising faster than anywhere

Star Business Report

Bangladesh has topped the list of countries that saw the quickest growth in the number of ultra-wealthy people between 2012 and 2017, according to a new report from New York-based research firm Wealth-X.

The number of ultra-high net-worth (UHNW) individuals in Bangladesh rose by 17.3 percent during the period, the World Ultra Wealth Report 2018 shows.

UHNW individuals are defined as people with investable assets of at least $30 million, usually excluding personal assets and property such as a primary residence, collectibles and consumer durables.

In terms of growth, Bangladesh is ahead of China, Vietnam, Kenya, India, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Pakistan and the US.

Although the US recorded the weakest growth in its ultra-wealthy population, it remained by far the leading country for UHNW individuals in 2017, accounting for a 31 percent share.

The US was home to 79,595 ultra-wealthy individuals last year, followed by Japan, China, Germany, Canada, France, Hong Kong, the UK, Switzerland and Italy.

Among the top 10 countries, China and Hong Kong have achieved the strongest gains in their ultra-wealthy populations over the past five years. In contrast, those of Japan, Canada, Italy and the UK have largely stagnated. Looking at a broader range of nations, China – perhaps surprisingly – is not the global leader.

“That status lies with Bangladesh, which has registered compound annual growth in its UHNW population of 17 percent since 2012,” said the report.

“Double-digit increases have also been posted by Vietnam, Kenya and India, illustrating the significant opportunities for wealth creation across the emerging world.”

To size and forecast the ultra-wealthy population and its combined wealth, Wealth-X uses proprietary Wealth and Investable Assets Model, which covers the top 75 economies that account for 98 percent of the global GDP.

To estimate total private wealth, it uses econometric techniques that incorporate a large number of national variables such as stock market values, GDP, tax rates, income levels and savings from sources such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and national statistics authorities.

Wealth-X estimates wealth distribution across each country’s population.

According to the report, in 2017, the world’s UHNW population rose by 12.9 percent to 255,810, a sharp acceleration from a year earlier. Their combined wealth surged by 16.3 percent to $31.5 trillion, implying healthy gains in average net worth.

The finance, banking and investment sector was the primary industry focus for the largest proportion of the global ultra-wealthy population in 2017, accounting for a 14.2 percent share.

Manufacturing was the second most significant industry, with its share edging higher to 7.6 percent.

The proportion of the global ultra-wealthy population whose fortunes are predominantly self-made continued to increase last year, hitting 67.5 percent.

The global ultra-wealthy population remains heavily male dominated, although the proportion of women has risen gradually over recent years and increased further in 2017 to a record high of 13.7 percent.

The number of UHNW women grew by an estimated 31 percent to just under 35,000.

Philanthropic activity is cited regularly as one of the main interests of the global ultra-wealthy population.

Education is the top charitable cause among men and women, with around a third of UHNW individuals directing at least part of their philanthropic endeavours to programmes such as scholarships, outreach courses, teacher training and more.

Source tax on export proceeds brought down

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Source tax on export proceeds brought down

Star Business Report

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has reduced withholding tax on the total proceeds from exports for all items to 0.6 percent in the face of demands from entrepreneurs, particularly apparel makers.

Exporters, except jute goods makers, paid 0.7 percent withholding tax on their proceeds in fiscal 2017-18 ending on June 30.

Jute goods makers have been paying 0.6 percent advance income tax and the benefit is scheduled to expire on June 30 next year.

The latest cut on source tax will also expire on June 30, 2019, according to a notification of the NBR issued at the end of last week.

With a view to raising revenue collection, the source tax for clothes manufacturers and exporters of other products including leather goods, frozen and packed foods and vegetables was increased to 1 percent in the budget for fiscal 2018-19.

“We have reduced the withholding tax rate on exports in line with their demand and considering the garment sector’s contribution to employment generation,” said Kanon Kumar Roy, NBR member for tax policy. He said revenue collection from exports would decline because of the discounts. But the loss would be offset if export earnings rise.

“We want our export earning sectors to do better,” he said. Exporters fetched $36.61 billion last fiscal year, posting 5.81 percent year-on-year growth.

Garment and knitwear makers earned $30.61 billion, which was 83.5 percent of the total export receipts for the year, according to data from Export Promotion Bureau.

The tax authority also reduced corporate tax rate for garments and knitwear makers by 3 percentage points to 12 percent for fiscal 2018-19 from 15 percent imposed at the beginning of the current fiscal year.

The two major export earning sectors were enjoying 12 percent corporate tax in fiscal 2017-18. Green factories had to pay 10 percent tax on their incomes last fiscal year. The NBR maintained the rate for the current year.

Latest data on collection of source tax from exports is yet to be made available from the NBR.

In fiscal 2015-16, the tax authority logged in Tk 1,484 crore as source tax mainly from garment shipments.

The NBR got the highest amount of source tax from exports in fiscal 2013-14, when Tk 2,080 crore was collected, according to its annual report.

IDB promoting innovation, says its president

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IDB promoting innovation, says its president

The development bank opens Dhaka office today
Star Business Report

Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has been promoting and supporting science, technology and innovation as part of an initiative to implement its vision to help people through investment in enterprise development.

The Jeddah-based multilateral lender made the disclosure yesterday at the launch of the second edition of a “Transformers Roadshow” at Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden.

The first one was organised by the IDB at Astana Islamic Economy Forum in Kazakhstan on July 3.

“The IDB has started to organise the roadshow aiming to identify innovators, scientists and entrepreneurs from its member countries,” Bandar Hajjar, IDB president, told the opening of a competition.

“Transformers” is a science, technology and innovation competition in which entrepreneurs and innovators can pitch their concepts supporting one or more of the sustainable development goals.

Hajjar said the IDB works on improving human development and the roadshow would help developing countries promote new innovations in the fields of science, technology and businesses.

“Along with the grant and financing, the developing countries should be provided with more opportunities so that they are able to stand on their own feet,” he said.

The IDB will make use of one country’s innovative ideas in other nations to improve people’s livelihoods, Hajjar said.

“We will open a regional office in Dhaka tomorrow (today) to cover 19 countries like Singapore, Australia, Thailand, India,” he added. Yeafesh Osman, minister for science and technology, said Bangladesh could solve different challenges in the future with the IDB’s cooperation.

“Bangladesh and the IDB have been maintaining a warm relationship for long. The latest initiative of the institution will help improve living standards of people as communication and technology play key roles in developing the socioeconomic situation,” he said.

Hayat Sindi, senior advisor to the IDB president, said a large number of people were still deprived of the facilities science and technology offer.

“The IDB has created a digital platform, namely ‘Engage’, to build up a digital world. The bank has an allocation of nearly $500 million to promote the excellent ideas,” she said. Anyone can use the fund to realise brilliant ideas, Sindi said.   

Up to 20 teams of people was selected to take part in the competition where they got the opportunity to meet experts so that their ideas could become a reality.

Judges selected three winners who will receive awards in presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a ceremony marking the opening of the IDB’s Dhaka hub today.

Each winner will be awarded $3,000 in prize money and the opportunity to join a high-level IDB annual service technology and innovation conference in December.

Local e-commerce leaders seek protection to offset risk of losing business

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Amazon, Walmart to enter Bangladesh in two years

Local e-commerce leaders seek protection to offset risk of losing business

Star Business Report
American e-commerce giant Amazon and retail heavyweight Walmart will start operations in Bangladesh within a couple of years as the global companies are increasingly making foray into the market, said a Bangladeshi entrepreneur yesterday.

Walmart already has a very big office in Dhaka and is planning to start business while Amazon is in talks with the government, said Rezwanul Haque Jami, vice-president of the e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-Cab).

With the launch of their operations, the market ecosystem will change and the local players will feel the heat, he said. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is already operating in Bangladesh through Daraz, said Jami, also the coordinator of the government’s e-commerce project Eakshop.

He spoke at a roundtable on “Local e-commerce industry: issues, challenges and solutions” at The Daily Star Centre in Dhaka. At the discussion, local e-commerce companies called for protection in the fast-expanding online market as the government plans to allow foreign companies to own 100 percent stakes in local ventures.

They said they are not against foreign investment but the government needs to protect local investors.

“We need foreign investments. At the same time, local companies which have been nursing the market for the last seven years also have a right to get protected,” said Muhammad Abdul Wahed Tomal, general secretary of e-Cab. The country’s top 10 homegrown online ventures organised the discussion in the backdrop of the government’s initiative to amend the recently approved Digital Commerce Policy.

On July 16, the cabinet had approved the Digital Commerce Policy, limiting foreign investment at no more than 49 percent in local e-commerce ventures.

But the government decided to reconsider the limit when some global players operating in Bangladesh voiced concerns about it. The government plans to allow foreign companies to own 100 percent shares in local e-commerce ventures.

The size of the local e-commerce market size is about Tk 1,000 crore and about 100 ventures account for Tk 700 crore in annual sales. Currently, the market is catering 30,000 orders a day and it is more than doubling every year.

“The market has been growing at more than 100 percent every year and has enormous opportunity to grow further,” said Tomal.

Local ventures said the government needs to clear its position on whether only two or three foreign players will dominate the market and grab all the businesses after two years or there will be some local ventures alongside the foreign entities.

Global players usually enter a market and capture it within a couple of years through price dumping like they did in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and some countries in Africa, said AKM Fahim Mashroor, founder of ajkerdeal.com, one of the leading local e-commerce ventures.

The e-Cab is preparing a list of recommendations about the policy which will be sent to the government. The e-Cab will propose foreign companies recruit 90 percent of their staff from locals to run operations in Bangladesh, said Tomal.

Other recommendations will include: foreign firms will have to host their websites locally and ensure warehouse’s presence and customer data security.

Zeeshan Kingshuk Huq, co-founder and chief executive of kiksha.com, said foreign investment is needed to develop the local market, not to destroy it.

“The US, the UK, China and India are the most protected market. Thanks to this protection, their local firms are capturing the rest of the markets in the world.”

Asikul Alam Khan, founder and CEO of PriyoShop, said new challenges have emerged at a time when the market is just getting ready to take off.  “We have nurtured the market and it is moving towards maturity. Now, some global giants want to capture it.”

Mahmudul Hasan Sohag, chairman of OnnoRokom Group, said foreign companies want a level-playing field through a brutal process.

“But the government should understand the level-playing field by looking at historical context and country perspective.”

Syed Mohammad Kamal, country manager of MasterCard Bangladesh, said the Digital Commerce Policy was passed following a huge consultation process.

The government should follow the same before amending it, he said.

Senior officials of e-commerce firms such as bagdoom, pickaboo, othoba, nrbbazaar, and HungryNaki were also present.

Private sector can help improve infrastructure: IDB president

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Private sector can help improve infrastructure: IDB president

Star Business Report

Islamic Development Bank President Bandar Hajjar yesterday stressed the importance of the private sector to improve the basic infrastructure in its member countries and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Fifty-seven member countries of the IDB require $1 trillion per annum to achieve the SDGs and $700 billion to meet the growing demand for basic infrastructures, he said.

He said the multilateral development banks have a financing capacity of $147 billion per annum for the IDB’s members.

“How will we fill up the gap? A vibrant private sector can only fill up the vacuum,” he said at a press conference at the IDB Bhaban after the opening of the bank’s regional hub in Dhaka.

Earlier, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opened the regional hub of the bank. Bangladesh is the largest beneficiary of financing from the multilateral bank, with its total financing for the country being in excess of $21.7 billion.

Of the funds, 80 percent went to the private sector, Hajjar said. He said the IDB has adopted a new model to encourage the private sector which will play a vital role in developing the human capital of the member countries.

The member countries will have to extend support to give a boost to investment in the private sector, he said, adding that the MDBs should also help them transform their economies with market-oriented growth.

“We are transforming our bank not only for finance; we have focused on increasing the capacity of human capital and build the institutional capacity of our member countries,” he said. The IDB president said the volume of the global capital market has gone beyond $2 trillion and the private sector can get support from the window.

There is a requirement to develop an investment-friendly environment to use the fund of the capital market, he said. Speaking at the briefing, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said over the years, the IDB has gradually established itself as one of the leading multilateral development banks in the world.

The bank has embraced new ideas, come up with innovative financial instruments and expanded its remit substantially, he said. He said the scope for Bangladesh to get soft loans is gradually shrinking as it has become a lower-middle country from a low income nation.

The country has ability to take loans at higher interest rate than the rate entailed with soft loans offered by the MDBs, he said. The regional hub in Dhaka will cover 19 countries, including Singapore, Australia, Thailand and India.

Asked why the IDB chose Bangladesh to set up the regional hub, Hajjar said geographical location was one of the major reasons. Besides, a strong growth of Bangladesh and its skilled workforce, educated people, resources and leadership have also been considered, he said. “The IDB has long held a close relationship with Bangladesh as it continues to move towards a prosperous future.”

“Our regional hub will focus on partnering with local stakeholders to drive the socio-economic development in the country and provide a platform for Bangladesh’s people to build a prosperous future,” he said.

Fourteen people, including four foreign nationals will initially work at the regional office and the number will increase if required, Hajjar said.

No VAT on computer parts at trading stage: NBR

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No VAT on computer parts at trading stage: NBR

Star Business Report
The revenue authority has withdrawn value-added tax (VAT) on computer parts and accessories at the trading stage to help consumers enjoy low prices.

The move comes three months after the imposition of a 15 percent VAT on parts and accessories of computers at the trading stage.

In the past two fiscal years since 2016-17, the NBR had been offering exemptions on computer parts and accessories. Bangladesh Computer Samity, the apex trade body for ICT business in Bangladesh, has been demanding removal of such VAT, which, it thinks, would fuel the prices of computers.

Use of laptops and computers is increasing in Bangladesh. The market for laptops is annually growing by 12 percent, driven by a growing middle and affluent class and overall income, International Data Corporation, a Singapore-based consulting firm, found in a survey.

The laptop market in Bangladesh was worth $165 million in 2017, according to the IDC.

Private sector can help improve infrastructure: IDB president

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Private sector can help improve infrastructure: IDB president

Star Business Report

Islamic Development Bank President Bandar Hajjar yesterday stressed the importance of the private sector to improve the basic infrastructure in its member countries and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Fifty-seven member countries of the IDB require $1 trillion per annum to achieve the SDGs and $700 billion to meet the growing demand for basic infrastructures, he said.

He said the multilateral development banks have a financing capacity of $147 billion per annum for the IDB’s members.

“How will we fill up the gap? A vibrant private sector can only fill up the vacuum,” he said at a press conference at the IDB Bhaban after the opening of the bank’s regional hub in Dhaka.

Earlier, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opened the regional hub of the bank. Bangladesh is the largest beneficiary of financing from the multilateral bank, with its total financing for the country being in excess of $21.7 billion.

Of the funds, 80 percent went to the private sector, Hajjar said. He said the IDB has adopted a new model to encourage the private sector which will play a vital role in developing the human capital of the member countries.

The member countries will have to extend support to give a boost to investment in the private sector, he said, adding that the MDBs should also help them transform their economies with market-oriented growth.

“We are transforming our bank not only for finance; we have focused on increasing the capacity of human capital and build the institutional capacity of our member countries,” he said. The IDB president said the volume of the global capital market has gone beyond $2 trillion and the private sector can get support from the window.

There is a requirement to develop an investment-friendly environment to use the fund of the capital market, he said. Speaking at the briefing, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said over the years, the IDB has gradually established itself as one of the leading multilateral development banks in the world.

The bank has embraced new ideas, come up with innovative financial instruments and expanded its remit substantially, he said. He said the scope for Bangladesh to get soft loans is gradually shrinking as it has become a lower-middle country from a low income nation.

The country has ability to take loans at higher interest rate than the rate entailed with soft loans offered by the MDBs, he said. The regional hub in Dhaka will cover 19 countries, including Singapore, Australia, Thailand and India.

Asked why the IDB chose Bangladesh to set up the regional hub, Hajjar said geographical location was one of the major reasons. Besides, a strong growth of Bangladesh and its skilled workforce, educated people, resources and leadership have also been considered, he said. “The IDB has long held a close relationship with Bangladesh as it continues to move towards a prosperous future.”

“Our regional hub will focus on partnering with local stakeholders to drive the socio-economic development in the country and provide a platform for Bangladesh’s people to build a prosperous future,” he said.

Fourteen people, including four foreign nationals will initially work at the regional office and the number will increase if required, Hajjar said.

No gain from going green

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No gain from going green

RMG exporters don’t get price benefit for environment-friendly production

Star Business Report

Bangladesh’s garment exporters are now regretting for establishing green factories as they are not getting the benefits of the huge investment they made to make their industrial units environment-friendly.

“The cost of setting up a garment unit went up by a third in case of a green factory,” said KM Rezaul Hasanat, CEO of Viyellatex Group, one of the leading Bangladeshi exporters with green factories.

“We could have invested the extra money to employ a one-third more workers.”

Per capita carbon emission in Bangladesh is 0.46 tonnes a year whereas in the US, the EU and Canada the figure ranges between 10 tonnes to 25 tonnes, he said.

So, Bangladesh’s factories do not even need to get green certification from other countries or companies, Hasanat opined.

“Bangladesh is naturally green and the products we make here are also naturally green.”

“I regret that I have set up green garment factories. The buyers do not want to pay even a single cent more for sourcing from a green garment factory,” he said, while speaking at a dialogue on green compliance at the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) in Dhaka yesterday.

The MCCI, in collaboration with the Adam Smith International and the UKAID, Bangladesh organised the dialogue where retailers, exporters, executives of different garment factories and researchers spoke.

Currently, Bangladesh has the highest number of green garment factories along with top ranking units in the globe, said Shwapna Bhowmick, country head of Marks & Spencer.

Bangladesh has outperformed its competitor countries in green compliance for garment factories and the nation should highlight its success stories to the world, she said.

In Bangladesh, 67 green garment factories have already obtained the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the US Green Building Council (USGBC) and over 300 more are waiting to be certified.

“Bangladesh should market its great achievements with effective communication skills,” Bhowmick said. Marks & Spencer sources 40 percent of its garment items from Bangladesh, she said.

“The country produces a lot of value-added garment items although it was previously known as the producer of basic garment items only.”

“However, we [Bangladesh] have broken this barrier as the producer of the highest selling value-added garment items.”

For instance, Bhowmick said her company sources 90 percent of denim items from Bangladesh while local mills supply 70 percent of the fabrics needed to produce these denim items. However, Bangladesh needs to shorten its lead-time and improve the skills of the workers for higher productivity, she said.

The garment sector’s strong green initiative was also noticed in the survey of the Partnership for a Cleaner Textile (PaCT) of the International Finance Corporation.

Local suppliers are doing great work in saving water, energy and environment, said Nishat Shahid Chowdhury, programme manager of Bangladesh PaCT.

In Bangladesh, 250 textile factories have invested a total of $39 million to save 21 billion litres of water a year thanks to the use of modern technologies, said Chowdhury.

Time has come to adopt the green compliance voluntarily, said Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, a think-tank. The whole green concept was largely implemented during the global financial crisis mainly to save food and fuel, she said. Currently, 1,700 factories are running effluent treatment plants (ETPs) in their factories to save the environment.

Although the factory managements of these units regularly report to the Department of Environment (DoE), they need to improve the performance of the ETPs, said Syed Nazmul Ahsan, director of the state agency.

The DoE will start monitoring of the operations of the ETPs online in 500 factories to obtain better results from the plants, Ahsan said.

He said the high-ups of the factories are interested in setting up and running of the ETPs whereas the mid- and lower-level managers are less keen.

The government should formulate policies to encourage private sector entrepreneurs to invest in green garment factories, said Shahpar Selim, a consultant of the Economic Dialogue on Green Growth, UKAID, while presenting the keynote paper on “Environmental compliance opportunities in Bangladesh’s readymade garments industry: lessons from the green high achievers”. Currently, two kinds of funds are available for setting up green factories but it is difficult to avail the fund, she said.

Of the funds, the green refinancing fund of the central bank is relatively easier to avail, she said.

Still, factory owners struggle to apply for this fund and the central bank should make the process easy, she said. Golam Mainuddin, MCCI vice-president; Miran Ali, managing director of Bitopi Group, and  Suvojit Chattopadhyay, country manager of the Adam Smith International, also spoke.

India’s rupee hits record low against dollar

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India’s rupee hits record low against dollar

Afp, Mumbai

India’s rupee hit a new record low of 72 to the dollar on Thursday as emerging market currencies suffered more losses.

The under-pressure currency of Asia’s third-largest economy slid to 72.12 to the greenback in afternoon trade.

The rupee has steadily fallen by about 10 percent throughout 2018, after starting the year at 63.67. Last month it crossed 70 for the first time as India was buffeted by the turbulence of the Turkish financial crisis.

The Turkish lira was sent into a tailspin in August by a bitter diplomatic spat with the United States over Turkey’s detention of an American pastor for almost two years on terror-related charges.

The currencies of other emerging economies heavily dependent on dollar-dominated foreign capital like Brazil, South Africa and Argentina also slipped in August.

The rupee slump is widening India’s current account deficit.

India is a massive net importer of oil, which is priced in dollars, securing more than two-thirds of its needs from abroad. High oil prices have been squeezing the rupee, making it less appealing to investors, analysts say. India’s central bank has raised interest rates this year in part to help increase the value of the rupee.

Bangladesh on way to be a gadget-making hub

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Bangladesh on way to be a gadget-making hub

Star Business Report

The availability of workforce at a competitive wage, growing domestic market demand and a favourable policy are some of the key factors that make Bangladesh an attractive hub for high-tech manufacturing, according to a survey.

In its report, International Data Corporation (IDC) found success stories of local and international manufacturing companies, such as Walton and Samsung.

Global tech leader Samsung has started producing mobile phones in Bangladesh following in the footsteps of three local firms—Walton, Aamra Companies and Symphony—and a China-Bangladesh joint venture, Transsion Holdings, it said in the report.

The Singapore-based firm also showed evidence of the support provided by the government in driving the growth of the high-tech industry in Bangladesh.

The government has reduced duties on import of raw materials for the tech industry, exempted 100 percent value added tax on rents along with providing cash incentives and 100 percent tax discounts, it said.

“Population is the main strength of Bangladesh, home to around 80 million people under 25 years of age,” according to the IDC report launched yesterday.

Gadgets and laptops worth around $1.5 billion are sold in the country every year; about 34 million mobile handsets worth $1.18 billion and laptops worth $300 million were sold last year, IDC found.

The youths are giving a boost to the sector, where the gadget and laptop market is growing at around 12-20 percent every year, said Zarif Munir, partner and managing director of the Boston Consulting Group.

The officials of the group presented the findings of the report as one of the partners of the survey, at a programme held in the ICT Division in Dhaka.

The IDC is a premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services and events for the information technology, telecom and consumer technology markets.

Local companies are not lagging behind foreign peers. Walton has already completed production and shipment of laptops to Nepal, a major stride for a Bangladeshi company, the IDC report said.

Huawei Technologies, the largest telecom equipment maker based in China, has been investing to provide high-quality ICT infrastructure and network enhancement services in Bangladesh, the report reads. Another Chinese giant, Xiaomi, also plans to set up a plant in Bangladesh in the next two years, the IDC said.

“We have a huge local market and scopes are there to export tech products to the neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and even India’s seven-sister states,” Mustafa Jabbar, telecom and ICT minister, said at the report launching ceremony.

He said the government is developing 28 high-tech parks, all of which would be ready for use in the next two years.

“Some of the parks have already started manufacturing and exporting different ICT products.” Smartphone penetration in Bangladesh stands at about 30 percent now and will hit 80 percent in the next few years, he said.

The government is giving tax holiday and cash incentive to assemblers with high quality infrastructure support and now seeking global leaders’ investments, said Zuena Aziz, secretary to the ICT Division.

“Some developed nations, including China, are shutting down gadget plants due to the rising cost of production,” said Rezwanul Haque, CEO of Transsion Bangladesh and the former general secretary of Bangladesh Mobile Phone Importers Association.

The government has developed 79 economic zones spanning over 30,000 hectares and foreign companies will get all-out support if they want to invest in Bangladesh, said Kazi M Aminul Islam, executive chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority.