Bangladesh Minister for Industries Dilip Barua has called for stronger trade ties with India.

On his arrival here(Tripura) on Tuesday, Barua said he was keen to build on bilateral relations following Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’’s visit to India last month.

“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited India last month and discussed with the Indian Prime Minister, improvement of bilateral relations and increasing trade and industry between the two nations. We believe that it shall be implemented for the betterment of both countries. We shall aim to work together for a better developed Bangladesh and India,” said Barua.

Tripura’’s Industry and Commerce Minister, Jitendra Choudhury, met Barua at the Akhawra Immigration Centre on the India-Bangladesh border.

Barua is scheduled to hold a meeting with the Chief Minister of Tripura, Manik Sarkar, and officials from the Tripura Chamber of Commerce today to discuss the possibility of Bangladesh’’s investment in the state.

Barua will also attend the 20th Tripura Industry and Commerce Fair.

Bangladesh annually imports about two billion dollars worth of products from India, and earns nearly 400 million dollars from exports.

India is Bangladesh’’s largest trading partner in terms of imports and exports

Dilip Barua
Dilip Barua is a Bangladeshi politician. He’s the general secretary of the Bangladesher Samyabadi Dal (Marksbadi-Leninbadi) (‘Communist Party of Bangladesh (Marxist-Leninist)’).[1] In January 2009, Barua was named Minister of Industries in the cabinet of Sheikh Hasina.[2] ndustries

He was born on February 28 in 1949. He completed his BSc (honours) in Physics, MSc from the Dhaka University. He obtained MA, Diploma in Journalism and LLB from the same university.

He was a leader of the East Pakistan Students Union from 1966-1970. He was a member of the Communist Party since 1969 and elected member of the Dhaka City Committee of the Party in 1972. He was the President of the Jubo Federation during 1977-1979.

Dilip is one of the architects of 14-party alliance. He played a vital role in formulation of 31-point reforms of caretaker government and 23-points programs.

During his long political career, he was imprisoned in 1969 as the student leader, in 1983 as a member of the Political Bureau. He led underground life for several times due to Political reasons

Malaysian companies identified actual sales of RM1.4 million and potential business worth RM722.7 million at recent events in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) said.

It said Matrade organised the participation of 16 companies at the Malaysia Product and Services Exhibition from Aug 7 to 9 with the objective of supporting Malaysian exporters in the promotion of their products and services in Bangladesh.

The sectors that participated at the exhibition included Malaysian food and beverages, electrical and electronic products, plastic products, medical and healthcare services, professional services and education, it said in a statement on Friday.

Concurrently in Dhaka, Matrade also led a delegation of eight Malaysian companies on a Specialised Marketing Mission to promote automotive products and services to Bangladesh from Aug 6 to 9.

Members of the mission had the opportunity to directly discuss business with pre-screened quality buyers during the Individual Business Meeting sessions, officiated by Malaysian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Jamaluddin Sabeh.

The two day business meetings, held from Aug 7 to 8, resulted in immediate sales worth RM107,547 and potential sales of RM1.6 million from the 45 business meetings arranged, Matrade said.

Malaysian products on demand during the programme included automotive lighting, windscreen glasses, motorcycle rims and spoke, gasket and spare parts as well as engine lubricants.

“Despite the economic slowdown facing the world today, we can see from the outcome of Matrade trade promotion programmes that there are still pockets of opportunities for Malaysian exporters to exploit,” Matrade chief executive officer Datuk Noharuddin Nordin said in the statement.

To succeed, Malaysian companies must be committed to maintain their visibility in the marketplace while actively searching for untapped opportunities overseas, he added.

He also urged Malaysian companies to take advantage of the export assistance provided by Matrade which could help cushion the impact from softened demand during these difficult times.

Vision with the real output .With neighbouring Bangladesh agreeing in principle to open up Chittagong port for North Eastern states of India, the prospect for trade and commerce between the two countries has brightened, a top Bangladeshi business leader said on on Sunday.

Chairman of the India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce & Industry (IBCCI), Abdul Matlub Ahmad, said the Bangladesh government headed by Sheikh Hasian has agreed to open up the Chittagong port and allow transhipment of goods from the port by using Bangladesh transport.

“All logistical support for carrying goods in containers in Bangladeshi soil after its release from the port will be given by the people of our country as a result of which they will earn money ,” he told reporters here.

He said when India is pressing for transit through Bangladesh, the latter is eyeing enhancing trade and commerce with India which guards the neighbouring country from sides.

A business delegation on Saturday met the state minister for Industry and Commerce Jiten Chowdhury and attended the third meeting of the Indo-Bangla task force headed by Tripura Chief Secretary Sudhir Sharma.

Sharma said that India has demanded that Ashuganj river port, about 32 km from here, be declared as a port of call.

A joint delegation of India and Bangladesh with representatives from Tripura would visit the port within few months, he said.

Bangladesh is now trying to establish itself as the next rising star in South Asia for foreign investment. The government has implemented a number of policy reforms designed to create a more open and competitive climate for private investment, both foreign and local.

The country has a genuinely democratic system of government and enjoys political stability seen as a sine qua non for ensuring a favorable climate for investment and sustained development.

Bangladesh has been quick to undertake major restructuring for establishing a market economy, with the major thrust coming from the private sector. The country enjoys modest but steady economic growth. Its current development strategy is based on the premise that the creation and distribution of wealth occurs through the acceleration of growth driven by competitive market forces, with the government facilitating growth and making a clean break from the practices of a controlled economy where private investment is constrained. The government has been gradually withdrawing its involvement in this industrial and infrastructure sectors and promoting private sector participation.

The government has moved speedily to translate its policy pronouncements into specific reforms. It has been consistently pursuing an open-door investment policy and playing a catalytic rather than a regulatory role.

Regulatory controls and constrains have been reduced to a minimum. The government has steadily liberalized its trade regime. Significant progress has been achieved in reducing non-tariff restrictions on trade, rationalizing tariff rates and improving export incentives. The introduction of VAT has helped rationalization of the import tariff and domestic tax structures. The tariff structure and the import policy are kept under constant review to identify areas where further improvements are called for.

Motivated by the simple realization that state-owned enterprises are a drain on its scarce resources and that these are generally inefficient, very costly and slow in responding to changing markets and consumer desires, the country has embarked on a privatization program, offering substantial opportunities for international investors.

Foreign investment is particularly welcome in the export-oriented industries such as textiles, leather goods, electronic products and components, chemicals and petrochemicals, agro-based industries, green jute pulp, paper, rayon products, frozen foods (dominated by shrimp farming), tourism, agriculture, light industries, software and data processing.

Foreign investment is also desired in high technology products that will help import substitution or industries that will be labor as well as technology intensive.

Some of the foreign private investment opportunities are:

The country’s drive for foreign investment is being spearheaded by the Board of Investment, which was created to facilitate the setting up of manufacturing and other industries in the private sector, both local and foreign. It is a promotional organization dedicated towards providing investment assistance to all investors.

The Board is headed by the country’s Prime Minister and it includes Ministers and Secretaries from the concerned ministries as well as representatives from the private sector.
The Board has launched an investment promotion drive at home and abroad to attract investors. The BOI has been assisting in the implementation of new projects as well as providing services.

In order to stimulate rapid economic growth of the country, particularly through industrialization, the government has adopted an ‘Open Door Policy’ to attract foreign investment to Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) is the official organ of the government to promote, attract and facilitate foreign investment in the Export Processing Zones.

Bangladesh is on the verge of a significant breakthrough in terms both of international investor confidence and significant inflow of new investment funds.

Board of Investment (BOI)

Focal Points of BOI

Foreign Investment Statistics

Investor Registration with BOI

Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA)

Incentives and Facilities of EPZ

Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms

Privatization Commission

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI)

Karnaphuli EPZ

Investment Consultantncy :  explore@explorexdark.com

Aiming to keep the market stable Bangladesh Bank purchased US$12 million from two private commercial banks (PCBs)

“We’ve bought the US dollar from the PCBs to help the banks comply with the net open position (NOP) rules for holding the foreign currency fund properly,” said a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank (BB), 

On Monday last, the central bank similarly purchased $3.50 million from a foreign commercial bank on the same ground, To keep the market steady BB started the intervention in the market by buying the US currency directly from the commercial banks on January 15, 2009 to keep the market steady.Since then, the BB has bought $224.20 million from commercial banks

After a long discuss ,Trade and Investment Framework Agreement ?((TIFA) with the United States is a matter of time,Government has already advanced its footstep for TIFA.Bangladesh govt commitee has reviewed the draft TIFA agreement sent by the US authority.

In recent years, the United States has concluded many TIFA’s, including with the Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan), Thailand, Brunei, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Bahrain, Malaysia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Turkey, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, West African Economic and Monetary Union, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and Oman.

TIFA is a trade impact, which establishes a framework for expanding trade and resolving outstanding disputes between countries. TIFA is often seen as an important step towards establishing Free Trade Agreements.

Review report is going to positive action to sign the TIFA agreement with US