Bangladesh-Turkey Heads Up to Boost $1-2 Billion in Investment

Dhaka, Bangladesh | July 13, 2009 by D-8 Secretariat

Bangladesh said trade volume between her and Turkey will reach $1.0 billion this year

Turkish businessmen have shown an interest in investing $1-2 billion USD to setup an export processing zone (EPZ) in Bangladesh, media source in Bangladesh reported.

A three-member business delegation of Turkey-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, led by its President Fikret Cicek, conveyed the Turkish interest at a meeting with Commerce Minister Faruk Khan at his office in Dhaka on Sunday.

Welcoming the proposal, the commerce minister assured the delegation of all necessary support from Bangladesh government to implement it.

Terming the present government as business friendly, Faruk Khan said: “Our government is ready to provide all kinds of support for the promotion of business in the country.”

The commerce minister proposed the delegation to think about setting up a special Turkish industrial zone outside capital, Dhaka.

The meeting was informed about bumper production of pulses in Turkey and the possibilities of its import to Bangladesh, an official press statement said.

Faruk Khan was in İstanbul earlier in June to participate in the İstanbul World Trade Ministers Summit and the Turkey-World Trade Bridge 2009, organized by the Turkish Confederation of Industrialists and Businessmen (TUSKON). In an interview with Turkish Today’s Zaman, he said his country is full of investment opportunities, mostly untouched, waiting to be utilized by profit-seeking entrepreneurs.

He said trade volume between Bangladesh and Turkey will reach $1.0 billion this year from the current level of $517 million.

“I had fruitful discussions with Turkish trade minister, exporters and importers, and I am hopeful that the people of both countries will take advantage of existing confidence, derived from firm bondage,” he said during the meeting.

He particularly emphasized the incentives the Bangladeshi government is offering to interested investors. For example, the government has dedicated a separate industrial zone to Turkish businessmen with incentives such as land delivery and cheap labor and energy. Khan claims that Bangladesh has the cheapest labor costs in the world and that only a few other countries can match it in terms of the energy costs in this industrial zone. A company may hire an unskilled worker for a monthly salary of between $100 and $150 depending on the location, he said. There is one more very lucrative advantage that an investor must consider, he underlined: There are no legal barriers to foreign companies transferring their profits to their home countries. Khan also mentioned the free-trade agreements his country has with the European Union and the US. These agreements mean companies manufacturing in Bangladesh will have the opportunity to sell to these major markets without being subjected to any quota limitations, customs duties or trade barriers. “This is a big advantage that a businessman can hardly turn his back on,” he stressed.

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