465 foreign delegates to join International Investment Summit 2021

Some 2,574 participants have registered to attend International Investment Summit 2021, and at least 465 of them are foreigners who will represent their countries or international investment firms, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida) Executive Chairman Md Sirazul Islam said on Saturday.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will raise the curtain of the two-day summit hosted by Bida at 10.00am on Sunday at Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel, Dhaka.

The main objective of the summit is to brand the new Bangladesh among investors from around the world, said Salman Fazlur Rahman, the prime minister's private sector development and investment advisor.

Bangladesh economy's new face is still unknown to many in the world and the investment promotion programmes are helping them to learn about the economy and the investment opportunities in a wide range of sectors in Bangladesh, he added.

Due to the pandemic, participants would join the summit both in person and virtually, said the Bida executive chairman at a press conference on Saturday.

A large number of delegates are already in Dhaka and more are arriving, he added.

Bangladesh is receiving an increasing interest of investors from an expanding range of countries considered to be potential sources of investments, and the outcome of that should be reflected in coming years, said Salman F Rahman.

He mentioned investors from Scandinavian countries, for example, are expressing their interest in Bangladesh.

Saudi Arabia's transport and logistics minister, vice-minister of their Ministry of Investments, and a high-level business delegation are joining the summit.

Many members of the Turkish investors' community, alongside those from the United States, Europe, and Asian countries would join the programme, while ministers from India, China, and Japan would address the audience virtually.

The summit with the tagline "Bangladesh: Discover Limitless Opportunities" will have 14 separate sessions, of which 11 will be dedicated to different sectors that include blue economy, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, transport and logistics, capital market, power and energy, the fourth industrial revolution, financial services, agribusiness, leather and leather goods, apparel, electrical and electronics manufacturing.

Salman F Rahman said IT, automobile, white goods, light engineering, the manmade fibre in textiles, and the blue economy are the fields where new investors are showing more interest nowadays.

The country's increasing investment competitiveness, improving business environment, the opportunities the 100 special economic zones are creating would be communicated with the potential investors alongside the great rise story of the Bangladesh economy.