DHAKA: Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday went all out in her bid to woo Singapore companies to her fast-growing country, offering as draws its booming economy, competitive workforce and liberal investment regime.
She even made a generous pledge of land, a move that drew applause from the more than 200 participants at the inaugural Bangladesh-Singapore Business Forum.
Bangladesh, which has achieved strong average gross domestic product growth of 6.3 per cent a year over the past decade, hopes this year to shed its status as a least developed country, and by 2030 expects half its population to become urbanised consumers.
It is also establishing 100 Special Economic Zones to spur investment and developing several high-tech parks for IT industries with foreign investment, said Madam Hasina.
The Prime Minister has been in town since Sunday on an official visit that hopes to forge more opportunities for cooperation between Singapore and Bangladesh, accompanied by a 70-strong delegation of government officials and business representatives.
Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) Lim Hng Kiang said at the forum that Bangladesh and Singapore hope to update their 1979 double taxation agreement to support evolving business needs.
He also encouraged Bangladesh companies to use Singapore as a launchpad into the rest of South-east Asia.
Speakers, including Singapore Business Federation chairman Teo Siong Seng, noted that Singapore companies can reap benefits from Bangladesh’s rapid indus-trialisation and growing market if they seize opportunities in booming sectors such as information technology, manufacturing and infrastructure.
