KABUL: Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday (March 13) went all out in her bid to woo Singapore companies to her fast-growing country, offering up as draws its booming economy, competitive workforce and liberal investment regime.
As the country presses on with the next stage of its development, it can offer investors access to newly-expanding industries and special economic zones, a large, young and easily-trainable workforce with competitive wages, and an investment regime that includes the protection of foreign investment by law and generous tax holidays.
Bangladesh, which has achieved strong average gross domestic product growth of 6.3 per cent over the past decade, hopes to this year shed its status as a least developed country, and by 2030 expects half its population to become urbanised consumers.
“We can give you 500 acres (200ha) of land or more than that, whatever you want… If you want, we can give you,” said Madam Hasina, who later hosted a roundtable with Singapore companies to discuss potential partnership opportunities.
She has been in town since Sunday on an official visit that hopes to forge more opportunities for cooperation between Singapore and Bangladesh.
Madam Hasina is accompanied by a 70-strong delegation of government officials and representatives from leading Bangladesh companies such as Exim Bank.
Minister for Trade and Industry (Trade) Lim Hng Kiang at the forum said that Bangladesh and Singapore hope to update the terms of their 1979 double taxation agreement to reflect how business needs have evolved.
