'Bangladesh has become investment friendly'

Speaking at a roundtable organised on Dhaka Tribune premises, FBCCI President Abdul Matlub Ahmed said the business community had noticed China's growing interest in Bangladesh over the last few years. The roundtable, titled, 'Bangladesh-China ties at new heights,' was organised by Bangla Tribune and broadcast live by Ekattor TV. “We were quite surprised to see that over the last few years, the Chinese have been inviting us to their country,” Matlub said at the event. The Chinese were inviting Bangladeshi business delegates frequently, often paying for the costs of the visit. Many had expressed the interest to relocate businesses and invest in Bangladesh. During the Chinese president's visit, the 74-member business delegation that arrived days earlier, also delivered much in this vein. “The amount seemed incredible to me. They signed $13.4 billion worth of deals,” he said. “Over the years, we have been trying to attract investment by holding events around the world, like road shows and fairs,” said Matlub, the chairman of Nitol Niloy Group. This showed that Bangladesh was being perceived by the world as an investment worthy nation, he said. The show was moderated by Mithila Farzana and attended by Kazi Nabil Ahmed MP, Nahim Razzaq MP, former Bangladesh ambassador to China Munshi Faiz Ahmed, former foreign secretary Towhid Hossain, Centre for Policy Dialogue ED Mostafizur Rahman, BNP Organising Secretary Shama Obaid and Bangla Tribune acting editor Zulfiqer Russell.