Bangladesh: Half of new investment proposals for textile, chemicals sectors

A total of 1184 industrial units for textile, 638 units for chemical and 525 units for engineering sectors were registered with the Board of Investment (BOI) over the last 26 months, an official of the BOI told the FE.

Such registered proposals accounted for more than 50 per cent of the aggregate amount involving private investment during the period, he added.

Proposed investments were also recorded in sectors like food and allied industries, printing, publishing and packaging, tannery and rubber products, glass and ceramics and service sector, he said.

"The investors are interested in the textile and service sectors, because these two areas are very much successful globally," another BOI official said, adding that nearly 0.350 million workforce would be employed according to the project proposals they received over the last 14 months.

He said most of the intending investors will set up their plants in Narayanganj and Manikganj as road, river and train communication will be available which are the key factors for industrialisation.

President of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Shafiul Islam said the industry received a tremendous response from the local investors in recent time.

"It's a very good indicator for the country's industrial development. Immediate measures like uninterrupted supply of gas and power were needed to keep the momentum going," the newly elected president of the country's apex apparel body said.

Bangladeshi garment industry earned US$ 12899.21 in the period of June'09 to July'10, which accounted for nearly 80 per cent of the country's total export earnings.

It makes clothings for the world's top retailers like Wal-Mart, H & M, Tesco, Carrefour, Metro, Gap and JC Penney through its over 4,700 factories.