Mir Afroz Zaman

Foreign direct investment (FDI) of Bangladeshi companies has increased significantly. According to the data of the central bank, 70 percent of the amount invested by Bangladeshis in different countries of the world last year was in the neighboring country India.

According to a media report about the Central Bank, Bangladesh has investments in more than 22 countries of the world. Most of these have been invested in India. Bangladesh's net direct investment in the country in 2023 was 21.05 million dollars, which is 70.45 percent of the country's total foreign investment.

United Arab Emirates is in the second position, where Bangladeshi companies have invested 8.91 million dollars, which is 29.82 percent of the total investment. Next is Nepal; There has been an investment of 3.52 million dollars, which is 11.78 percent of the total foreign investment. Meanwhile, net FDI inflows to the UK fell by $4.35 million and to Hong Kong-China by $5.78 million.

Considering investment by sector, financial intermediaries and mining and quarrying activities received the largest share of investment, the report said.

In 2023, net FDI outflows totaled $29.88 million, a decline of 43.2 percent over the same period last year. Net FDI equity capital outflow that year was $10.66 million; This is also a decrease of 11.74 million dollars compared to the previous year.

Chairman of HSTC Limited and Vice President of India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry M Shoaib Chowdhury told the media that India is our neighboring country. There is a demand for many Bangladeshi products in the northeastern states like Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya. As exports are difficult in these states, several companies including Pran have invested there. Besides, due to scarcity of land for energy production in our country, there is some investment in this sector as well.

Commenting that there is a good investment environment in India, this businessman also said that the cost of doing business in India is lower than that of Bangladesh. Besides, we expect more investment opportunities in the future due to the demand for Bangladeshi products. Both countries have to take steps for this.

Meanwhile, inward FDI of the country has also decreased. Total FDI inflows in 2023 were $3.97 billion, which is $857.53 million or 17.8 percent less than in 2022. In addition, the total FDI in Bangladesh at the end of 2023 reached 20.55 billion dollars, which is 5.1 percent less than in 2022.