Business , Publish: 12/07/2018
Singaporeans seek 3,000 acres for economic zone
A team of investors based in Singapore has sought 3,000 acres of land at Mirsarai in Chittagong from the government to establish a special economic zone for the businesses of the Southeast Asian island country.

“Singaporean are keen to invest in power, IT, tourism and education sectors. We urged the government to provide necessary land,” said the delegation's deputy team leader, Prasoon Mukherjee.

Mukherjee, also vice chairman of Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, made the call when the 35-member delegation met Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed at Sonargaon hotel yesterday.

Led by the chairman of Singapore Business Federation, Teo Siong Seng, the delegation is going around to the country to witness the investment climate and possibilities.

He urged the commerce minister to make Bangladesh Investment Development Authority's (Bida) one-stop service efficient and set up a similar one at Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza) to provide necessary information to investors.

The minister assured them of providing all-out cooperation and urged them for going for the investment.

He said he would talk to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina about the land issue.

“We want to turn Bangladesh into a city like Singapore.”

Asaad Mamun, general secretary of Bangladesh Business Chamber of Singapore, told The Daily Star that the delegation aims to obtain firsthand understanding of the business environment and tap into emerging opportunities in their sectors of interest.

He said the delegation met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and heads of Bida, Beza and Bangladesh Bank.

Citing that Singapore is a major business hub with around 150 Bangladeshi companies operating in the country, Mamun said if the government provided the land and necessary cooperation, billions of dollars would come in to Bangladesh as investment.

In 2016-17, Bangladesh imported goods worth $2.44 billion and exported goods worth $335.12 million, according to the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry.