Unique opportunities to invest in Bangladesh

Unique opportunities to invest in Bangladesh 

 

   Sahit Muja: Bangladesh  Bangladesh emerged as an independent and sovereign country in 1971 following a nine month war of liberation. It is one of the largest deltas of the world with a total area of 147,570 sq. km. With a unique communal harmony, Bangladesh has a population of about 142.32 million, making it one of the densely populated countries of the world. The majority (over 88%) of the people are Muslim. Over 98% of the people speak in Bangla. English, however, is widely spoken. The country is covered with a network of rivers and canals forming a maze of interconnecting channels. Being an active partner, Bangladesh plays vital role in the international and regional forum, particularly in the UN, Commonwealth and South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC).





Unique opportunities to invest in Bangladesh 

General information

Official Name:	The People's Republic of Bangladesh
Political system:	Parliamentary democracy
Capital name:	Dhaka
Time zone:	GMT + 6 hours
Major cities:	Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Barisal, Rangpur
Principal rivers:	Padma, Meghna, Jamuna, Brahmaputra, Teesta, Surma and Karnaphuli.(total 310 rivers including tributaries).
Principal industries:	Ready made garments, pharmaceuticals, cements, garment accessories, chemicals, fertilizers, newsprint, leather and leather goods, paper, sugar, jute, ship building.
Principal exports:	Readymade garments, frozen foods (shrimps), leather, leather products, jute, jute products, tea, ceramic, textile fabrics, home textile, chemical product, light engineering products including bi-cycle.
	Source: Statistical Pocket Book Bangladesh-2010, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics

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Geography

Location:	Between 200 34' and 260 38' north latitude and between 880 01' and 920 41' east longitude.
Boundary:	North: India West: India South: Bay of Bengal East: India and Myanmar
Area:	56,977 sq. miles or 147,570 sq. km.
Territorial water:	12 nautical miles
Main seasons:	Summer (March-May), rainy season (June-September) and winter (December-February)
Climate variations:	Season	Temperature		Rainfall	Relative humidity
		maximum	minimum
	Pre monsoon	32.60C	22.40C	453 mm	74%
	Monsoon	31.50C	25.50C	1,733 mm	86%
	Post monsoon	30.50C	21.40C	210 mm	80%
	Winter	26.50C	13.90C	44 mm	73%
	Annual	30.40C	21.20C	203 mm	78%
Principal seasonal crops and fruits:	Paddy, jute, wheat, tobacco, pulses, oil seeds, spices, vegetables, jack-fruit, banana, mango, coconut, pineapple etc.
Natural resources:	Natural gas, coal, lime, white clay, granite, glass sand.
	Source:Statistical Pocket Book Bangladesh-2010, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics

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National Demographics*

Total population (m**)		142.32
Male (m)		71.26
Female (m)		71.06
Annual growth rate		1.34%
Sex ratio (males per 100 females)		100.3
Density (per sq km)		964

* = Provisional Figure

**=million

Source: Population & Housing Census Report 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics

Urban demographics

Administrative unit	Number
Division	7
District	64
City corporation	6
Municipalities	309
Upazila	483
Thana	599
Union	4,498

Source:Statistical Pocket Book Bangladesh-2010, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics

Population by religion (%)

Source: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics

Projected population (m*)

	July 2015	July 2019
Total	158.96	167.39
Male	81.63	85.86
Female	77.33	81.51
Sex ratio (males per 100 females)	106	105.34

*m=million

Source: Projections as per previous report, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics

Population of City Corporations

City	2011 (provisional figure)
Dhaka	46.729
Chittagong	28.079
Khulna	15.563
Rajshahi	18.329
Barisal	8.147
Sylhet	9.807

Source: Population & Housing Census Report 2011, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics

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Economy

Overview

GDP total:	$100.00 bn (at current prices 2010-11)
GDP per capita:	$664 (at current prices 2010-11)
GDP growth rate (%):	6.0 (at constant prices 2009-10)
Total exports:	$16.20 bn (2009-10)
Total imports:	$23.74 bn (2009-10)
Total FDI:	$0.913 bn (2010)
Forex reserves:	$10.700 bn (Nov 2010)
Currency:	BDT (1 BDT=$0.01438) (avg 2009-10)

Source:Bangladesh Economic Review-2010 (Bangla version), Ministry of Finance

Export data 2009-10, Export Promotion Bureau

GDP at current price

GDP data	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11 (p*)
GDP (bn taka)	4,724.77	5,458.22	6,147.95	6,943.20	7875.00
GNI* (bn taka)	5,077.52	5,942.12	6,706.96	7,589.28	8528.22
Per capita GDP (in taka)	33607	38330	42628	47536	53236
Per capita GNI (in taka)	36116	41728	46504	51959	57652
Per capita GDP (in US$)	487	559	620	687	755
Per capita GNI (in US$)	523	608	676	751	818

*P=provisional

GNI=Gross National Income

Source:Bangladesh Economic Review-2011 (Bangla version), Ministry of Finance

Mid-term macroeconomic forecast 2011-2015

Real sector	Projection
	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
GDP at current price (bn US$)	128.03	145.35	165.31	187.55
GDP growth at current price (%)	13.2	13.5	13.7	13.5
GDP growth at constant price (%)	7.2	7.6	8.0	8.0
Inflation (%)	6.3	6.1	6.0	6.0
GDP deflator (%)	5.6	5.5	5.3	5.0
Total investment (% GDP)	28.4	30.0	31.6	32.0

Source:Bangladesh Economic Review-2010 (Bangla version), Ministry of Finance

% of sectorwise contribution to GDP during 2009-10

Source:Bangladesh Economic Review-2010 (Bangla version), Ministry of Finance

Contribution of industries to GDP during 2009-10 (m US$)

Source:Bangladesh Economic Review-2010 (Bangla version), Ministry of Finance

Investment statistics during FY 2005-2009 (m US$)

Sector: Bangladesh Economic Review-2010 (Bangla version), Ministry of Finance

Foreign trade
Export Import trend during the financial year (2005-11*)

(in m US$)

* Import fugure up to February, 2011 & export figure up to March, 2011

Source: Ministry of Commerce, GOB; Bangladesh Economic Review 2011(Bangla Version)

Major economic indicators: monthly update (volume 06/2010), Bangladesh Bank

Bangladesh export by major products (2008-09)

Bangladesh export in major countries (2008-09)

Source: Export Promotion Bureau, Bangladesh

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Key indicators

Electricity

Electricity data	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-2010
Per capita generation (Kwh)	168.08	176.87	184.26	200.32
Per capita consumption (Kwh)	149.97	158.20	165.32	170.27

Source: Anuual report 2009-10, Bangladesh Power Development Board

% of total electricity production during 2010

Source: Power and Energy Sector Development Roadmap, Ministry of Finance

Year	Installed capacity (MW)<1	Generation capability (MW)<2	Demand forecast (MW)<3	Demand served (MW)<4
2006-07	5,202	3,717	5,112	3,717
2007-08	5,201	4,130	5,569	4,130
2008-09	5,719	5,166	6,066	4,162
2009-10	5,823

Source: Anuual report 2008-2009, Bangladesh Power Development Board

1. Installed capacity as of June of the year.
2. Generation capability is the Maximum available generation capacity after maintanance outage in the year.
3. Demand forecast is the Base Forecast of PSMP-2005.
4. The dates of maximum demand served and maximum available generation capacity may not be the same.

Energy production index*

Energy indices	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08
Electricity	317	320	342
Natural gas	337	361	385

Base: 1988-89=100

Source:Statistical Pocket Book Bangladesh-2009, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics

Industrial production index* (manufacturing)

Indices	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-2010
National	327	360	385	413	442

*Base: 1988-89=100

Source:Statistical Pocket Book-2010, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics

Consumer price indices*

Indices	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10
National	176.04	193.54	206.43	221.53

* 1995-96=100
Source: Major Economic Indicators: Monthly Update, Bangladesh Bank

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Transportation

Seaports:	Seaports	Chittagong and Mongla.
	Inland river ports	Dhaka, Chandpur, Barisal, Khulna, Baghabari, Sharishabari, Narayanganj, Bhairab Bazar, Ashuganj.
Airports:	International airports	Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet.
	Domestic airports	Chittagong, Jessore, Sylhet, Cox's Bazar, Syedpur, Rajshahi and Barisal.
Landports:		Benapole, Teknaf, Banglabandha, Sonamasjid, Hilli, Darshana, Birol, Burimari, Tamabil, Haluaghat, Akhaura, Bibirbazar and Bhomra.

Source: Statistical Pocket Book Bangladesh-2009, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics

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Communications

Radio stations:	Dhaka, Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Rangpur, Sylhet, Rangamati, Comilla and Thakurgaon. broadcasting programmes (in addition to Bengali): in English, Hindi, Urdu, Arabic and Nepali.
Television stations:	Dhaka, Chittagong.
Relay stations:	Chittagong, Sylhet, Khulna, Natore, Mymensingh, Rangpur, Noakhali, Satkhira, Cox's Bazar, Rangamati and Thakurgaon.
Television channels:	Terrestrial: BTV Satellite: BTV World, Channel-I, NTV, ATN Bangla, Bangla Vision, Boishakhi TV, Islamic TV, Desh TV, ETV, My TV, Diganta TV, RTV.
Daily Newspaper:	Daily Prothom Alo, Daily Ittefaq, Daily Kaler Kontha, Daily Janokantho, Daily Jugantor, Daily Bhorer Kagoj, Daily Star, Daily Independent, Daily Financial Express, Daily News Today etc.

Source: Statistical Pocket Book Bangladesh-2009, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics

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Health and education

Health facilities

Facilities	2005	2006	2008
Hospitals	1,676	1,683	2,860
Hospital beds	50,827	51,044	74,415
Registered physicians	41,933	44,632	49,994
Persons per physician	3,317	3,125	2,860
Persons per household bed	2,736	2,732	1,860
Households per physician	691	655	-

Source: Statistical Pocket Book Bangladesh-2010, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics

Educational institutions and enrollments

Educational institutions and students	2006	2007	2008	2009
Government universities	27	27	31	31
Private universities	54	54	56	51
International universities	2	2	2	2
Government medical colleges	15	15	18	18
Private medical colleges	27	27	41	41
General colleges	3,197	3,278	3,192	3,347
Government polytechnic institutes	42	42	46	46
Private polytechnic institutes	129	125	125	125
Secondary schools	18,700	20,213	18,771	19,083
Primary schools	82,020	81,434	82,218	81,905
Government university enrollments (no. students)	-	-	-	-
College enrollment (no. students)	-	-	-	-
Secondary school enrollments (no. students	-	-	-	-
Primary school enrollments (no. students)	16.38 m	-	16 m	16.5 m

*m=million

Source: Statistical Pocket Book Bangladesh-2009, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics

BANBAIS

University Grants Commission of Bangladesh

Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS)

Bangladesh Economic Review-2010 (Bangla version), Ministry of Finance

From traditional low cost manufacturing Bangladesh is determined to move up the value chain, and to develop knowledge based, high technology and modern industries. This is the economic imperative of today.
Bangladesh's unique combination of benefits creates a compelling proposition for business:

• Abundance of natural resources.
• Prime location close to emergent economic giants of India and China.
• High quality: cost ratios in human resources and business processes.
• Favored international trading status for exporting to advanced world economies.

 Key sectors of the Bangladesh economy are thriving, fuelled by the vision of international companies that recognize the unique opportunities that the country has to offer. Over 100 companies have invested in the country in the last three years. The ICT and life sciences sectors have grown in stature significantly.

Please review the sector specific pages in this section. They explain why fast growing, dynamic companies are accessing the added value that Bangladesh offers in the world economic order by establishing new start ups, entering joint ventures and creating trading partnerships.