Amcham Business Delegation to Bangladesh

A 20-member Amcham Business Delegation, led by Mr. Aniruddha Lahiri, Vice-Chairman, Amcham India, and CEO, Skytech Solutions Pvt. Ltd., visited Bangladesh from 8th to 11th February 2011, to explore the business environment in Bangladesh and identify opportunities for trade and investment.

The delegates represented varied business interests ranging from infrastructure - power, railways and roads, telecommunications, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, IT and agriculture.

The members of the delegation were:

1. Mr. Aniruddha Lahiri, Skytech Solutions Pvt. Limited
2. Mr. Manoj Gopalakrishna, BD India
3. Mr. Rajan Aiyer, Trimble India
4. Mr. Debabrata Bandyopadhyay,MSD Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd.
5. Mr. Rajesh Chowdhry, Timken India Limited
6. Mr. Ehsan Huq, Baxter (India) Pvt. Ltd.
7. Mr. Deepak Jolly, Coca-Cola India Inc.
8. Mr. Sanjay Mehrotra, Johnson & Johnson Ltd.
9. Mr. Rudradev Mukherjee, MSD Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd.
10. Mr. Pulak Kumar Nag, Telcordia Technologies India Pvt. Ltd.
11. Mr. Vikram Patil, Ashland India Ltd.
12. Mr. Rajiv Pujara, Atlas Healthcare Software
13. Mr. Niladri Sekhor Saha, EMC Data Storage Systems India Pvt. Ltd
14. Mr. Rahul Sharma, Biogen Idec Biotech India Pvt. Ltd.
15. Mr. Rakesh Sharma, BD India
16. Mr. S. Soundararadjane, Monsanto India Ltd.
17. Mr. Sanjay Kumar Srivastava, Timken India Limited
18. Mr. Mostafa Kamal, Monsanto, Bangladesh
19. Mr. Syed Sadeque M. Ali, Monsanto, Bangladesh
20. Ms Madhvi Kataria, American Chamber of Commerce in India

The visit was organized to coincide with the 20th US Trade Show organized by Amcham Bangladesh and the US Embassy in Bangladesh. The Trade Show showcased American companies’ capabilities and presence in Bangladesh.

During their visit, the delegation had the following meetings:

8th February 2011

• Meeting with Prof. Dr. Syed Modasser Ali, Adviser to Prime Minister for Health & Family Welfare and Social Welfare
• Meeting with Mr. Sunil Kanti Bose, Secretary, Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications
• Meeting with Major General Md. Abul Kalam Azad, Director General of Drug Administration & Licensing Authority (Drugs)
• Meeting with Mr. Md. Humayun Kabir, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

9th February 2011

• Briefing Meeting with H.E. Mr. James F. Moriarty, US Ambassador to Bangladesh
• Meeting with Mr. Dilip Barua, Hon’ble Minister of Industries of Bangladesh
• Meeting with Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI)
• Meeting with Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI)
• Reception by US Ambassador in Bangladesh

10th February 2011

• Visit to US Trade Show 2011 -Inauguration by Finance Minister of Bangladesh
• Meeting with Begum Matia Chowdhury, Honb'le Minister of Agriculture of Bangladesh
• Meeting with Mr. T.M. Barkatullah, Bangladesh Computer Council
• Meeting with Mr. Md. Abul Kalam Azad, Secretary – Power Division, Ministry of Power, Energy & Mineral Resources
• Meeting with Dr. Syed A. Samad, Executive Chairman, Board of Investment of Bangladesh
• Welcome Dinner, Hosted by Amcham Bangladesh

The companies representing the healthcare and pharma sector were received well by the Government officials. The Bangladesh Government was looking for Public-Private Partnerships in the healthcare sector. The Government had recently approved PPP guidelines and the healthcare sector was included. This sector offered vast opportunities for foreign investment. Setting up private hospitals along with medical colleges was Government’s priority.

Members exporting medical equipment and devices to Bangladesh discussed the regulatory process with Major General Md. Abul Kalam Azad, Director General of Drug Administration & Licensing Authority (Drugs), and sought clarifications on the registration process.

The Bangladeshi economy is growing rapidly but infrastructure development is not keeping pace with the growth. Energy supplies remain unpredictable Realising the shortfall in energy, the Bangladesh Government was looking at this sector seriously and significant addition in the supply of power is not expected in the next few years.

Power loss (theft & commercial) was one of the highest in the world There is scope for JV with companies such as NTPC for power generation+transmission. Bangladesh is looking for companies to invest and earn-out.There are no Government programs to strengthen distribution network to reduce theft and commercial losses. The Government will need foreign aid to take such measures.

The US Government had plans to work with the Bangladesh Government through Public-Private Partnership in the food production and distribution sector.

There was lot of interest from countries like Japan, South Korea, U.K., China, Taiwan and India to investment in Bangladesh.

Chevron was U.S.’s largest investor in Bangladesh and the company was planning additional investment.

The two competitive advantages offered by the Bangladesh economy were low labour cost and easily trainable labour.

The US Ambassador in Bangladesh was confident that Bangladesh would soon become a manufacturing hub.

The sentiments of the Bangladesh Government towards USA was overall positive and they were confident of attracting US investments. The Bangladesh Government is upbeat about US investment in the telecom sector, particularly for mobile number portability.

Other than investment in power and agriculture, the Bangladesh Government was focusing on tourism, shipbuilding and pharmaceuticals.

The focus of the Bangladesh Government is in line with President Obama’s objective to promote healthcare, environment and food security.

The Prime Minister of Bangladesh has made a commitment to the nation regarding industrialization for economic growth soon. A new Industrial Policy had just been released which focuses on private sector.

The Government of Bangladesh had recently introduced online registration for industries and the whole process and procedure is being streamlined.

The Agricultural sector offered tremendous opportunities. The Agriculture Minister showed interest in Hybrid Corn and Vegetable productivity programs. Bangladesh requires 2 Million Metric Tones of Corn grains for human consumption and for poultry, however, the current production wavers around 1 Million Metric Tonnes and hence, the need to produce more Corn grains to meet the demand. The areas of priority were research for Corn hybrids e.g. on Gluten content.

The telecom Secretary of Bangladesh took lot of interest in mobile number portability (MNP) implementation, 3G & 4G auction etc. Govt of Bangladesh has a plan to implement MNP as well. There is an opportunity for American companies to help in Bangladesh telecom sector including mobile voice, wireless mobile broadband, implementing telecom network based on next generation technology & MNP. American Telecom companies also had the opportunity in Bangladesh to demonstrate how its global experience and innovative service solutions enable CSPs to identify and deliver value to their customers and maximize revenue potential despite the increasingly complex challenges in today’s mobile ecosystem.

a) In Bangladesh, 70% irrigation water is wasted due to run-off, stagnation, evaporation etc. Usage of water in Cu Mtr per acre in agriculture is one of the lowest in the world. Water management is key to saving water and increase yield per acre.Trimble is likely to participate and showcase their solutions in an Agriculture show from Apr 10-12.

The members of the delegation were satisfied with their meetings and happy with the arrangments made during their visit.

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