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Bangladesh: the tiger of Asia Says German business delegation

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Bangladesh: the tiger of Asia

Says German business delegation, calls for exporting farm products

https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/bangladesh-the-tiger-asia-1799191

Peter Clasen, third from right, head of a business delegation from Germany, speaks at a press conference at the InterContinental hotel in the capital yesterday. Peter Fahrenholtz, third from left, German ambassador, was present. Photo: Star
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Peter Clasen, third from right, head of a business delegation from Germany, speaks at a press conference at the InterContinental hotel in the capital yesterday. Peter Fahrenholtz, third from left, German ambassador, was present. Photo: Star

Star Business Report

Bangladesh has become a tiger among the Asian nations as no other country in the continent has grown as much as it recorded, said a high-powered German business delegation in Dhaka yesterday.

“Bangladesh has really become the tiger of Asia. Its economy is extremely dynamic. The economy grew 8.13 percent last year which is unparalleled in Asian countries,” said Peter Clasen, the head of the delegation.

Twenty-three CEOs and high-ranking business representatives visited Bangladesh from September 8 and 12 to explore future business opportunities for German enterprises in the country and address key concerns faced by the foreign investors.

Clasen and his team members held a press conference on the final day of the visit at the InterContinental Dhaka hotel.

Beyond already strong export industries like garment and jute, the delegates represented sectors with strong potential, including in construction, IT, interior design, shipping, tourism, and environment technologies.


“My first visit to Bangladesh dates back to the mid-1950s. Since then the country has undergone a tremendous transformation,” Clasen said. He said the economy has steadily grown in the past decade and Bangladesh is the fastest growing economy in Asia.

According to Clasen, Bangladesh needs strong international public relations agencies so that the success stories of the country can be highlighted to the people around the world.

Currently, people from other countries know about Bangladesh reading newspapers. However, in most cases, only bad news like road accidents are published in newspapers, he said.

“I see a very bright future for Bangladesh.”

The delegation chief said the biggest asset of Bangladesh is its young workforce. No other Asian country has such a young workforce.

The delegation visited garment and textile factories and office of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority and met government high-ups.

Clasen suggested exporting agricultural products to Germany as there is a lot of demand for such items in the country.

“For example, Bangladesh’s banana is the tastiest in the world. Bangladesh can export a lot of bananas and mangoes to Germany,” he said, adding that Bangladesh exports mangoes to the UK currently.

He called for improving the country’s ranking in the Ease of Doing Business Index, bringing more transparency and cutting red-tape to attract more foreign investment.

Peter Fahrenholtz, German ambassador to Bangladesh, said 60 German companies are currently present in Bangladesh. There is still huge potential for many German businesses across various industries.

Several large German enterprises, including BASF, Bayer, Commerzbank, DHL, Fichtner and Siemens have recently established German Business Council.

Fahrenholtz said Germany would like to have a special economic zone like other countries in Bangladesh. However, it depends on the number of German companies in Bangladesh.

Alexis Rawlinson, managing partner of Field Buzz, said Bangladesh has a very good number of IT engineers and this country has potential in this sector
 
Bangladesh now the fastest growing market in Asia: German businesses
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The head of a German business delegation has witnessed the “tremendous transformation” of Bangladesh, and said it is now the “fastest growing” market in Asia.

Peter Clasen, Managing Partner of Wilhelm G Clasen, a major jute exporter from Bangladesh, was speaking to media on Thursday at the end of their five-day business visit from Sept 8.

“My first visit to Bangladesh dates back to the mid-1950s. Since then, the country has undergone a tremendous transformation. In particular, within the past decade, the economy has steadily grown making Bangladesh now the fastest growing market in Asia,” he said.

Clasen led a delegation of 23 CEOs and high-ranking business representatives who explored future business opportunities for German enterprises and to address key concerns faced by foreign investors.

Beyond already strong export industries like garments and jute, delegates represented sectors including construction, IT, interior design, shipping, tourism and environmental technologies.

German Ambassador in Dhaka Peter Fahrenholtz, who was also present at the briefing, said 60 German companies are currently present in Bangladesh. “Yet there is still huge potential for many more German businesses across various industries.”

He said several large German enterprises including BASF, Bayer, Commerzbank, DHL, Fichtner and Siemens have recently established a German Business Council.

During their visit, the delegation met Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, and Prime Minister’s Economic Adviser Mashiur Rahman, among others.

They also visited Chittagong and met the chairman of the Port Authority, and visited the container terminal.

The masterplan for future expansions has been developed together with German Hamburg Port Consulting.

All delegation members who came to Bangladesh for the first time were “highly impressed by the dynamic market and untapped business opportunities”, they said in a statement.

Cedric Dumont, CEO of BAUER Bangladesh, a world-leading construction company from Germany, said they have been active in many Asian markets, and only one month ago opened office in Bangladesh.

“We see huge potentials in the booming construction market where German companies can contribute with high-quality and cost-efficient foundation and ground solutions for key infrastructure projects.”

The Ostasiatischer Verein (German Asia-Pacific Business Association) together with Deutscher Industrie- und Handelskammertag (Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry) organised this visit.
 
Yep. Increasingly I have concluded rather begrudgingly that BD will in time be the first fully developed large South Asian country.

Why begrudgingly? Pakistanis are not really enemies among most Bangladeshi folks' minds.

I have personally worked with Pakistani friends both in Bangladesh and the US... the few differences in our cultures are negligible.
 

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