Dhaka, Nov 19 – The involvement of Malaysian companies in Bangladesh can be further expanded if they explore the huge investment potential that exist in this South Asian country, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
He said during Monday’s bilateral meetings with his counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, several areas were identified as having potential for Malaysian involvement.
Among them, included, the infrastructure, power generation, telecommunication, education, hospitality and gas industries.
“We have to explore these opportunities further,” the prime minister told Malaysian reporters here at the end of his three-day maiden visit to Bangladesh.
Najib, who is also Finance Minister, said several projects were being considered and they included the construction of a 1,300 megawatt power station in which Tenaga Nasional Bhd had shown keen interest to participate.
Also, in the pipeline is the possible construction of 22,000 public housing units to be undertaken by a Malaysian company besides participating in an international tender to bid for the Padma bridge project.
“I am satisfied (with the participation of Malaysian companies) but there is room for more (participation) and if the projects I mentioned earlier become a reality, it will have a huge impact on Malaysian investments in Bangladesh,” the prime minister said.
Malaysian investments in Bangladesh is currently concentrated in the country’s energy and telecommunication industry.
One such investment is in Bangladesh’s energy sector by 1Malaysia Development Board which had invested US$500 million (RM1.59 billion) in three power stations which supplied 80 per cent of Dhaka’s electricity demand.
In the communication sector, Axiata Group Bhd’s subsidiary, Robi Axiata Ltd, had invested US$487 million (RM1.55 billion) to develop a telecommunication infrastructure in Bangladesh.
– Bernama
