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Major Sectors of Economy PDF Print E-mail

Bangladesh has a thriving industrial sector with a diverse range of sectors outperforming global growth rates. The abundant natural resources of the country combined with competitive high quality labour and a business friendly environment, make Bangladesh a compelling proposition for companies investing in the region. You can read more about the main business sectors elsewhere on this website.

Below are five broad business categories of special opportunity:

Quality garment design and production

ICT and business services

Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

Agribusiness

Leather products

Quality garment design and production

From spinning to weaving, from knitwear to leisurewear and high street fashions, the textiles and clothing industry is Bangladesh’s biggest export earner with over USD 9.3bn of exports in 2007. Our factories design and produce for the world’s leading brands and retailers. Garments and textiles businesses invest in Bangladesh for a number of important reasons:

  • Cost and quality!  Products that are produced on time, reliably and very competitively.
  • The garments and textiles cluster. Bangladesh has real strength in depth of its local supplier base
  • Enormous talent pools of skilled labour
  • Training and technical development facilities that support the industry.

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ICT and business services

Businesses ranging from inbound call centers to the latest in Web 2.0 software development can be successfully operated in Bangladesh. Widespread use of English helps to make Bangladesh a fast emerging option for the global business services industry. Our open minded ICT sector is ready to win you over. Opportunities exist in many areas of ICT including:

  • Direct investment in your own ICT and business/financial services, established in any of the major districts of Dhaka, and in other major city conurbations
  • Outsourcing of ICT and business services to existing established Bangladesh businesses
  • Opportunities in telecoms infrastructure and services.

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Pharmaceuticals and life sciences

Pharmaceutical companies worldwide can benefit from setting up a facility in Bangladesh. The country has tremendous potential to build a pharmaceuticals and life sciences workforce for international companies.

  • The World Trade Organization's (WTO) Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPs) agreement permits Bangladesh to reverse-engineer patented generic pharmaceutical products to sell locally and export to markets around the world.
  • Bangladesh is developing a strong manufacturing and technically experienced industrial base with growth in excess of 10% most years.
  • Thanks to the country’s quality of its tertiary education, the scientific talent pool is not only plentiful but also offers excellent cost/quality opportunities.
  • Bangladesh also offers significant potential for R&D, contract research outsourcing (CRO) and clinical trials development.

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Agribusiness

Over 90 varieties of vegetable are grown in Bangladesh, yet for such a fertile land there are huge gaps in local resources and under-utilisation of the country’s agricultural capacity. This presents many opportunities for investors seeking to export agricultural products, or to meet the rapidly growing local demand. Here are just some of the investment opportunities:

  • Cold storage facilities to serve all stages of the supply chain, and especially for fresh produce for export.
  • Fresh produce production for local and export markets · Production of fertilizers and cultivation of seeds
  • Eco-friendly jute production, with the support of several jute industry technology development institutes
  • Shrimp farming
  • Halal foods
  • Milk and dairy products
  • High value added-value foods for export, including herbs, spices, nuts and pulses

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Leather products

Bangladesh has a long established tanning industry that already produces around 2-3% of the world’s leather from a ready supply of raw materials. Bangladesh is therefore an established and attractive location to source and outsource the manufacture of finished leather products. Three key enabling business factors are:

  • Attractive export incentives
  • Tariff and quota free access to major markets such as the EU
  • A skills pool and rural/industrial locations to support foreign investors

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