Indian Cos Keen to Invest in Bangladesh

Energy, healthcare, and education are three areas in which Indian businesses have expressed a strong interest in investing in Bangladesh.

They saw that Bangladesh's market was expanding with time, and that the two neighbors were becoming more connected.

Sajal Dutta, chairman and managing director of West Bengal's Desun Hospital, stated that they are searching for property in Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet, and Khulna for the construction of specialized hospitals for cardiology, oncology, neurology, and gastroenterology.

"Our target is to establish the hospitals in five years and the investment of Tk1,000 crore," he said at a press conference organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) at Hotel Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka on Sunday.

For the India-Bangladesh potential Leaders' Meet, where Indian and Bangladeshi firms reviewed potential prospects, ICC Director General Dr. Rajeev Singh led a team of 85 Indian companies to Bangladesh.

Approximately 2.5 million Bangladeshis go to India each year for medical care, according to figures from the Indian government.

An ICC handout estimates that Bangladesh's healthcare market would be worth $14 billion this year, representing a huge potential for India's healthcare industry.

According to Sajal Dutta, Bangladeshis have a strong desire for healthcare, but India offers high-quality healthcare services. On the other side, Bangladesh is home to numerous Indian students who study medical.

"Thus, there is a huge scope of collaboration between the two countries in this sector."

Prashant Sharma, managing director at the Charnock Hospital, said Bangladesh can focus on nursing education as the profession is in high demand globally.

The Indian education entrepreneurs said that Bangladesh has a huge need for high-quality education, which is also provided in India. They emphasized that India can deliver high-quality education in IT, agriculture, and technical fields.

They said that there doesn't seem to be a lot of on-campus job placement programs in Bangladesh and suggested that Indian educational institutions work with Bangladeshi universities to change this.

Guru Kashi University, which has its headquarters in Punjab, has a long-term investment strategy for education in Bangladesh, according to director of corporate relations Dr. B Abdul Rafeeq.

"We have opportunities to invest in the Bangladesh government cooperates and coordinates with us. We want to establish a group of institutions, universities in Bangladesh," he told reporters.

Bangladesh's higher education sector is estimated to be worth $4.6 billion by the ICC.

According to NHPC Ltd., a public sector hydropower business in India, hydropower will be a significant part of Bangladesh's energy mix because of the country's high need for electricity and the effects of climate change.

He said that the corporation is currently producing electricity in Nepal and might ultimately ship it to Bangladesh. Bhutan and India's northeast can potentially be significant hydropower sources.

The possibility for trade in agricultural goods between Bangladesh and India was also addressed by corporate delegations from those two nations.

They claimed that in order for trade to be unhindered, tariff and non-tariff obstacles still need to be removed.

India Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Abdul Matlub Ahmad also spoke.

Meanwhile, BIMSTEC Energy Conference was held at the hotel.

Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pranay Verma said energy connectivity needs to be strengthened in the region, apart from transport connectivity as the future of the region depends on these two sectors.