A number of Singaporean business-people yesterday called for adequate supply of gas and a fixed energy price for a certain period as they explore investment opportunities in Bangladesh.

The subjects surfaced during a meeting between the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) and a delegation of the Singapore Business Federation at the capital's Sonargaon hotel.

Md Al-Amin Iqbal, a permanent resident of Singapore having business in both Bangladesh and Singapore, said he set up a bakery in Demra in 2012 but is yet to get a gas connection.

Singaporean businessmen also called for greater efficiency of the Chittagong port. 

Bangladesh can save energy by way of adopting efficient technologies, said Azhar Othman, regional managing director of Enercon Asia Pte Ltd.

Although the government has increased power generation capacity manifold, there is still room for investment in the sector, said Kazi M Aminul Islam, executive chairman of BIDA.

The country does not have adequate gas at the moment, so the government is increasingly making liquefied petroleum gas available for households to ensure uninterrupted supply of energy to industries. 

The government has awarded contracts to set up a number of offshore and land-based liquefied natural gas terminals.  “The gas shortage will start to ease in 2018, and by 2019 there will be no gas shortage,” Islam said. He also said the Mongla Port is able enough to facilitate trade.

The 38-member delegation met with the commerce secretary and a host of Bangladeshi business leaders on Sunday, said Mirza Golam Sabur, president of the Bangladesh Business Chamber of Singapore, in his opening speech.  “Both Singapore and Bangladesh have a lot to offer to each other to deepen the economic ties,” he added.

The Bangladesh economy has been growing strongly despite a series of setbacks, said Saurav Anand, an economist of Standard Chartered Bank for South Asia.

The country has one of the youngest populations in South Asia and will reap the benefit of demographic dividend until 2042.  

The economist also said that Bangladesh remains cost-effective and has easy labour laws. Labour wages in Bangladesh are half of India and Vietnam and one-fourth of China. “The external sector remains comfortable,” he said.

Anand, however, expressed concerns about falling remittance and export incomes. “The risk of slowing growth in exports remains but the long-term outlook is positive.”

Bangladesh needs to raise its investment-to-GDP ratio to grow further and improve infrastructure.

The infrastructure deficit has to be addressed, as traffic congestion alone costs the country $3.8 billion a year, which is 2 percent of its GDP. He also said there is high potential for investment in the power sector.

Bangladesh has a huge domestic market and provides access to three billion people in neighbouring countries, said Samanta Farahnaz, consultant of the BIDA.

The country provides fiscal and tax incentives to foreign investors and almost all the sectors are open to foreign investors.

Wages for workers and salaries for managers are low when compared with competitor countries, Farahnaz said in her presentation.  Reinvested earnings stand at an all-time high, meaning foreign companies have confidence in the country, she added.  

Singaporean investors can explore opportunities in the garment sector as Bangladesh's manufacturing facility has attained global standards, said Asif Ibrahim, a leading garment exporter.

“They can also look for opportunities in backward linkage and in the special economic zones,” he said, adding that the Chittagong Port has to be efficient or else the country will lose its competiveness.

Nabhash Chandra Mandal, executive member of the BIDA, was also present.