By IANS,
Dhaka : During the last 2010-11 fiscal year, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bangladesh was down nearly 16 percent from the same period a year ago, central bank data showed Sunday.
According to the Bangladesh Bank data, FDI registration in Bangladesh stood at $768 million in the 2010-11 fiscal year (July 2010-June 2011), reported Xinhua.
The figure was $913 million in the previous 2009-10 fiscal year from July to June, it showed.
Bangladesh has attracted $913 million in FDI in 2010 calendar year, a leap by 30 percent, the country’s Board of Investment (BoI) revealed last month while launching the World Investment Report.
BoI Executive chairman S.A. Samad had told reporters that the FDI inflow to Bangladesh is very low, at the bottom of the table, in terms of absolute FDI.
Political instability, military intervention, lack of capacity in the public sector, bureaucratic tangles and natural disasters are some of the major obstacles to investment in the country, he observed.
A central bank official said acute shortage of gas and electricity in the country also contributed to the abating FDI inflows.
However, Samad said the risk factor perception of foreign investors is gradually declining. Developed countries are looking to Bangladesh following increased labour costs in China and Vietnam, he added.