Dhaka, July 22 (bdnews24.com) – The amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Bangladesh has reduced about 36 percent between 2008 and 2009.

According to the World Investment Report 2010, which was launched on Thursday, the country only received $700.16 million in FDI in 2009 compared to $1086.33 million in 2008.

The report says Bangladesh stands fourth on the list of eight South Asian countries receiving FDI.

Dr. M Ismail Hossain, a Jahangirnagar University economics teacher, unveiled the United Nations' report at the office of the Board of Investment (BoI).

Hossain attributed the decline to the gas crisis in the country and global economic recession.

BoI executive chairman SA Samad, who also spoke at the launch, said he believed that FDI had declined as a result of bureaucratic tangles and lack of the board's unitary power.

He claimed gas, water and political unrest had no impact in the reduction of the inflow of the investment.

Samad said he was optimistic that the country would receive greater FDI in 2010.

Also speaking at the press launch, BoI secretary Sultan Mahmud said there were already signs of recovery and that joint and foreign direct investment in January to June 2010 was larger than the level of investment that took place in the same months in 2009.

Mahmud said in the first six months of 2010, there had already been a total of 93 new projects, amounting to investment of Tk 23,911.922 million and the creation of around 25,000 new jobs. This compared to 129 projects, accounting for investment of Tk 46,896.015 and the creation of 33,000 new jobs in the whole of 2009.

The BoI secretary also expected the rate of investment to increase further, as investments tend to increase in the closing months of the year.

Privatisation Commission chairman Mirza Abdul Jalil, and BoI members, among others, were present at the launching ceremony.

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