Over 550 investors from 50 countries have registered to participate alongside more than 2,500 Bangladeshi investors.
The announcement was made by Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Executive Chairman Ashik Chowdhury during a press briefing held on 23 March at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka. Photo: Md Zahidur Rabbi/The Daily Star
Elon Musk's satellite internet service Starlink will conduct a demo testing of its internet services on April 9 at the upcoming Bangladesh Investment Summit, said Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Executive Chairman Ashik Chowdhury at a press briefing on March 23 at Foreign Service Academy.
However, this will not be the official launch of Starlink in Bangladesh as the commercial launch of Starlink will take more time.
Bangladesh Investment Summit is scheduled to be held from April 7 to April 10. The event has already attracted substantial interest, with over 550 investors from 50 countries registering to participate alongside more than 2,500 Bangladeshi investors, says BIDA.
"We are very hopeful about the upcoming investment summit. Although investments will not increase by tenfold suddenly. However, we estimate at least 2 or 3 percent growth in investments," said Ashik Chowdhury.
Instead of focusing on seminars, the summit will focus more on networking and connection building. Government organisations like National Board of Revenue (NBR), the Ministry of Commerce etc. will get separate sessions with potential investors for relationship buildup.
Top officials of Meta, Uber, Telenor, and Samsung are scheduled to participate in the Investment Summit, among others. Representatives from political parties will also get chances to talk to investors separately.
Mentioning that surge of local and foreign investments and their role in potentially creating more jobs, Ashik Chowdhury said, "We want to make the investors see the genuine picture of Bangladesh. We do not want to give them any false hopes."
As part of the summit's activities, major foreign investors, along with a 26-member delegation from South Korea, will visit key industrial sites, including Chattogram, Mirsarai, and the Korean EPZ, on April 7, according to BIDA. A startup showcase programme is also scheduled to take place on the same day at Hotel Intercontinental Dhaka.
On April 8, leading foreign investors will visit the Japanese Economic Zone in Narayanganj, to explore investment opportunities. The day will conclude with a parallel evening programme at Hotel Intercontinental Dhaka.
On April 9, a special cultural event will be organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture for investors.
