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A.
Shipbuilding/Maritime:
• Currently,
two shipyards are building small size ocean going vessels
for foreign clients. A report published by the Danish
Embassy in Dhaka, predicts that another ten shipyards will
start building for the international market within the next
few years. Main advantage of Bangladesh is that it is
perceived 15% cheaper then its main competitors- such as
Vietnam- mainly due to low labour costs. For a link to the
website of the Danish Embassy
click here
• Moreover,
Bangladesh offers opportunities in the component and service
supplying industry. Currently, Bangladesh has to import 60%
of the components needed to build vessels for local demand,
and 90% of the components needed for ships for the
international market.
B.
(Renewable)
energy, including oil and gas
• In
the energy sector the current supply-demand gap is 1500 MW.
Existing generation capacity is 4300 MW (also see
‘weaknesses/threats’). The government aims to overcome the
demand supply gap by 2012 and increase generation capacity
with 9500 MW, by 2015. It is eager to involve the private
sector (4600 MW has to be generated by the private sector
within 2014). This requires an investment of approximately
9.5 billion USD for the 2009-13 period.
• Proposed
solutions are an increase of generation capacity,
improvements in the gas sector, diversifying the energy mix
including an increase of the share of renewable energy from
5% in 2015, to 10% in 2020. Improvement of energy efficiency
does not play a prominent role while (smart) metering and
energy saving technologies offer opportunities.
C.
Agribusiness
• Food
processing sector in Bangladesh basically means processing
of agricultural products, mainly for the domestic market,
and fish and shrimps processing, mainly for the export
market. The food processing sector relies on domestic
agricultural production and is oriented mainly to domestic
needs. It includes rice and wheat milling, sugar refining,
production of edible oils, processing and preserving of
fruits and fruit juices as well as fish processing, both
white fish and shrimps.
• Bangladesh
has generally favorable climate and soil condition and in
the agriculture sector huge efficiency gains can be made.
For example; productivity of vegetable cultivation in
Bangladesh is low with 2.85 MT yield/Acre compared to China
6.95, India 5.18, Vietnam 5.09 (FAO statistics, 2009).
• Dutch
companies might be able to bring in agriculture techniques
and technologies needed to improve efficiency.
• Shrimp
is the second largest export earning sector of Bangladesh
and the leading agro-export sector. It had an annual export
of USD 445 Million in 2007-08. Over the years, freshwater
shrimp production increased. But Bangladesh only caters to
around 6% of worlds demand.
D.
ICT
• The
ICT sector is not at the same level as neighbouring
countries such as India, Pakistan or the Philippines,
However the ICT sector is growing at a quick pace, with an
increased involvement from local and foreign investors and
companies. The sector consists of 3,000 local companies and
the size of the Bangladesh ICT industry currently totals USD
160 million.
• The
ICT sector in Bangladesh has potential to develop because of
the following comparative advantages. Cheap labour
(attractive cost-effective wage level for programmers; about
half of India) that is traditionally renowned for quick
learning abilities. Bangladesh is producing about 7,000 ICT
related graduates a year from 21 Public and 51 Private
Universities; and a large number of Bangladeshi students are
studying overseas in computer related subjects, especially
in India. Bangladesh gains as an outsourcing partner who
can operate at the lower strata of outsourcing since
neighbouring countries are moving up the ladder.
Bangladeshis have generally better skills in English
compared to Chinese and Vietnamese. |
