Bangladesh: My HomeLand

Muslims who came to this region at the beginning of the 13th century continued their rule till the advent of the British in the 18th century. The British domination over the subcontinent for about 200 years, and while leaving in 1947 partitioned it into India and Pakistan. Bangladesh formed the eastern wing of Pakistan until it became independent on December 16, 1971.

Physical Features

Bangladesh is a deltaic region of 55,598 square miles formed by the rivers-Ganges, Brahmaputra, Karnaphuli and Sanghu. It lies between 20.34 degrees and 26.38 degrees North Latitude and 88.01 degrees and 92.11 degrees East Longitude. It has its boundary with India on three sides-East, North and West and with Burma on the Southeast. In the South, lies the Bay of Bengal.

Over 85 percent of the area of the country is flat, alluvial and plain being crisscrossed by the mighty rivers like Padma, Meghna, Jamuna and their innumerable tributaries and distributaries. The hill tracts along the eastern border is under forest. The better-known swampy, tropical forest-Sundarbans lies along the southwestern coast. Low hills and hillocks border the plain in Sylhet in the northeast. An extensive hill area covers the district of Chittagong Hill Tracts in the southeast. The hills run North and South with an average elevation of about 2,000 feet.

Climate

The temperature is equable and moderate. The mean minimum temperature varies from 9.8C to 13.4C in January and from 25.5C to 26.1C in July. The mean maximum from 24.2C to 25.8C in January and from 29.9 degrees to 31.8 degrees in July. The annual rainfall varies from 50 inches to 136 inches. Rain in Bangladesh is associated with occasional tropical storms and cyclones which originate in the Bay of Bengal in Autumn and prolong the rainy season. There is a short pre-monsoon rainy season from April to May due to nor-westers accompanied by thunderstorms.

Although Summer & Winter are the two main seasons distinctly prominent, the monotony is broken with the change of season in every two months recorded as per Bengali Calendar. These changes are, however in degrees and one mixes with the approaching next like that of a rainbow of seven colours. This inter-woven changing pattern gives a pleasant touch to the people offering a distinct colour, smell and sound to the landscape for every short season. The summer is broken by a welcome monsoon rain making the land suitable for cultivation. This is again changed to happy Autumn, pleasant Winter and colourful Spring.

Time

Standard time of Bangladesh is 6 hours ahead of GMT. Friday is the weekly official holiday and the govt. office hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on week days. Banks, however run from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from Saturdays to Wednesdays and 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Thursdays. Private office timing ranges from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on all weekdays.

People

Bangladesh is one of the world's most densely populated country with about 100 million people of mixed races. They descended from several racial and sub-racial groups entering South Asia over the past 5000 years. Now they have a single Bengali race with only one mother tongue-Bangla. About 85% of the population live in the rural areas.

Religion

There are four major religions in Bangladesh. These are Islam, Hinduism, Christianity and Buddhism. Muslims represent about 85% of the total population. They live in perfect peace and harmony with fellow minority brethren who are well represented in all walks of life.

Language

Bangla is the official language of the country. English is the second language and widely used in education, business and commerce. Arabic is also learned and understood by the muslim community as the religious language.

Education

Although the literacy rate is still below 30% because of very high rural population, the trend towards higher education in the urban society is noticeable. There are four general universities, one engineering university and one agricultural university in the country, besides eight medical colleges and one institute on post graduate medicine. A large number of vocational institutions with a wide variety of specialisations are also in existence in the country.

Capital City

Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh, situated almost in the middle of the country on the bank of the river Buriganga. The historic city was founded in 1608 A.D. by the Mughals and has a background of more than 2000 years. The city has all modern facilities with international hotels connected with all modern communication systems. The places of historical interest in the city are National Museum, Lalbagh Fort, Baldha Garden, Ahsan Manzil, Bukland Embankment, Bara Katara, Chhoto Katara etc. Besides, National Mausoleum at Savar and old capital at Sonargaon are two attractive places within reasonable distance. Dhaka is also characterised by a number of ancient and modern mosques, for which it is known as the city of mosques.

Other Important Cities and Places of Tourist Attractions: Chittagong

The second largest city Chittagong was termed as "a sleeping beauty emerging from the mist and water" in the 7th century and "Porte Grande" in the 16th century. This large and thriving port city has developed amidst lovely natural surroundings studded with green-clad knolls, coconut palms, mosques, minarets and shrines of Muslim saints as well as Buddhist and Hindu temples against the background of the silverblue waters of the Bay of Bengal. Chittagong is connected with Dhaka by rail, road and air and with Calcutta by air. Good accommodation is available in hotels and motels.

Other Important Cities and Places of Tourist Attractions: Cox's Bazar

A small town founded in 1798 A.D. by Captain Cox of the East India Company and named after him, Cox's Bazar has one of the longest sea beaches in the world. Well protected by green-clad jungle slopes on one side and the sea shore on the other, it is a small exquisite town with a mixed population speaking Bangla and Burmese. The female folk of Burmese origin in their traditional costume is a common sight. Good accommodation and eating facilities are available at the tourist motels, cottages and hotels. Cox's Bazar is connected with Chittagong and Dhaka by road and air.

Other Important Cities and Places of Tourist Attractions: Rangamati

Rangamati, the headquarters of Chittagong Hill Tracts, is on the eastern bank of Kaptai lake. It is inhabited by colourful and hospitable tribal folks. Rangamati is connected with Chittagong by road and with Kaptai by boat. Accommodation and eating facilities are available with the tourist motel and cottages situated at a scenic spot on the bank of the lake. Motor boats and country boats are available for cruise in the lake.

Other Important Cities and Places of Tourist Attractions: Khulna

Gateway to the Sundarbans, the home of the Royal Bengal Tigers, Khulna is an industrial city and the Divisional Head Quarters. The Chalna Sea Port is nearby. Some of the biggest jute mills in the country are located here. Khulna is connected with Dhaka by rail, road, river and air.

Other Important Cities and Places of Tourist Attractions: Sundarbans

Fascinating tropical forest covering 2,316 square miles of deltaic swamp alongwith the coastal fringe of the southernmost part of Bangladesh, Sundarban is the natural habitat of many of the wild life like crocodile, deer, python, wild bear, monkeys and the famous Royal Bengal Tiger.

Other Important Cities and Places of Tourist Attractions: Rajshahi

The royal seat of the Pala kings of ancient Bengal, Rajshahi is the main centre of sericulture, mangoes, lichis and spices. A centre of education and culture, Rajshahi has a rich museum and research facility for study of the ancient history and culture. It is connected with Dhaka by air, road and rail.

Other Important Cities and Places of Tourist Attractions: Bogra

This district town serves as the nerve centre of northern Bangladesh and is the entrance to the oldest archaeological site of the 3rd century B.C., city of Pundranagar (Mohasthangarh). It is connected with Dhaka by rail and road.

Other Important Cities and Places of Tourist Attractions: Sylhet

The land of tea gardens, it is also a playground for naturalists and game watohers, Sylhet is famous for its Manipuri Tribe and their dances. Its cane and cane products are equally fascinating. It is connected with Dhaka by rail, road and air.

Other Important Cities and Places of Tourist Attractions: Mainamoti

Five miles to the west of Comilla town, lies a range of low hills known as the Mainamati-Lalmai range. It was an important seat of Buddhist culture. Large scale excavations have revealed valuable facts about Buddhist rulers who flourished here as independent kings during the 7th and 8th centuries. The whole range of hillocks, about 11 miles in length, is believed to be studded with more than 50 Buddhist archaeological sites. Comilla is also famous for Khadi and Bamboo products.

Transport and Communication: Air Transport

Biman, the National Air Lines of Bangladesh, with its fleet of DC 10-30s and Boeing 707s connects almost all important cities of Asia, Europe and Africa. With F-28 and F-27 carriers, it also connects 7 domestic important cities and towns of commercial importance. Besides, the principal international Airport, Zia International Airport in Dhaka is well connected with all international cities through the regular flights of Air India, Aeroflot, British Airways, Emirates, Gulf Air, Iraq Airways, Kuwait Airways, PIA, Royal Nepal Air Lines, Saudia, Singapore Air Lines and Thai International.

Transport and Communication: Water Transport

Chittagong and Chalna are the two major sea ports of the country with 17 and 5 jetties respectively handling international trade cargo to the tune of 1 million tons annually. These two ports are well connected with a large number of cities all over the world through the operations of both national and foreign shipping lines. Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, the national flag carrier, has 21 vessels having a total tonnage of 266241 DWT. It also carries crude oil from the Middle East to Bangladesh.

Transport and Communication: Railway

With a network of about 3000 Km, the Bangladesh Railway has 502 stations connecting almost all the administrative and business points of the country. It has adequate capacity of carrying cargo from and to the sea ports. The introduction of direct inter-city passenger trains has facilitated the movement of people to a great extent.

Transport and Communication: Road Transport

Bangladesh has about 7000 Km of metalled roads and highways, but the total defined paved ways would be around 11,000 Kms. The road transport is predominantly in the private sector. However, the largest road transport organisation namely, Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation, has a fleet of about 350 roadworthy buses and 184 trucks. The ports and important business centres are well connected by roads and highways. All upazillas, the basic administrative units of the country, have been planned to be brought under direct road connection.

Telecommunication

Telecommunications are adequately developed to meet the demands of commerce and industry. Domestically, telecommunications are connected with 64 upazillas of the country. Internationally, the two modern satellite ground stations have enabled Bangladesh to the use of international Automatic Trunk Exchange Systems. Under this system, Bangladesh is connected with almost all big cities of the world with direct telephone dialing and telex facilities. The country code for Bangladesh is 880 and city code for Dhaka is 2.

Power

The installed total power generating capacity is 1121 megawatts, which is likely to be doubled by 2/3 years. Major industrial cluster areas are covered by electricity. Recently an extensive programme of rural electrification has been undertaken to bring all the major rural areas under electricity. The domestic power volt is 220-240.

Economy

The economic structure of Bangladesh is predominantly agrobased followed by trade and industry. The contribution of agriculture to GDP is 50%. The First Five Year Plan of Bangladesh for 1973/74-1977/78 envisaged an annual average growth of 5.5% on the base level of 1969/70. But following natural disaster and lack of capital flow, the target could not be achieved. Under the Second Five Year Plan 1980/81-1984/85 GDP was forecast to rise by an annual average rate of 7.2 percent which also suffered a setback due to recession in the world markets and actual growth was 4.4 percent.

Agriculture

Agriculture accounts for about 50% of the country's GDP, giving employment and sustenance to about 85% of the populations. Major agricultural products are rice, jute, potato, pulses, sugarcane and tobacco.

The country is striving hard to achieve food autarky. Two sucessive annual record production of food grains to the terms of 15.72 million metric tons in 1983-84 and 15.98 mn. metric ton in 1984-1985 manifests the success of the intensive efforts of the Government towards this goal. Besides rice, wheat is gradually coming up as one of the major cereal crops.

Bangladesh is the world's largest producer of jute, monopolising the finer varieties. The country also produces about 36.29 million kg. of tea from its 151 tea gardens.

The present government has taken a number of steps for the development of agricultural sector. Allocation of enhanced funds has raised the total irrigated area to 29,137 million sq.m in 1984/85 which is about the double of the figures corresponding to 1981/82. Nine different agricultural research institutions have been reorganised into a single institution namely, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council for better performance. Some of the major achievements of the new institution include the invention of four new varieties of rice and four new varieties of wheat.

Industry

The industrial sector contributes about 9% to GDP. Large and medium industries employ about 650,000 people while small and cottage industries employ approximately another 5 million. Jute and Textile are the major industrial sector.

Jute industry plays an important role in the economy of Bangladesh. There are 68 jute mills in the country along with several jute twine mills and 7 jute carpet mills. Almost the entire product goes into export market. Presently 58 textile mills are in full operation in the country. A good number of new textile mills are also being set up by private entrepreneurs. Bangladesh now produces about 894,000 metric tons of urea in its three fertilizer plants. Three more urea manufacturing plants are expected to go into production soon. Bangladesh has already started exporting urea.

The country is not only self-sufficient in newsprint but also is an exporter of newsprint and paper. There is a large steel mill and an oil refinery in Chittagong. Besides these, tanneries, pharmaceuticals, machine tools, cement, cables, cigarette and garment industries are also well developed.

The present Government has adopted a liberal industrial policy to encourage private entrepreneur to set up new industries in the country. Only six categories of basic industries have been retained by the Government opening all other sectors to private participation. A number of nationalised industrial units including 33 jute mills and 25 textile mills have been returned to their original owners.

Natural Resources

Bangladesh is endowed with rich natural resources. Surveys reveal the existance of natural gas, coal, limestone, hard rock, glass & ceramic clay in Bangladesh. Natural gas is being distributed to all industrial zones including fertilizer and petro-chemical plants. Govt. has a plan to connect the whole country's industrial areas with natural gas pipeline in near future. Oil exploration is in the process and other mineral deposits are also being extracted for useful purposes.

Foreign Trade

Foreign Trade in Bangladesh is still dominated by imports resulting in adverse balance of trade. Although the export has registered a progressive significant volume growth over the years, the comparatively low prices of the primary commodities due to economic recession returned the terms of trade against Bangladesh thereby reducing the comensurate benefit.

Export

In early seventies the export of Bangladesh was dominated by jute items only. In fact 90% of the export earning at that time was from jute and the rest 10% from leather and tea. The situation however, started changing with the introduction of non-traditional items, like shrimps, fish, readymade garments, finished leather, newsprint, handicrafts etc. in the export market. In eighties its impact was so percentible that the ratio between the traditional and the non-traditional items had tilted heavily towards the latter as 40:60. The overall export earnings had also increased considerably and exceeded 1 billion US dollar for the first time in 1986-87.

Import

Although the import structure of Bangladesh has not changed much, import payment has increased due to the increased prices of the capital machinery and other essential products as a result of unfavourable terms of trade. The major imports include petroleum products, foodgrains, machine equipment, oil, cement, chemical products and other consumer items.

Trade Agreement/Preferences

Bangladesh has barter trade agreement with a number of Socialist Countries having centrally planned economics. At the moment Bangladesh has barter agreements with Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, China, Hungary, Poland, Romania, USSR and GDR. Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), the state trading organisation, is entrusted with the responsibility of operating the barter trade. Besides, a number of Special Trade Agreements (STA) have been concluded between TCB and its counterpart organisation in a member of countries.

Bangladesh is a beneficiary of GSP Schemes of 16 developed countries. As a LDC, Bangladesh enjoy special trade facilities extended by the developed world to such countries.

Exchange Control and Banking

Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of the country, is the legal authority for exchange control system. Commercial Banks deal in foreign exchange as per norms of the central bank issued from time to time. A good number of commercial banks, both in public and in private sectors, are operating in Bangladesh. Besides, few foreign banks, namely American Express, Bank of Credit & Commerce (Overseas) Ltd., Chartered Bank, Grindlays Bank, Indosuez Bank, have also been functioning in Bangladesh.

Some Relevant Information Pertaining to Foreign Investment In Bangladesh

Bangladesh welcomes foreign capital as supplement to local resources to accelerate the pace of industrial growth. Realising that private initiative is the key to economic success, Government initiated a gradual transformation of policy over the years. The New Industrial Policy announced recently places a greater reliance on private initiative both local and foreign, with increased incentives operating within a more liberal framework.

It is expected that foreign investors will find it economically rewarding to invest in Bangladesh, a country with an expanding market, efficient and cheap labour force and a liberal industrial policy.

Prefered Areas of Investment

Government welcomes foreign participation in joint venture on mutually beneficial terms and conditions particularly in:

i) new enterprises, particularly those requiring specific technology available to the foreign investors, which will make an additional net contribution to the economy;
ii) undertakings in which more intensive use of natural resources is made;
iii) export-oriented industries;
iv) capital intensive technologies, the products of which will be either import substitution or export oriented;
v) existing public or private sector enterprises where infusion of foreign capital or technology will mean an increase in productivity and improvement in the product.

By and large, in the case of new investment, foreign investors are generally to provide the foreign exchange requirement of projects for import of plant and machinery. Where the requirement of foreign exchange exceeds the amount desired to be invested in the form of equity, the promoters may also procure foreign exchange loans or seek assistance of BSB/BSRS, two Development Financing Institutions.

Technical Collaboration

Besides equity participation, Government welcomes technical collaboration with foreign organisations which are in a position to offer such technology and know-how. Normally such collaborations are allowed for projects which need technology not available in the country and particularly those supporting progressive manufacture and export.

Foreign collaboration is normally encouraged with the private sector but in exceptional cases Public Sector may also be allowed to enter into such collaboration with the approval of the Government.

Scope of Foreign Private Investment

All industries except six sectors covered in the reserved list, viz, Arms and ammunitions, Atomic energy, Air transport, Telecommunication, Generation and distribution of electricity (excluding rural electrification by Palli Bidyut Samity) and Forest extraction are open for investment and places in the Industrial Investment Schedule under 13 broad groups. The private sector barring for the above six sectors can invest in all sectors without any ceiling.

Protection of Foreign Investment

Foreign investment in Bangladesh is protected by the Foreign Private Investment (Promotion and Protection) Act. 1980 which provides guarantees against nationalisation without proper compensation and ensures fair and equitable treatment.