"Thai entrepreneurs are looking for other investment destinations to expand or relocate their textile and garment industries. To this end, Bangladesh could be a potential destination for them," Thai Board of Investment (BoI) executive adviser Vittaya Praisuwan told a discussion organised by the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) in Dhaka last Wednesday.

Praisuwan led a 15-member Thai delegation.

He said the BoI recently organised a seminar in Thailand called "Promoting Bangladesh for Thai Investors", which a number of entrepreneurs attended.

He said that upon returning to Thailand, the team would tell Thai entrepreneurs about investment opportunities in Bangladesh and persuade them to come here, adding that a delegation consisting only of textile and garment entrepreneurs from his country would visit Bangladesh very soon.

Also speaking at the function, Thai Ambassador Suphat Chitranukroh said Thailand was very much experienced in the energy sector, especially in natural-gas exploration. Referring to a memorandum of understanding signed between Petrobangla and a Thai company to conduct a study on energy exploration, he said, "We can help Bangladesh in this sector."

The Thai envoy said his country's entrepreneurs were interested in extending their cooperation in hotel services here.

Mingpant Chayavichitsilp, president of the Thai-Bangladesh Business Council, said many Thai entrepreneurs wanted to expand their industries and were looking for new places to set up either joint ventures or wholly owned subsidiaries.

Pointing to the fact that Thai businessmen must send consignments of goods from Bangkok through Singapore, which is very costly and time-consuming, he said, "It would have been less costly if they could make consignment from Bangladesh, as the country has its own ports, such as Chittagong Port."

"It is a right time to do something here," he said, adding that Bangladeshi businessmen could also invest in Thailand.

In his welcoming speech, MCCI president Latifur Rahman said investments

in local sectors like textile, leather, paper and pulp, energy, telecommunications, tourism, healthcare and agriculture and supporting industries had excellent prospects.

"Leather processing and leather products are also a potential area of investment, as Bangladesh has established itself as a source of quality leather and footwear," he said.

Terming Bangladesh one of the lowest consumers of energy, he said with the growth of the economy, the demand for energy was increasing more than 800 megawatts annually. "The projected demand is due to reach 5,000MW by the end of the current year. This will require US$5 billion to $7 billion (Bt175 billion to Bt245 billion) in investment in generation and distribution of electricity. So the Thai government or entrepreneurs will find attractive opportunities in energy generation and distribution," Rahman said.

The MCCI chief said the infrastructure sector also provided great opportunities. "Ports, railways, transport and communications can be of immense profit to Thai investments," he said.

In addition, he said investments in areas like hand tools, electronics, liquefied-petroleum-gas cylinders, surgical instruments and computer software could be profitable.