S Korea to back BD’s quality economic growth: Envoy

South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Park Young-sik on Thursday said that his country is ready to support Bangladesh’s efforts to achieve quality economic growth.

“Bangladesh should focus not just on the quantity, but the quality of its economic growth,” he said during talks with the members of Overseas Correspondents Association of Bangladesh (OCAB) at Dhaka club.

“The quality of economic growth must be driven by innovation, knowledge and technology areas where foreign companies can make substantial contributions,” he said.

The ambassador said Bangladesh needs to boost its manufacturing sector for rapid economic growth.

“High tariffs on raw materials and intermediate materials should be reduced to promote the domestic manufacturing sector. Bangladesh companies are now more engaged in trading rather than in the manufacturing sector,” he said.

Speaking about Bangladesh’s trade sector Ambassador Park said there should be expansion in existing sectors such as RMG, jute, footwear, pharmaceuticals and light industrial goods. New items can be added, and trade can also be diverted from other countries due to FTA (Free Trade Agreement) that Dhaka is negotiating with South Korea and several other countries, he said.

Stressing the need for bringing in more direct foreign investment the ambassador said FDI in Bangladesh is the lowest in terms of the GDP ratio at 0.75%. In India it is 1.7%, Vietnam 4.7%. Merely offering incentives is not enough, he said adding improvement is needed on simplifying visa procedures, customs clearance, rational tax and tariff policy, repatriation of profit with no holding tax should be improved. Actual implementation on the ground in tackling corruption is required, he said.

The envoy said attracting FDI also requires comfortable living conditions in host countries.

Replying to a question on the FDI environment in Bangladesh the ambassador said, “Please ask the domestic companies whether foreign investment will come or not since they know the business environment better”.

Bangladesh, he said, needs to make best efforts to attract FDI from China and Middle East countries as they are not closely integrated with the International financial market. The companies of Western countries and Japan and Korea do not have sufficient capital and they have to borrow capital from banks.

Saying Bangladesh has great potential for infrastructure development Ambassador Park said Korea aims to become a major partner in Bangladesh’s infrastructure development as it has achieved in RMG.

OCAB president Nazrul Islam Mithu presided over the event, while its general secretary Julhas Alam delivered the welcome speech.