Update - Bangladesh Market Appraisal Report

As the streets of Dhaka lay empty during a 10-day shutdown due to the coronavirus outbreak, air quality saw significant improvements. On 29th March 2020, Dhaka's Air Quality Index (AQI) stands at 91; a giant leap forward from a typical range of 260-319 at the beginning of the year. These readings are taken from aqicn.org - the World Air Quality Index Project.

There are many advantages to exporting your products. You may have thought about this briefly in the past or perhaps you are unsure if it’s worth the effort. Whatever your reasons, there has never been a better time to explore this area in more detail.

EXALTA are regularly in the Bangladesh market offering Export Consulting Services to both the local partners we support; helping them to source high-quality products and services from around the globe, but also in support of our partners wishing to promote their business in the country.

We are particularly active in the following areas:

• INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT)
• SMART LIGHTING SOLUTIONS
• MILITARY & DEFENCE
• SECURITY & CYBER INTELLIGENCE

Our dedicated Export Consultant & Associate for Bangladesh (Nazmul Chowdhury) has recently returned to the UK having completed one of his bi-monthly market appraisal visits, during which he focused on several aspects of the market - here is his latest report (Jan-Feb 2020).

• Bangladesh’s GDP growth rate is forecast to be 8% in 2020 (Pre-Coronavirus)
• The figures put it ahead of other Asian countries, including India

Source: WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, 19 Nov 2019, Katharine Rooney Senior Writer, Formative Content

In general, the economy has been showing constructive signs of growth. In addition to the comments by the WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, this is also reflected by two major indicators: 

• Firstly - by the number of new business enterprises being established and financed locally. 
• Secondly - by the amount of interest and investment from abroad.

Initially visiting existing contacts; ones where we already have strong links and or projects to develop and an opportunity to strengthen and improve ongoing communication and market knowledge. These updates are always positive, and this proved fruitful for continued good relationships “people do business with people they know and trust” and in Bangladesh, this is very important. As so often it’s a

On these visits as part of our Export Management Consulting service, it’s always good to update ourselves on the general activity in the market. So, this was the second priority; continuing our research into new and innovative market situations. This is particularly relevant in the areas of Defence and Cyber Technology, where “state-of-the-art” and pioneering opportunities for completely new business is appearing. This proved productive and some of the relatively new contacts we have made impressive progress. This was evidenced by the fact that not only had they progressed their businesses to a certain level in a wide variety of markets, but they were now seeking assistance to expand to even greater pinnacles.

What became apparent during several discussions was their need for trustworthy and professional contacts to aid these projected international business opportunities. There was clearly some apprehension about investing in expansion to be able to handle increased orders with assistance being needed to generate reliable, sustainable and continuing trade. 

We came away having looked at various ways of achieving further co-operation and delivering our professional experience and knowledge. There are many opportunities, some challenging, some less so, but we as EXALTA will continue to discuss and pursue these appealing possibilities. 

We have an even stronger conviction that there is a truly massive wealth of obtainable and exhilarating business prospects possible when we enhance the undoubted business skills of Bangladesh and the United Kingdom.

By working together, we can achieve great things and exciting, prosperous times are undoubtedly ahead.

Nazmul Chowdhury, Bangladesh Associate - EXALTA Business Growth limited

NOTE:

Since this visit, Bangladesh like so many other countries has been managing the Global Coronavirus pandemic. 

The ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (ADB) said recently (April 04, 2020) that the Bangladesh economy continued to perform well despite the global economic slowdown. "However, there exists a downward risk due to the COVID-19 global pandemic." With its preliminary estimates indicating that about 0.2% to 0.4% of Bangladesh's GDP may be lost due to spillover effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic.