Tata still hopeful about its investment in Bangladesh

Dhaka, Mar 4 (UNI) Indian industrial giant Tata Group is still hopeful of its proposed three billion investment plan in Bangladesh.

S Manzer Hussain, the resident director of the company, gave the indication at a function organised on the occasion of Tata's founding anniversary yesterday.

''We're still hopeful, we want to continue our relations with Bangladesh whatever the business we do,'' said Mr Manzer.

Tata is expected to wait until a stable political situation returns to Bangladesh.

The Tata Group had signed an expression of interest with the Board of Investment (BoI) in 2004 to implement its proposed investment, which includes setting up a steel mill, a fertiliser factory and installing a power plant.

But at one stage of negotiations, the previous BNP government had decided that the next elected government should take the final decision, prompting Tata to suspend its project in Bangladesh in 2006.

Despite the suspension, the Tata Group's top executives expressed their intention on several occasions to move forward with the project.

UNI XC SR PM2102