PE/VC activity in Bangladesh

February 28, 2008

Here are the two companies that I know about in the PE/VC space already in Bangladesh, and recently started by NRBs:

  1. Asian Tiger Capital Partners
  2. Venture Investment Partners Bangladesh Ltd

I know of other similar activities that are ongoing that started only recently - yet another sign of increasing optimism about the country’s economic future.I will start a section on the Links page to list PE/VC companies in Bangladesh.

2 Comments | private equity, venture capital | Permalink
Posted by talam

Brand Bangladesh

February 28, 2008

Activity around the topic of what to project as Bangladesh’s image in the world - “branding” Bangladesh:

Recently held “Bangladesh Brand Forum” (see news report)

CPD article (CPD=Center for Policy Dialogue in Dhaka)

Most recently, article by Ifty Islam of AT-Capital in Daily Star.

NRB community is a huge resource that hasn’t been leveraged directly yet in projecting a brand for Bangladesh. As (and if) these branding initiatives gain momentum, we should look to see how we can reach out to worldwide NRBs to contribute.

3 Comments | news | Permalink
Posted by talam

Deutsche Bank synthetic equity platform to access DSE

February 27, 2008

An institutional platform that provides equity investors with synthetic access to the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) via participatory notes or total return swaps.

A total return swap typically allows an investor exposure to the returns of an underlying asset without directly needing to own/trade it. For investors without direct access to DSE, this provides an alternative to having to go through a local broker/dealer. Overall - this lowers the barrier to entry.  

2 Comments | capital markets, news | Permalink
Posted by talam

South Korean Firm to build World’s Biggest Factory in Chittagong

February 25, 2008

Interesting points:

YoungOne Corp

- Also has operations in Vietnam and China with more than 800 million in sales.
- Owns Bangladesh’s first private export processing zone which can accomodate 500 factories.

Bangladesh:

- Exported US $76million worth of footwear in the first year of FY 2008, up 18.6 year on year.

Read the full article here.

    No Comments » | Garments, news | Tagged: , , | Permalink
    Posted by Rasheq

    JPMorgan Commits $750 Million to Asia Private Equity

    February 19, 2008

    Bloomberg
    Reuters

    • Industry focus is predictable:

    “it wanted to invest in ventures with existing corporate clients in several areas, including the consumer, retail, industrial, health care and natural resources sectors”

    • A thesis that came up during the 24 Jan NYC investment panel on Bangladesh was that BD (=Bangladesh) may actually benefit from the global credit crunch as investor wish for diversification redirects funds. The Reuters article suggests this as one of JPMorgan’s motivations:

    “ratcheting up their investments in the fast-growing Indian and Chinese markets as a global credit crunch hampers big buyouts in Europe and the United States”

    • But private equity in Asia may look different from what it is in US/Europe:

    “But in a region where full-scale buyouts are often frowned upon and are difficult because families are still the main players in business, funds have had to settle mostly for taking minority stakes.”

    • Will that model work in Bangladesh? Time will tell…

    1 Comment | news, private equity | Permalink
    Posted by talam

    A different type of RMG business from Bangladesh - “fair-trade apparel”

    February 18, 2008

    A New York Times review of Fair Trade Apparel by Counter Sourcing

    No Comments » | news, social business | Permalink
    Posted by talam

    Foreign portfolio flows into DSE for 2007

    February 17, 2008

    Financial Express news report re foreign portfolio flows into DSE for 2007: Net inflows=Tk 8.9B

    No Comments » | capital markets, news | Tagged: , | Permalink
    Posted by talam