Tata revisits $3-billion Bangladesh venture
The Indian Express — March 15, 2007

Tata Group this week tried to revive its two-year-old plan for Bangladesh's biggest inward investment, opening talks with the new army-backed government, a company official said. Back in October 2004, the salt-to-software Indian conglomerate announced a steel plant and fertiliser factory project with associated power stations and natural gas supplies. The proposal grew last year into a $3-billion investment plan - more foreign money than has been invested in impoverished Bangladesh since its first full year as a country in 1972 - but talks stalled over a failure to agree a natural gas price, and as the country descended into pre-election political confusion and violence.

Tata has since stopped work on the project, but this week it held its first talks on the matter with officials of the new government. "On Tuesday I met a key government adviser (retired major general M A Matin) and discussed how we could take the proposals forward," S Manzer Hussain, Tata's resident director in Bangladesh, told Reuters on Wednesday. "We (Tata officials) also met the chief of the board of investment (BOI) as it is the key player in this regard. All of them appreciated our concern and they are making an effort to find a way out," Manzer said.

Now that Bangladesh is being run by a government headed by former central bank chief Fakhruddin Ahmed, Tata is anxious to see its proposals back on the agenda. "We want to restart our negotiations but we are not sure how far the interim government can go as it is a major decision (better taken by an elected government)," Manzer said. The interim government is charged with holding free and fair elections as soon as possible but it has yet to announce a date. An election earlier planned for January 22 was postponed following countrywide political violence, that killed 45 people and injured hundreds. Bangladesh has been under a state of emergency since January 11.

"Now we are waiting for a response from them (Bangladesh government)," Manzer said: "The status of our proposals remain unchanged and we also understand the limitations of this interim government. But we cannot wait for an uncertain period."