State minister for commerce Ahasanul Islam Titu on Tuesday said that that American e-commerce giant Amazon was seeking a bonded warehouse facility in Bangladesh to enhance its retail business for both domestic and international consumers.
He made the statement at a press conference following a meeting with the visiting US-Bangladesh Business Council delegation at the commerce ministry office in Dhaka.
In the National Logistic Policy-2024 the government has incorporated a provision of setting up a central warehouse and Amazon expressed its interest to collect Bangladeshi goods from the warehouse for its global supply chain and distributing them to end consumers.
With the aim of expanding its business, Amazon wants to establish a bonded warehouse so that it can avail duty-free facility in collecting and distributing the goods, the state minister said.
The government has included a provision in the National Logistics Policy-2024 for establishing a central warehouse, and Amazon has expressed interest in utilizing this facility to collect Bangladeshi goods for its global supply chain and distribute them to end consumers.
Ahasanul said that that the delegation included representatives from globally renowned companies such as Meta, which operates Facebook, Chevron, Coca-Cola, Boeing and other US firms.
Replying to a question, he said that the government would formulate policies enabling local companies to operate and distribute goods through virtual markets similar to Amazon, extending to international markets as well.
The state minister said that the US companies expressed their intention to strengthen relations with Bangladesh and discussed the ease of doing business situation.
He said that from the Bangladesh side the import of cotton from the US and the duty-free market access for RMG products made with the US cotton also discussed in the meeting.
According to a statement issued by the commerce ministry, a delegation of nearly 30 members led by Steven Kobos, president and chief executive officer of Excelerate Energy, called on Ahasanul.
The delegation also included Atul Keshap, president of the US-Bangladesh Business Council.
