The government plans to invite Japanese, South Korean and Malaysian investors to invest in the country’s information technology sector to tap opportunities stemming mainly from WTO’s Information Technology Agreement (ITA). Now 70 WTO members including Bangladesh representing 97 percent of world trade in IT products are participants to the ITA. The signatories to the deal promised duty-free imports of IT products among themselves on a most-favoured-nation basis.

The government is also cashing in on low labour costs and duty-free import of computers and accessories in Bangladesh to attract foreign investments.

The Board of Investment (BoI) will prepare proposals soon to send to Bangladesh missions concerned to invite the potential investors, a high official of commerce ministry said.

The negotiations on duty-free-treatment for IT products started with an initiative among a small group of WTO members in the months before the first WTO Ministerial Conference held in Singapore in December 1996.

In April 1997, the condition for the ITA entered into force.

These countries and economies were seeking rapid opening aimed at duty-free-treatment for a group of products related to information technology, including computers, telecommunications, semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, software and scientific instruments.

The world exports of IT products over the past 10 years have more than doubled in dollar terms, reaching US$ 1450 billion in 2005 with annual average growth of 8.5 percent.

In 2005, trade on IT products accounted for 14 percent of the world merchandise exports, exceeding that of agricultural products, and textiles and clothing together.

The elimination of tariffs for IT products makes it possible to use the potential of these technologies for the benefit of people in all corners of the world.