Recently, a Bangladeshi has offered to invest up to one billion dollars in Venice, Italy. He has sought permission from the Venice Mayor’s Office through the Bangladesh Consul General office in Milan, Italy. However, he has not yet received permission. However, the large amount of his planned investment has already sparked interest in the Italian media.
Who are these investors?
The name of this investor is Md. W Chowdhury. He was born and raised in Dhaka. He has been staying outside Bangladesh since 1987. Studied in Switzerland. Along with Bangladesh, D.B. Chowdhury also has the citizenship of UK. He has car business in various European countries. Dablo Chowdhury told the BBC, along with some of his business partners, he established an electric car manufacturing company called Epsilon Motors Inc. in Maryland in the year 2022. Now they have applied to invest in Venice to build an electric car manufacturing plant for this company. They plan to invest about one billion dollars in the port city of Porto Marghera in Venice, which is mainly an industrial area. If the authorities get permission, it will provide employment for about 1,000 workers. Dablo Chowdhury said that most of the entrepreneurs of Epsilon Motors Inc. are Bangladeshi, and most of their expert team members once worked in German car manufacturer Mercedes Benz factories in Germany and China. If permission is granted, the construction of the factory in Venice will begin in 2023. However, Dablo Chowdhury could not give an idea about when the plan to start production. However, there is a plan to open a lithium battery factory alongside this electric car factory in the main plan.
Where will the investment come from?
Dablo Chowdhury said, ‘We made Epsilon Motors to do something unique and sustainable. Our plan was that if we can do something that will be in high demand in the future and that is environmentally friendly then our work will be sustainable.’ That’s why they decided to make an electric car. Investments for the planned factory will come from a group of venture capitalists from the US and the Middle East, said D.B. Chowdhury. Venture capital generally refers to investments made up of large investors, banks and financial institutions, who invest in startups or small companies with potential and future profitability. He said that by 2035, electric vehicles will dominate in all US states, England and other major cities. “And for this, governments of various countries, including China, are now giving incentives to those who are making and selling electric cars,” he said. “Now the venture capitalists will invest money, and we have the technology and the technical side, we are going to take this initiative together,” said Dablo Chowdhury.
The investment proposal in Italy has been made as a US company, but as the head of Epsilon Motors and a Bangladeshi, he sought the help of the Bangladeshi embassy.
Why and how to plan an investment in Italy?
Consul General of Bangladesh in Milan, MJH Jabed, told the BBC that D.B. Chowdhury had originally sought permission from the authorities to open a factory in Venice through him. Javed said, a few days ago, D.B. Chowdhury took the investment proposal to the Consul General office of Bangladesh in Milan, where he sought the help of the Bangladesh Embassy in finding suitable land and obtaining permission. Jabed then delivered a letter written by D.B. Chowdhury to the Venice Commune’s Accessory Comercio Mane Trade Department, headed by Deputy Mayor Sebastian Costalonger, expressing his interest in investing. Javed said the letter written to the authorities indicated that the investment could be up to $920 million. One thousand million equals one billion. Javed said, ‘As a Bangladeshi citizen, he sought our help to convey the investment proposal to the appropriate authorities. When I myself went to Venice I delivered his application to the authorities with my own hand.’ The Venice mayor’s office is now reviewing it. D.B. Chowdhury held a meeting with the authorities on Wednesday. Javed said, considering that this factory can create job opportunities for expatriate Bangladeshis in Italy, they helped Dablo Chowdhury. He said that a large number of Bangladeshis are living in Venice on the basis of employment and education. Meanwhile, Dablo Chowdhury said his investors wanted to invest in a country with good law and order, and in Venice’s Porto Marghera, the authorities give preferential treatment to environmentally friendly and sustainable factories. For these two reasons, Italy has been chosen instead of any country in Africa or Asia. “Investors want the law and order to be good in that country, and the investment should be secured, meaning that the return will come.” That’s why we chose Italy,’ he said. In addition, Italy already has workers from several car manufacturers, including Fiat, so finding skilled workers would not be difficult, which was another consideration for Epsilon’s entrepreneurs.
What has a Bangladeshi done before such a big investment in Italy?
Consul General of Bangladesh in Milan Javed said that many of the Bangladeshis staying in Italy have invested in the country. But the size of those investments is not very large. They have been mainly invested in the country’s agriculture and service sectors. Dablo Chowdhury told the Consul General’s office about his investment proposal that if permission is granted, the factory he will set up will give priority to Bangladeshis staying in the country as workers at various stages. People studying or currently involved in the automotive sector in Italy will be able to work in their proposed factories, Dablo Chowdhury told the BBC. For this he is discussing with immigration solicitor (lawyer). Because, according to Italian law, to work in a specialized sector, a person must have education and work experience in the relevant field.
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