Global e-commerce giants Walmart and Amazon will start their operation in Bangladesh within next two years, a leader of e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB) said today. Another global e-commerce player Alibaba is already operating in Bangladesh under the name of Daraz, reports The Daily Star.
Rezwanul Haque Jami, vice president of e-CAB said this in a roundtable discussion on “Local e-commerce industry issues, challenges and solutions” at The Daily Star Center today, organized by the country’s top 10 homegrown online ventures.
“Walmart has a very big office here in Dhaka and they are planning to start a business while Amazon has engaged in meetings with the government on different related issues,” said Jami, also the coordinator of a government e-commerce project Eakshop.
Few months ago, Alibaba bought Daraz Group and now owns the whole business in this region.
Jami said after Walmart and Amazon launch their businesses, the market ecosystem will be changed and local players will get the heat after that.
The event was organized with the backdrop of government’s initiative of amending the recently approved Digital Commerce Policy.
The cabinet had approved a Digital Commerce Policy on July 16 which stipulated that foreign investment in the country’s e-commerce sector could not be over 49 percent.
After some global players running here raised concern, the government has backtracked and will now allow foreign companies to own 100 stakes in local e-commerce ventures, said senior officials.
The top local players said they are not against foreign investments in this field but the government needs to take some steps to protect local investors and the local market.
