Khalida Zia may meet Tatas to resolve impasse

Bangladesh Prime Minister Begum Khalida Zia may meet the senior Tata group executives on her proposed visit to India late March or early April to resolve the impasse over the conglomerate's $2.5 billion investment in the country.

Bangladesh Finance and Planning Minister M Saifur Rahman, according to a Bangladesh wire agency report, said, "There is a strong possibility of a meeting between Prime Minister and the Tata group executives during her visit to India."

The agency report stated that a Tata team today met the Bangladeshi finance minister to apprise him of the proposed investment. The team included Tata Steel deputy managing director T Mukherjee and Tata Group resident director for Bangladesh Manzer Hussain.

Last month, talks between the Tatas and the Bangladesh authorities ended inconclusively over the contentious gas-price issue. Sources said the Tata group had offered to pay $1.50 per thousand cubic feet of gas for guaranteed supply, while Bangladesh asked for at least $2 for non-guaranteed and $3.5 for guaranteed supply of the fuel.

The Tata group is preparing a revised proposal, which will be submitted to the Bangladesh government this month.

Earlier, the Tata officials had met the officials of the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Both sides discussed various issues including resettlement plan in the coal mining areas, assurance of gas supply, employment generation, tax holiday and gas price.

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