She said stable growth rate is important to attract domestic and foreign investment. But the existing 5 to 6 percent GDP (gross domestic product) growth of Bangladesh is not enough for maintaining the economic trends in the post-MFA era.

She, however, said, "Achieving the pace of growth will not be easy. Already, the Bangladesh economy is under stress from high fuel and commodity prices. Inflation is on the rise. And the depreciation of taka over 10 percent against the dollar is the another opposing sign for the economic development."

She was speaking at the monthly luncheon meeting of American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham) on "US Bangladesh Economic Relations" in Dhaka.

The US direct investment in Bangladesh remains strong, as its (US) present investment in Bangladesh is $1 billion, she said.

New US investment of over $2 billion is under negotiation for power plants, coal mines and fertiliser plants, US envoy said.

But the protection of intellectual property rights is needed to foster economic development and attract foreign investment as the government of Bangladesh must move swiftly to adopt implementing regulations to bring these new laws into effect.

Bangladesh must also address the broader governance issues that affect the overall investment climate, she said.

"Businessmen tell me they spend some 7 to 15 percent of gross revenues in various facilitation and protection payments. Corruption at the ports means Bangladeshi ports are some of the most expensive in the world, imposing a double penalty on many firms that import raw materials and export finished goods," Chammas said.

She said corruption is on the top of the obstacles behind doing business in Bangladesh.

She said, "In Bangladesh, I've been dismayed to see US bidders with decades of experience -- world leaders in their product categories -- lose tenders to competitors of dubious technical qualification, because relative technical qualification was not considered as part of the process."

Chammas thanked the Bangladesh government for giving $1 million assistance for the victims of the hurricane Katrina.

Earlier, she said, "We had very productive discussions on Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (Tifa). The results of those discussions are under review in Washington."

Speaking at the meeting, AmCham President Aftab-Ul Islam said US direct investment in Bangladesh increased dramatically in the late 90's, primarily in the gas and power sectors.

He said, "US foreign direct investment has grown from 25 million in 1995 to over a billion dollar in 2001. But investment from the US has not matched our expectation in the recent years."