Bangladesh - one of the fastest growing economies of South Asia got her independence in 1971 after the 9-month long Liberation war under the undisputed and unrivalled leadership of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Under the dynamic leadership of his able daughter, the Honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in raising incomes, reducing poverty and improving social indicators and has been classified as a middle-income country by World Bank.

Bangladesh belongs to the largest river delta as well as one of the most fertile regions of the world with a total area of 1,47,570 sq.km. and a coastline of 710 (check) km. It has a population of 166.50 million (Economic Review 2020), making it one of the densely populated countries of the world. Bangladesh is largely ethnically homogeneous. Over 98 percent of the people speak in Bangla. English is widely spoken as well. The country is covered with network of rivers and canals forming a maze of interconnecting channels and rich water ways.

Export Scenario of Bangladesh

Bangladesh exports to 202 countries and territories of the world and the number of products with HS code is 766 (Seven Hundred Sixty-Six). The volume of merchandise and service export in terms of value was 45,367.8 million in the concluding FY 2020-2021. The growth of export is also phenomenal. Due to the fallout of covid like other dominant economies, Bangladesh was also affected but in the FY 2020-2021 Bangladesh rebounded and registered 15.10% growth. The export scenario of Bangladesh indicates her faster moving forward towards Middle Income Country by 2024.

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Why Invest in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Its economy has been growing steadily at the rate of above 6.5% on average over a decade and thus has transformed the country into a land of opportunities. It is now being considered as the next Asian Tiger.

Bangladesh offers the most liberal FDI regime in South Asia, allowing 100% foreign equity ownership with unrestricted exit policy. Almost all the sectors are open for foreign investment without any quantitative restrictions. The country offers generous tax holiday, reduced tax rate for specific sectors, bond facility, export incentives, and other fiscal incentives. The country offers the most generous incentive Packages in the South Asian region which include the followings:

1. Corporate Tax Holiday from 5 to 10 years in certain areas and sectors
2. Accelerated Depreciation on cost of machinery for new industries in lieu of tax holiday
3. Bonded warehousing facility for export-oriented industries
4. Domestic market sales up to 20% allowed to export-oriented companies outside EPZ
5. Cash incentives and export subsidies granted on the FOB values ranging from 5% to 20% on selected products
6. Tariff concessions on import of raw materials of the export-oriented industries
7. Duty free market access to EU & most developed countries
8. 100% foreign equity is allowed
9. Full repatriation of dividends and capital is allowed
10. Tax exemption of remittance of royalty, technical knowledge and

Consequently, under these circumstances, Bangladesh in comparison to the other south Asian economies, has catalyzed an exceptional investment ambience within the past few years. A superior investment environment is vital for the private sectors to be able to contribute to the global sustainable development agenda in the support of the following facilities prevailing for the investors.

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Trade Agreements

Signed memberships and agreements include:

1. Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Free Trade Area
2. Trade Preferential System of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (TPS-OIC)
3. Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA)
4. D-8 Preferential Tariff Arrangement
5. South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA)
6. Bangladesh – Bhutan PTA
7. Bangladesh is a member of the World Trade Organization

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Openness to Foreign Investment

Bangladesh welcomes foreign investment in most sectors and providing favourable conditions for doing business.

Some of the incentives Bangladesh offers to foreign investors are:

1. Tax holidays and exemptions
2. Simplified import process of raw materials and machinery
3. Facilitation of utility connections
4. One stop service at Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA)
5. 100% equity participation
6. Full repatriation of profit
7. Separate Economic and Export processing Zones
8. The Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) is working to create 100 economic zones all over the country in the next 15 years.

Furthermore, one of the leading trading partners of Bangladesh has been the EU.

Strategic Location

Located on the border of South and Southeast Asia, Bangladesh is close to other major markets in the region, such as China.

Bangladesh’s capital city Dhaka has easy access to its neighbouring countries. It is also the commercial and financial hub of Bangladesh and the largest economic center of Eastern South Asia.