Tarique Takes Bangladesh’s Investment Pitch to Wall Street
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has invited Wall Street firms to invest in Bangladesh, presenting the country as a base for serving regional markets. The pitch comes as Bangladesh seeks to attract more foreign capital and deepen its access to international financial markets, while the government rolls out reforms to address longstanding problems with approvals, energy, logistics and regulatory uncertainty.
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In a Nutshell:
- Tarique addressed business leaders and investors at a JPMorgan Chase breakfast meeting in Manhattan on September 25 and invited them to build long-term partnerships in Bangladesh.
- He said the government would pursue deregulation, stronger investor protection, easier regulations, improved tax and VAT administration, easier profit repatriation and better infrastructure to make Bangladesh more investable.
- Beyond garments, he identified opportunities in energy, infrastructure, logistics, technology, digital services, climate finance, manufacturing, agriculture and healthcare.
- He set a target of building a $1 trillion economy by 2034 and described Bangladesh as a platform for investors seeking access to the wider regional market.
Context
Since the BNP government assumed office in February 2026, it has introduced measures covering both investment procedures and the wider business environment. In March, Bangladesh Bank simplified share transfers and the repatriation of sale proceeds for foreign investors, granting authorised banks greater discretion and reducing valuation and documentation requirements. The Wall Street outreach also comes as Bangladesh seeks a larger role in international capital markets. JPMorgan is preparing to include Bangladesh in its new GBI EM Edge index, which will track nearly $330 billion in local currency government bonds across 26 frontier economies. The government is also preparing its first sovereign dollar bond, with a proposed issue of $500 million to $1 billion.
Why It Matters
The reforms come after years of weak foreign investment. UNCTAD found that FDI fell by almost one third in 2024 from its 2019 peak, amid taka depreciation, foreign exchange shortages, energy problems, political uncertainty and labour disruptions. Net FDI recovered to $1.77 billion in 2025, but net equity investment rose only 1.84% to $554.63 million, with much of the increase coming from reinvested earnings and intra-company lending. The figures also show why the government is focusing on the practical conditions facing investors. FICCI says approvals can take six months to a year against an official 76-day timeline, while Chattogram port holds containers for eight to 10 days, compared with three to four days in Vietnam. Gas supply averaged 2,580 million cubic feet a day against demand of 3,800 million, and the banking sector’s non-performing loan ratio reached 32.26 per cent.
What We Think
There is a broader financial reason for taking the Wall Street pitch seriously. Bangladesh is seeking greater access to international capital as JPMorgan prepares to add its government bonds to a frontier market index and the country prepares its first sovereign dollar bond. The reforms have precedents, including online investment procedures, but their value will depend on whether they make Bangladesh more predictable for the targeted investors.