Written by The Banking Post
Bangladesh received investment proposals worth $1.25 billion between January and June this year, according to information shared at the fifth meeting of the Investment Coordination Committee held on Thursday at the Chief Adviser’s Office.
The meeting was chaired by the Chief Adviser’s Special Envoy for International Affairs Lutfey Siddiqi. Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Ahsan H. Mansur and National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan were also present.
Of the total proposals, foreign investment accounted for $465 million, while local investors submitted proposals worth $700 million. An additional $85 million came as joint ventures.
Chinese companies topped the list with around $330 million in proposed investments. Significant commitments also came from Singapore, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates, according to representatives of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA).
So far, investment proposals worth $231 million have reached the final approval stage — translating to a conversion rate of about 18 percent. Globally, the average conversion rate stands between 15 and 20 percent, officials said.
The meeting also discussed the long-standing container congestion at Chattogram Port, where about 6,500 containers have been stuck for an extended period. To ease the situation, authorities have auctioned off 1,000 containers in the past two months. The Chief Adviser’s Envoy instructed officials to accelerate the process, with another 500 containers scheduled for auction next month.
Progress on the upcoming Bangladesh Business Portal (BBP) was also reviewed. The integrated online platform — designed to bring together services of BIDA, BEZA, BEPZA, and BSCIC — is now in its final stage. Officials said a soft launch is planned for the first week of September, followed by full-scale operations by the end of the month.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Commerce, Chattogram Port Authority, and Customs House, along with representatives from public and private organisations, also attended the meeting.
