Dhaka, December 2, 2024 – The Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) hosted the second session of its State of Investment Climate webinar series on Monday, featuring Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur, Governor of Bangladesh Bank, as the Guest of Honor.
Dr. Mansur joined Ashik Chowdhury, Executive Chairman of BIDA and BEZA, for an insightful fireside chat discussing pivotal measures to enhance Bangladesh’s business climate, monetary policies, and ongoing economic reforms.
“BIDA is making commendable efforts to streamline the business environment, and Bangladesh Bank is a part of this process,” remarked Dr. Mansur. “For instance, profit or dividend repatriation no longer requires our permission. Banks can remit any amount within existing rules. Additionally, we have aligned with BIDA to allow small loan applications to be processed directly through them, eliminating the need to approach the central bank.”
He also emphasized Bangladesh Bank’s commitment to fostering investment by approving credible proposals promptly. “We are working to liberalize capital transactions, reform the investment regime, and ensure macroeconomic stability. These efforts aim to instill confidence among investors in profitability and profit repatriation,” he added.
Dr. Mansur further elaborated on initiatives to simplify hard loan sanctions, enhance offshore banking operations (OBU), and lift restrictions on fund transfers between OBUs and domestic banking units (DBUs).
Earlier in the session, Ashik Chowdhury delivered a keynote address, outlining key steps taken to address challenges such as improving government service quality, ensuring policy consistency, enhancing industry consultations, and tackling resource access and corruption issues.
He highlighted an initiative spearheaded by the Hon’ble Chief Advisor: “A monthly forum of heads of investment promotion wings and key ministerial units will be established to monitor progress in improving the investor experience. Chaired by Special Envoy Lutfi Siddiqui, this forum will adopt a whole-of-government approach to facilitate seamless, time-bound execution within existing laws and regulations.”
Chowdhury also announced several collaborative reforms achieved by BIDA and Bangladesh Bank, including:
• Consolidating loan applications with IR hedge applications for efficiency
• Centralizing all types of loan applications (offshore and OBU) for borrowers in economic zones (EZ), export processing zones (EPZ), and other designated areas.
• Expanding the authority of Bangladesh Bank officials embedded in BIDA teams to resolve foreign loan applications swiftly.
• Extending the capital machinery usage term to three years.
The webinar underscored Bangladesh’s commitment to fostering an investor-friendly climate by spelling out time-bound reforms and collaborative governance. The recording of the webinar is available on BIDA’s LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube pages.
