Jagaran Chakma

Bangladesh is yet to see recovery in investor confidence even though the current government has taken some good initiatives to improve the business environment and encourage investment.

Invest Bangladesh, the newly formed apex investment authority, plans to offer the first batch of five to seven idle state-owned assets, including closed factories, to private investors through open bidding in October, a top official said yesterday.

By 8am, when Jesmin Alam’s maid arrives at her home in Uttara’s Sector-3 to prepare the day’s meals, the gas burner often lies useless.

The jute mill was closed after years of losses; the EPZ is now exporting over a billion dollars every year

Bangladesh’s energy crisis is costing the industrial sector up to Tk 2,387 crore a day in lost economic output as factories continue to face supply disruptions, according to an estimate by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI).

A shampoo sachet used to be the manufacturer’s problem only until it left the shop. Once a customer bought it, the company’s responsibility effectively ended. The empty sachet then went into a bin, a drain or simply onto the street, with no clear obligation on the maker to deal with what happened next.

Weak demand amid slower construction activity, excess production capacity, rising production costs and cheaper imports are putting growing pressure on the country’s float glass manufacturers, squeezing their profit margins.

For years, businesses and investors have flagged the time and cost of doing business in Bangladesh as a major concern, citing bureaucratic red tape, overlapping approvals and licensing delays. The government has now formed a 21-member high-level taskforce, led by Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, to address it.

The government has reduced the board size of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) from 80 to 48 members, tightened election rules and increased membership and affiliation fees through amendments to the Trade Organization Rules, 2025.

Public sector demand for locally manufactured prefabricated steel has dropped by nearly 90 percent

The government should speed up domestic gas exploration to expand supply and reduce the country’s reliance on costly imports, according to economists, as the prolonged shortage hurts private investment, industrial output and export competitiveness.

Financial distress has forced Bengal Group to sell its under-construction Swiss Tower in Dhaka to Pubali Bank for Tk 800 crore, ending its decade-long plan to bring the Swissôtel luxury hotel brand to Bangladesh.

China became Bangladesh’s second-largest source of net FDI in 2025, accounting for more than 18 percent of total inflows

Despite its large market and young workforce, Bangladesh trails regional peers in attracting foreign direct investment due to policy uncertainty, weak logistics and unreliable energy, according to Rupali Chowdhury, president of the Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Drugmakers appear to be the latest victims of a worsening supply crunch already hurting factories across industrial belts

Bangladesh’s industrial sector is taking a heavy hit from the worsening gas crisis, which is raising operating costs and threatening the country’s export competitiveness.

Manufacturers are now investing in local component production to reduce their import dependence

Manufacturers welcome decision, say it will support investment, jobs

The country’s construction sector is facing one of its worst slowdowns in years as weaker public development spending, slower private investment and high borrowing costs reduce demand for housing and construction materials.

Invest Bangladesh -- about to become the country’s sole investment promotion agency -- cannot remove every roadblock on its own