FICCI President Calls for Predictable Policies to Attract $15 Billion FDI to Bangladesh

Dhaka, August 2, 2026 — Despite its large market and young workforce, Bangladesh trails regional peers in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) due to policy uncertainty, weak logistics, and unreliable energy, according to Rupali Chowdhury, president of the Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). 📊 The FICCI chief's remarks came as the chamber launched its report, "FDI for a New Bangladesh: Roadmap for a $15 Billion Vision", which argues that Bangladesh continues to lag behind regional competitors despite decades of economic growth. 📉

🌐 Foreign investors increasingly compare Bangladesh with competitors such as Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Pakistan, where projects move faster and government services are more predictable, Chowdhury said in an interview with The Daily Star. 💼

"Investors do not compare Bangladesh with its own past. They compare us with competing destinations."

📊 FDI-to-GDP Ratio: Bangladesh vs Regional Peers

📉 The FICCI report reveals a stark contrast in FDI performance across the region:

• 🇻🇳 Vietnam — 4.23% FDI-to-GDP ratio
• 🇮🇩 Indonesia — 1.74%
• 🇵🇰 Pakistan — 0.72%
• 🇧🇩 Bangladesh — just 0.29% ❌

📊 The report identifies the main barriers to investment as:

• 📋 Policy uncertainty — frequent changes discourage long-term planning
• 🚢 Logistics bottlenecks — port congestion, traffic delays between Chattogram and Dhaka
• ⚡ Infrastructure shortages — unreliable energy supply
• 🏦 Financial sector weaknesses — high NPLs, limited long-term financing
• 💰 Tax complexity — cumbersome tax system
• ⚖️ Weak investor protection — legal and institutional gaps

🚢 Logistics: Bangladesh's Biggest Competitive Disadvantage

🏭 Chowdhury said logistics remains one of Bangladesh's biggest competitive disadvantages:

"It is not only about roads. It is the entire supply chain."

📦 She referred to port congestion, traffic bottlenecks, and delays in moving goods between Chattogram and Dhaka. These bottlenecks raise transport costs and delay deliveries, undermining Bangladesh's competitiveness. Addressing them requires better coordination among government agencies and sustained investment in transport infrastructure. 🚛

💻 Slow Automation of Public Services

🔧 Another major challenge is the slow automation of public services. Chowdhury said customs, regulatory approvals, and other government services still rely heavily on manual processes:

"We need seamless automation. If manual processes remain, businesses will continue to face delays."

📊 Automation must go beyond online systems by eliminating unnecessary physical interactions. The FICCI report cites lengthy approval procedures, overlapping regulations, and poor inter-agency coordination as factors that increase costs and uncertainty. 📋

⚡ Energy and Financial Sector Concerns

🔋 Chowdhury said reliable energy supply has become one of the first issues raised by prospective investors:

"If we cannot assure investors of reliable energy, it becomes difficult to convince them to establish new industries here."

💰 The financial sector is another concern. The FICCI chief said high lending rates have significantly increased the cost of new investments:

"When borrowing costs rise to 14 or 16 percent, businesses naturally become more cautious about making fresh investments."

📈 She also cited exchange-rate volatility as another factor making investment decisions harder, particularly for companies that depend heavily on imported machinery and raw materials. 💱

🚀 $15 Billion FDI Vision by 2030

📊 Despite these challenges, Chowdhury said Bangladesh retains significant strengths:

• 👥 Large consumer market — growing domestic demand
• 🏭 Expanding manufacturing base — particularly in RMG
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Young labour force — demographic dividend
• 🌍 "China Plus One" strategy — global manufacturers diversifying production

💎 FICCI estimates that, if reforms are implemented consistently, Bangladesh could:

• 📈 Increase annual FDI from ~$1.7 billion to $15 billion by 2030
• 📊 Raise FDI-to-GDP ratio from ~0.36% to 2.5%

🎯 However, Chowdhury stressed that implementation is more important than announcing new policies:

"Bangladesh has many strengths. What investors want now is timely implementation, predictable policies, and reliable institutions."

🔮 BEZA and Inter-Agency Coordination

🏗️ As an example, Chowdhury cited the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority's (BEZA) limited authority to ensure supporting infrastructure and utility services in the industrial zones it allocates:

"If one agency has to depend on several others to deliver services, investors continue to face delays."

📋 She suggested reforms be designed and implemented in consultation with businesses, as they are the end users of these systems. The FICCI report notes that multinational companies now place greater emphasis on policy predictability, efficient logistics, legal protection, and institutional quality than on low labour costs alone. 🌐

🚀 Countries such as Vietnam and India have strengthened industrial policies and logistics networks to capture a growing share of global investment flows. For Bangladesh, the window of opportunity from the "China Plus One" strategy will not last indefinitely if competing countries continue to move ahead with reforms. ⏱️