Bangladesh Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in bangladesh, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Investment Climate Statement
Last published date:

The U.S. Department of State’s Investment Climate Statements help U.S. companies make informed business decisions by providing up-to-date information on the investment climates of more than 170 countries and economies. They are prepared by our embassies and consulates around the world and analyze each economy’s openness to foreign investment. Topics include:

•    Openness to, and Restrictions upon, Foreign Investment, 
•    Investment and Taxation Treaties,
•    Legal Regime,
•    Industrial Policies,
•    Protection of Property Rights,
•    Financial Sector,
•    State-owned Enterprises,
•    Corruption,
•    Labor Policies and Practices,
•    Political and Security Environment, and
•    U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and Other Investment Insurance or Development Finance Programs

Each statement provides a starting point for U.S. firms and offers a point of contact at the relevant U.S. embassy or consulate abroad.

These reports are also a resource for foreign governments to create business environments that ensure fair treatment for the United States and our companies and investors. 

To access the full Investment Climate Statement, visit the U.S. Department of State Investment Climate Statements website.

Executive Summary - Bangladesh

Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, with the eighth-largest population (175.7 million) residing within a territory the size of Iowa. Situated in the northeastern corner of the Indian subcontinent, Bangladesh shares a 2,500-mile border with India and a 150-mile border with Burma.  The August 5, 2024, ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after weeks of violent repression against student-led protesters resulted in the fall of the Prime Minister’s Awami League (AL) government.  The new IG, headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as “Chief Advisor” (prime minister-equivalent), began work on reforming the state administration, but much of the day-to-day regulatory landscape remains unchanged.  Elections, at which time the IG will terminate its mandate, are schedule for February 2026.

Bangladesh averaged 6.4 percent annual GDP growth between 2013 and 2023. For FY 2025-2026, GDP growth is expected to be 4.8 percent, according to an April 2025 World Bank projection. Bangladesh’s strategic location between the emergent South and Southeast Asian markets and its large workforce have attracted some U.S. companies and investors. Bangladesh received $4.18 billion in FDI in 2023-24, a decrease of 5 percent from $4.4 billion in 2022-2023, according to the BB (the central bank).

Rising commodity prices and high imports in 2024 resulted in a substantial balance of payments deficit for Bangladesh. Published gross foreign currency reserves declined from a high of $48 billion in August 2021 to below $20 billion in 2024, with a rebound to $31 billion in August 2025, according to the BB. The IG is working to remove two Hasina-era practices that hinder foreign investment: delayed foreign currency payments owed by SOEs and a requirement that the BB approve the transfer of foreign currency from the country.  The foreign currency shortage coincided with a banking scandal in which several major Bangladeshi banks made large, questionable loans to companies that later defaulted on the loans. By December 2024, the value of non-performing loans rose to $28.57 billion. The IG has prioritized banking sector reform to align the sector with international best practices.

Bangladesh made gradual progress over the past decade to reduce constraints on investment, such as efforts to better ensure reliable electricity service, but foreign investment continues to be hindered by issues such as:

  • inadequate infrastructure,
  • limited financing instruments,
  • bureaucratic delays,
  • unfair tax burdens for foreign firms, and
  • corruption.

The IG’s investment climate reform efforts remain in the early implementation stage. A sluggish and corrupt judicial system (currently subject to reform efforts) and limits on alternative dispute resolution mechanisms continue to impede the timely enforcement of contracts and the fair resolution of business disputes.

The IG’s enforcement of IPR and labor rights remains ineffective. The government does not devote adequate resources to IPR protection. Although Bangladesh made progress over the past decade to improve fire and building safety standards in the export-focused RMG industry, workers face significant legal barriers in exercising their rights to organize and collectively bargain.

View the Bangladesh Investment Climate Statement.

Political Environment

For background information on the political and economic environment of the country, please click on the link to the Department of State Countries & Areas website.

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