Curtain rises on Investment Summit today

The Bangladesh Investment Summit 2025 starts today, bringing together global investors and top executives as the country positions itself to showcase a revitalised investment climate poised for transformative investments and unprecedented growth.

The United States-based satellite internet provider Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX, has received official approval from the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) to operate in the country.

The information came from Chowdhury Ashiq Mahmud Bin Harun, executive chairman of both BIDA and the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA), during a press briefing held at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital on Sunday.

"We granted Starlink approval on March 29," he said.

It is mandatory for foreign companies to secure registrations with BIDA in order to do business in Bangladesh.

Chowdhury said Bangladesh will listen to foreign investors to know how they view the country's investment climate and how it can be improved further. 

"This year is the year of reform. This year, we have decided to identify the problems in receiving foreign direct investment (FDI)," he said. 

"Investment will not come overnight. You have to build a pipeline for channelling the investment, and you have to nurture the pipeline so that after a while, you will get the investment," he noted.

Reputed business leader Syed Nasim Manzur will also speak at the summit so that the government will have the opportunity to know the views and recommendations of local investors, the BIDA boss also said.

A startup-focused event will take place today at InterContinental Dhaka. The exclusive event brings together global investors, visionary startup founders, and key ecosystem enablers to explore Bangladesh's thriving startup landscape.

Regarding the US tariffs on Bangladesh, the BIDA executive chairman said, "This is actually a positive signal for Bangladesh. There is nothing negative about it, and we are not worried at all. Instead, we see it as an opportunity. Our competitors are in the same boat."

He added that by leveraging this opportunity, Bangladesh can undertake significant reforms and make meaningful progress in improving the overall business climate.

"International investors have already arrived to take part in the summit, and we have received them," Chowdhury said.

Regarding labour rights, Bangladesh will likely sign bilateral contract with the International Labour Organisation, he said.

He also said a deal on non-military space exploration is expected to be signed with  the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the US during the summit.

Additionally, five local and international investors will be honoured with awards at the event, he said.

According to Chowdhury, preparations for the summit, organised by BIDA, are nearly complete. Scheduled to take place from April 7 (today) to 10, the event will bring together over 550 high-level delegates from more than 50 countries.

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus is set to address the summit on April 9. The entire event will be broadcast live on Facebook and YouTube.

A dedicated media corner will be set up to facilitate interviews with foreign investors.  

The BIDA executive chairman also said the chief adviser is scheduled to hold separate bilateral meetings with some top foreign investors attending the event.

The meetings will take place on April 9 at the State Guest House Jamuna, where the chief adviser will engage with key investors, particularly those from China, Japan, and South Korea, Chowdhury stated.

"He [Dr Yunus] is personally very enthusiastic about investment," he said. "In fact, it was his initiative to hold one-on-one meetings with major foreign investors visiting the summit."

Delegations from China, the UK, the US, Singapore, South Korea, and India are among the global participants.

A big group of investors will visit the Korean Export Processing Zone and Mirsarai Economic Zone in Chattogram today. The foreign participants will visit the Japanese Economic Zone at Araihazar tomorrow.

The summit will also have a cultural segment to showcase Bangladesh's rich cultural heritage to foreign investors.

On April 10, multiple breakout sessions will cover key investment sectors, such as digital economy (led by Citi NA and UNDP), textiles (HSBC and BGMEA), agriculture and agro-processing (Dutch embassy and LCP), and healthcare (Inspira, EBL and Sajida Foundation).

The day will also feature a matchmaking session and a roundtable discussion on global investment best practices.

Baroness Rosie Winterton, the UK's trade envoy to Bangladesh; Jarno Syrjälä, under-secretary of state for international trade at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland; Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, group chairman and CEO of DP World; Óscar García Maceiras, CEO of Inditex; Mike Orgill, senior director of public policy and government relations at APAC, Uber; Kyeongsu Lee, vice president of Samsun C&T; Jon Omund Revhaug, executive vice president and head of Telenor Asia; and Han Jun-seokt, CEO of Giordano Korea; are among the key guests, according to BIDA.

Key partners for the event include the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Grameenphone, the World Bank (WB), and Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), highlighting collaborative efforts to drive FDI in Bangladesh.

mirmostafiz@yahoo.com, sajibur@gmail.com