Bangladesh Bank has eased rules governing foreign investors’ exit and repatriation of share sale proceeds from investments in non-listed companies, allowing Authorised Dealer (AD) banks to process larger transactions and raising limits to accelerate capital repatriation.
Under the revised framework, exiting foreign investors can repatriate up to Tk100 crore in share sales proceed without prior Bangladesh Bank approval when the transaction is supported by a professional third-party valuation report, up from the previous limit of Tk10 crore.
The central bank issued a master circular on Sunday consolidating and updating guidelines from 2018 and 2020, the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) said in a press release.
The directive shifts much of the transaction processing responsibility from the central bank to AD banks.
Previously, most share transfer and repatriation cases required Bangladesh Bank approval, with only limited authority delegated to AD banks.
Under the new rules, AD banks can process many transactions directly.
Deals worth up to Tk1 crore can be completed based on a joint declaration from the buyer and seller without requiring an independent valuation report.
The ceiling for transactions requiring professional valuation has also been expanded, allowing AD banks to process deals of up to Tk100 crore using prescribed valuation methods, compared with Tk10 crore under earlier rules.
Transactions valued not more than the Net Asset Value (NAV) can also be processed by AD banks, whereas such deals previously required central bank approval depending on the transaction size.
Like before, proceeds from share sales of listed companies require no approval as transaction values follow market benchmarks.
The circular retains valuation approaches including NAV, market value and discounted cash flow while introducing clearer documentation requirements to standardise the process.
For the first time, Bangladesh Bank has introduced defined processing timelines.
AD banks must process share transfers within 45 days and repatriate sale proceeds within five working days if documentation is complete.
Banks are also required to form internal committees led by senior management to review valuation and repatriation requests.
Transactions processed by AD banks must be reported to Bangladesh Bank within 14 days.
Earlier, a Capital Repatriation Committee formed jointly by BIDA and Bangladesh Bank finalised the reform package on 19 November 2025, with BIDA Executive Member Nahian Rahman Rochi heading the committee.
“An optimum environment for foreign investment is one where investors can move with confidence at every stage of the investment cycle,” said BIDA Executive Chairman Ashik Chowdhury.
“By reducing regulatory approval requirements, allowing faster repatriation of sale proceeds, simplifying valuation and documentation procedures and making the investment exit process more predictable, Bangladesh is moving in that direction,” he added.
