Various government authorities, including the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), have received investment proposals totaling $1.25 billion between January and June this year.
This information was disclosed at the 5th meeting of the Investment Coordination Committee held at the Chief Adviser’s Office today.
The meeting was chaired by the Chief Adviser’s Special Envoy on International Affairs Lutfe Siddiqui, and was also attended by the Governor of Bangladesh Bank, Dr Ahsan H Mansur, and the Chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Md Abdur Rahman Khan.
It was reported at the meeting that the amount of foreign investment in the proposals received during the first six months of 2025 was $465 million.
Additionally, local investment proposals totaled $700 million, and joint investment proposals amounted to $85 million. Among these, the highest foreign investment proposals, worth approximately $330 million, came from various Chinese companies.
Representatives from BIDA also informed the meeting that companies from Singapore, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates have submitted significant investment proposals.
The BIDA representative further stated that out of the $1.25 billion in proposals, $231 million worth of proposals have so far reached the final stage. The conversion rate from initial proposals to the final stage is about 18%. It was noted at the meeting that the global average conversion rate is around 15% to 20%.
The meeting also discussed in detail the reduction of container congestion at Chittagong Port. Approximately 6,500 containers have been lying idle at the port for many days.
Chittagong Port Authority has reported at the meeting that, as part of efforts to revitalise the port during the current government’s term, 1,000 containers have been sold at auction over the past two months.
Lutfe Siddiqui instructed the relevant authorities to expedite the auction process, with officials replying that that preparations are underway to auction another 500 containers next month, and the process of transferring the auctioned goods is ongoing.
The Investment Coordination Committee meeting also discussed the progress of launching the Bangladesh Business Portal (BBP).
Relevant officials stated that the work on this integrated online platform, which will combine the services of BIDA, BEZA, BEPZA, and BSCIC, is nearing completion. It was announced that a soft launch will take place in the first week of September, and the platform will be fully operational by the end of September.
The meeting was attended by senior officials from various government and private institutions, including the Ministry of Commerce, Chittagong Port Authority, and Chittagong Custom House.