Foreign investors’ participation in Bangladesh’s capital market has increased amid reform initiatives and efforts to simplify investment procedures, with their total transactions rising 37.6 percent in the first eight months of 2026 compared with the same period last year.
According to Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) data, foreign investors’ total transactions reached Tk 3,701.29 crore from January to August 2026, compared with Tk 2,687.39 crore during the corresponding period of 2025.
The transactions increased by Tk 1,013.90 crore year-on-year. The first eight months of 2026 also accounted for nearly 94 percent of foreign investors’ total transactions of Tk 3,920.42 crore recorded throughout 2025.
Market insiders attributed the rise to several reform initiatives, including preparations to upgrade Bangladesh’s capital market from frontier to emerging market status, engagement with international index providers, simplified procedures for foreign investors and efforts to introduce a shorter settlement cycle.
DSE Managing Director Nuzhat Anwar said the increase was not the result of any single initiative.
“Preparations to upgrade the market from frontier to emerging market status, engagement with organisations such as MSCI, simplification of Bangladesh Bank’s rules relating to Non-resident Investors’ Taka Accounts (NITAs), and the initiative to introduce a T+1 settlement system have collectively sent positive signals to foreign investors,” she said.
She said Bangladesh Bank had recently eased a procedural complication involving NITA accounts, which foreign portfolio investors use to invest in Bangladesh.
Previously, funds through NITA accounts had to be accounted for separately for individual transactions. Following communication between the DSE and relevant authorities, Bangladesh Bank simplified the procedure.
Under the revised arrangement, foreign investors can complete the necessary accounting when repatriating funds from Bangladesh instead of making separate calculations for every transaction.
Anwar said the proposed T+1 settlement system had also sent a positive signal to international investors.
She added that the DSE was working to ensure professional market management, transparency and accountability while maintaining regular communication with foreign investors.
Foreign transactions fluctuated during the first eight months of 2026. They stood at Tk 377.24 crore in January, rose to Tk 663.28 crore in February, then fell to Tk 272.04 crore in March and Tk 175.16 crore in April.
Transactions surged to Tk 831.70 crore in May, the highest monthly figure during the period. They stood at Tk 540.17 crore in June and Tk 523.15 crore in July before falling to Tk 318.57 crore in August.
In the first eight months of 2025, foreign investors’ transactions totalled Tk 2,687.39 crore, with monthly transactions ranging from Tk 171.96 crore in March to Tk 506.74 crore in May.
For the full year of 2025, foreign investors’ total transactions amounted to Tk 3,920.42 crore.
The latest figures show that foreign transactions in the first eight months of 2026 have already reached nearly 94 percent of the previous year’s full-year total.
