Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has invited Wall Street firms to invest in Bangladesh, describing the country as “open for business” and a potential platform for investors seeking access to the wider regional market.
“We welcome Wall Street firms to invest in Bangladesh. And we want Bangladesh to become a strong platform, from which you can serve a much larger regional market,” he said.
The Prime Minister made the remarks while addressing a breakfast meeting with business leaders and investors hosted by JPMorgan Chase at its headquarters in Manhattan.
Tarique Rahman said his government was committed to creating confidence, predictability and favourable conditions for investors, stressing that investment requires a stable and supportive business environment.
“Before entering politics, I started my career in business. I learned a simple lesson: investment needs confidence, predictability and the right conditions to grow,” he said.
He said Bangladesh, with a population of more than 180 million, has a young and hardworking population, a growing domestic market and a strategic geographic location.
While Bangladesh is globally known as a major manufacturing and garments hub, the Prime Minister said there were also significant investment opportunities in energy, infrastructure, logistics, technology, digital services, climate finance, manufacturing, agriculture and healthcare.
“Our ambition is to build a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2034 and position Bangladesh as a globally connected manufacturing, investment and services hub,” he said.
Tarique Rahman said the government was working to make Bangladesh easier and more predictable for investors through deregulation, stronger investor protection, simplified regulations, improved tax and VAT administration, easier profit repatriation and better infrastructure.
He also highlighted efforts to strengthen economic ties with major global economies, including the United States, Japan, South Korea, the European Union and China.
Referring to JPMorgan’s role in Bangladesh’s inaugural sovereign bond, the Prime Minister said the initiative was an important milestone that provided international investors with a new reference point for Bangladesh and connected the country’s capital market more closely with the global financial system.
He said investors had legitimate concerns about regulatory predictability, investment protection, capital movement and profit repatriation.
“Our responsibility is to provide confidence through policy and, most importantly, through implementation,” he said.
Tarique Rahman said Bangladesh was seeking long-term partnerships rather than short-term transactions.
“Our government’s objective is straightforward. More investment. More trade. More jobs. More technology. And a stronger economic partnership between Bangladesh and the United States,” he said.
The Prime Minister invited investors to build long-term partnerships with Bangladesh and assured them of the government’s willingness to work with them and address investment-related obstacles.
“I invite you to invest with confidence and build for the long term. We are ready to work with you, listen to you and remove obstacles where we can,” he said.
The breakfast meeting was part of the Prime Minister’s engagements in New York during his visit to attend the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.
