PRESS
RELEASE

Invest Bangladesh has received the Special Recognition for Outstanding LDC Investment Promotion Agency at the WAIPA Investment Excellence Awards in Geneva, Switzerland.

His Excellency Riaz Hamidullah, Ambassador at Bangladesh’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, accepted the honour on behalf of Invest Bangladesh at 6pm Geneva time (11pm Bangladesh time) on Tuesday, 10 November.

The award was presented alongside the 30th World Investment Conference, organised by the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) and taking place in Geneva from 10 to 12 November. An independent international jury grants the Special Recognition to investment promotion agencies from least developed countries whose submissions meet a high standard of achievement. 

The recognition highlighted Bangladesh’s strong ongoing efforts to improve its investment climate, strengthen investment facilitation and build a more responsive, investor-friendly institutional framework. It reflects the broader reform journey undertaken by Invest Bangladesh and its partner government agencies to simplify procedures, improve coordination and translate investment interest into tangible projects.

Bangladesh’s 2025 investment climate reforms were shaped by consultations with nearly 200 domestic and international investors. The measures included extending bonded warehouse facilities to partial exporters and simplify foreign borrowing and capital repatriation. The Ambassador Programme brought agencies together to resolve longstanding issues for major investors, including Youngone. The FDI Heatmap identified 19 priority sectors to guide investment promotion.

Invest Bangladesh built on that work through its 180-day investment action plan, announced in March 2026, focusing on improving infrastructure, making government services easier for investors to access and helping prospective projects move towards implementation. Invest Bangladesh published an update on the plan in September. During that period, the merger that formed Invest Bangladesh brought investment facilitation, economic zones and public-private partnerships under one authority.

Among the initiatives specifically highlighted by the WAIPA jury were BanglaBiz, Bangladesh’s integrated digital investment gateway connecting investors with over 142 services across 47 government agencies, and Invest Bangladesh’s facilitation of APM Terminals’ USD 550 million Laldia Container Terminal project.

Ashik Chowdhury, Chairman of Invest Bangladesh, said: “I thank the Government for backing these reforms, our partners for helping put them into practice, and everyone at Invest Bangladesh who contributes to building a more responsive and investor-friendly experience. This recognition belongs to that collective effort.”

Bangladesh’s net foreign direct investment grew by approximately 39 per cent in 2025. Invest Bangladesh is currently tracking a pipeline of USD 1.3 billion in prospective investments across several sectors and source markets. Turning that pipeline into operating projects remains a priority as Bangladesh works to become a regional manufacturing hub.

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