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Bangladesh invites Korean investment as nation seeks reboot as modern business hub

Published: 21 Oct. 2025, 17:32

SEO JI-EUN
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Ashik Chowdhury, Executive Chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), right, and Bangladesh Ambassador Toufiq Islam Shatil speak in a roundtable interview hosted after the “Gateway to Growth: Invest in Bangladesh” business seminar held at Hotel Pullman Ambassador Seoul Eastpole in eastern Seoul on Tuesday. [SEO JI-EUN]

Bangladesh's new technocratic leadership is seeking to reposition the South Asian country as a modern, investor-friendly hub following a year of political turmoil that reshaped Dhaka's economic governance.

Ashik Chowdhury, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), said his administration's top priority is rebuilding investor confidence through structural reform and greater transparency at the “Gateway to Growth: Invest in Bangladesh” business seminar co-hosted with the Federation of Korean Industries in Seoul on Tuesday.

"It's a different Bangladesh," Chowdhury told the Korea JoongAng Daily during a media roundtable afterward, describing a technocratic government led by engineers and economists focused on "national interest and helping the investors blend in a better way."

A former private-sector finance executive based in Singapore, Chowdhury returned to Dhaka last year to join the government’s postcrisis effort to bring private-sector professionals into leadership roles.

Bangladesh currently ranks as the fifth-largest FDI destination for Korean investors, with over 150 Korean companies operating in sectors such as textiles, footwear and light engineering, contributing more than $1.56 billion, according to the Bangladesh Embassy in Seoul. Among the earliest investors, Youngone Corporation shared its success story at the event.

"Our vision is clear: to move from being a manufacturing hub for textiles and garments to a diversified, knowledge-based economy," said Bangladesh Ambassador Toufiq Islam Shatil. "To achieve that, we are inviting Korean companies to explore new sectors like electronics, ICT, renewable energy, shipbuilding, automotive parts, agribusiness and health care.

The two countries are also accelerating talks on a Korea-Bangladesh Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), launched in August, which is expected to broaden trade and investment beyond the traditional manufacturing base.

Shatil called his country "one of South Asia's most promising and stable platforms," urging more Korean businesses to expand their footprint. He stressed that while Korea’s FDI in India exceeds $8 billion, its footprint in Bangladesh "remains at a modest level," reflecting both "untapped potential and need for greater engagement."

Officials highlighted Bangladesh’s strong fundamentals, including an average annual GDP growth of 6 to 7 percent, a 75-million-strong young labor force, competitive production costs and expanding port infrastructure, as key draws for investors.

Some Korean businesses in Bangladesh raised concerns over visa delays and customs bottlenecks during the seminar.

Chowdhurry said BIDA has identified recurring investor complaints and is resolving them through a new relationship-management team in BIDA and periodic progress reports. He also emphasized that reform discussions now include all major political parties to ensure policy continuity ahead of next year’s elections, while public procurement rules have been revised to give SMEs greater access to contracts.

Addressing comparisons with China's Belt and Road Initiative, Chowdhury said Dhaka’s engagements with Beijing and Seoul are “completely separate,” noting that Chinese cooperation focuses on heavy infrastructure and industrial parks, while Korean partnerships center on advanced technology and private-public partnership projects such as airports and CEPA.

Yet he acknowledged that China has been the largest investor over the last five years and that track is "continuing as we move along."

BY SEO JI-EUN [[email protected]]