Bangladesh merges three investment agencies under new Invest Bangladesh authority

Invest Bangladesh formally began operations Thursday after the government merged three agencies in an effort to streamline services and reduce barriers for investors.

The new statutory authority combines the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA), and Public-Private Partnership Authority (PPPA). Its responsibilities include promoting domestic and foreign investment, identifying opportunities, removing investment barriers, and coordinating with government agencies.

Nahian Rahman Rochi, head of business development, said investors had sought a single point of contact for services.

“Our objective will be to make Invest Bangladesh that single point of access, providing investors with a more coordinated, seamless and accountable experience throughout their investment journey,” Rochi said.

Bangladesh ranked 168th among 190 economies in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking, published in its Doing Business 2020 report. Bangladesh ranks 120th out of 184 countries in the Heritage Foundation’s 2026 Index of Economic Freedom and 127th out of 165 jurisdictions in the Fraser Institute’s 2025 Economic Freedom of the World report.