CPD scholars find investment climate poorest in ten years

Economic think-tank Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) organized a seminar in the capital's Dhanmondi on Saturday (10 January 2026) in which the existing investment climate in Bangladesh was discussed and evaluated. Speakers and researchers who addressed the seminar said that at present Bangladesh is going through the lowest pit in terms of investment compared to last 10 years. CPD Executive Director Dr. Fahmida Khatun talked in details about foreign direct investment (FDI) as well as investment from local entrepreneurs. CPD scholars have stated that inflation in Bangladesh has become highly intensified while the country's banking system is suffering from insurmountable woes. It will make the elected government's job very much challenging, Dr. Fahmida Khatun commented while presenting the keynote paper at the program.

Dr. Fahmida Khatun said that the prices of rice have gone down by nearly 40 percent in a lot of countries worldwide whereas rice price has mounted in Bangladesh, she further said. CPD Distinguished Fellow Professor Dr. Mustafizur Rahman and CPD Research Fellow Dr. Khondaker Golam Moazzem expressed their opinions too at the seminar.

Discussants at the seminar said that foreign direct investment was expected to be 32 crore dollars in April 2025 in Bangladesh but the current investment scenario has reached a disastrous plight. Bangladesh interim government's Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus and Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Executive President Chowdhury Ashik Bin Harun visited a great deal of countries since August 2024 but a satisfactory magnitude of investment could not be yet obtained, CPD financial analysts told the audiences.

At the same time stability and public confidence on the banking sector could not be yet fortified, according to CPD officials. Dr. Mustafizur Rahman said that a huge portion of Bangladesh's annual budget is being spent to pay back external loans. Dr. Mustafizur Rahman termed this phenomenon as an enormous risk factor for Bangladesh that the country's economy has become extensively dependent on loans from internal and external money lenders. Researchers and prominent citizens at the seminar focused on certain statistical figures and said that the implementation of the annual development program or ADP has gone down to the slimmest ever percentage compared to last one decade. 

Investment in Bangladesh's private sector has hit the rock bottom too, CPD researchers illustrated in their assessment.

CPD dignitaries laid emphasis on gearing up revenue collection and encouraging people to pay taxes to the government. Economists at the seminar also urged the government to keep sharp eyes on the expenditures in mega projects to restrain the wastage of funds and to curb corruption. Researchers at the event blamed syndicates, hoarders and monopolists for abnormal rise in the prices of foodstuff including flour and rice.

Dr. Fahmida Khatun remarked that the elected government will have to work hard tirelessly to restore integrity, discipline and accountability in the financial sector and banking system with highest priority. She also called upon all stakeholders to establish transparency in development programs' costs. A lot of importance was placed on building up efficient human resources, fighting corruption, diversifying exports and bolstering remittances. Improving the law and order situation is vital too, Dr. Fahmida Khatun added.