Prime Minister’s Adviser on Post, Telecommunication, ICT, Science and Technology Rehan Asif Asad on Sunday outlined the government’s five priorities for ICT and telecom, a designated thrust sector.
The priorities include consistent and forward-looking policies under a five-year tax framework; improved mobile and broadband connectivity; Digital Public Infrastructure; development of AI-ready talent; and promotion of electronics manufacturing.
AmCham still a driver of commercial ties between US & Bangladesh
The adviser noted that the telecom sector currently faces an effective tax burden of 51-56 percent, compared with a global average of 22-27 percent, and stressed the need to remove the SIM tax.
He also highlighted the need to improve mobile and broadband connectivity, noting that Bangladesh ranks seventh globally in terms of subscribers but lags significantly in service quality.
On Digital Public Infrastructure, he proposed a “One Citizen, One ID, One Digital Wallet” system based on Estonia’s X-Road platform, which would be offered free of cost, with every ID connected to bank accounts and the National Board of Revenue.
He said Bangladesh needs to develop AI-ready talent by equipping the country’s 23,000-30,000 annual engineering and science graduates with skills in AI, cybersecurity and data, while also introducing these subjects into the school curriculum.
The adviser also stressed the need to promote electronics manufacturing through incentives similar to those provided to the garment sector, citing Vietnam’s growth in consumer electronics exports from $1 billion to $217 billion in a decade.
He cited a UN-ITU finding that every 10 percent improvement in broadband penetration contributes 1 percent to national GDP.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham) hosted a policy dialogue titled “Accelerating Bangladesh’s Digital Future: Policy Priorities for Innovation, Investment & ICT-Led Growth.”
In his opening remarks, Syed Mohammad Kamal, president of AmCham and vice president of Mastercard, thanked the government for ratifying the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), noting AmCham’s persistent engagement from the beginning and saying the final Act reflects most of its recommendations.
He also welcomed key measures in the Finance Act 2026, including tax exemptions for freelancers and content creators and customs relief on computers, digital devices and semiconductor-related materials.
Kamal called for greater clarity on the new digital permanent establishment provision linked to the 100,000-subscriber threshold. He also urged the government to reconsider the increase in ISPs’ turnover tax from 1 percent to 1.5 percent of gross receipts and ease inbound and outbound international payments for technology companies and startups.
He emphasised that involving foreign investors in policymaking and relevant national business forums would enrich policy formulation with global expertise and international best practices, helping create a more competitive, transparent and investment-friendly business environment in Bangladesh.
The dialogue, moderated by Rubaba Dowla, chair of the AmCham ICT Subcommittee and country managing director for Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan at Oracle, focused on four agendas: enabling a competitive digital economy; building trusted digital infrastructure; accelerating AI, innovation and talent; and strengthening government-industry partnership.
AmCham ICT sector leaders from Citibank N.A., Cisco, HSBC, Mastercard, MetLife, Pathao, PwC, Standard Chartered Bank, ShopUp, Visa and other member companies raised several issues.
These included introducing open-loop ticketing for metro and toll systems; opening Bangla QR and the “One Citizen, One Wallet” initiative to international payment networks; rectifying the 15 percent VAT waiver under the NBR Startup Sandbox, which they said risks creating anti-competitive outcomes; aligning the cloud policy for banks and non-bank financial institutions with the PDPA to allow the use of public cloud platforms; early formation of the National Data Governance Authority; enabling digital signatures and legally enforceable electronic agreements; strengthening national cybersecurity; and addressing the AI and data engineering talent gap through industry-academia collaboration.
In response, the adviser said Radio Frequency Identification-based automated toll collection is currently under trial.
He said Bangladesh Bank has agreed to open Bangla QR for inward international payments as a first step, while the “One Citizen, One ID” platform will be open to both domestic and international networks.
He also said the Startup Sandbox provisions would be fine-tuned in consultation with the wider startup community.
The adviser identified national cybersecurity as his immediate priority and announced that the formulation of a national AI policy would begin in the fourth quarter through a joint team comprising representatives from the private sector, government, academia and research community.
He underscored the urgent need to expand submarine cable capacity, saying the current capacity of six terabytes falls short of peak national demand of 12 terabytes, while traffic is doubling every two years.
He stressed that new submarine cables take two to three years to build and are fundamental to Bangladesh’s digital sovereignty.
The session concluded with a vote of thanks from Ala Uddin Ahmad, vice president of AmCham and chief executive officer of MetLife Bangladesh.
The dialogue brought together members of the AmCham Executive Committee, ICT sector representatives from AmCham member companies and officials from the U.S. Embassy, reflecting AmCham’s commitment to supporting Bangladesh’s digital transformation. The event was supported by Cisco.