United News of Bangladesh

Invest Bangladesh officially started operations on Sunday following the publication of the gazette notification under the Invest Bangladesh Act, 2026. Formed through the merger of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA), the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA), and the Public-Private Partnership Authority (PPPA), the new entity now serves as the country’s apex investment promotion agency operating directly under the Prime Minister’s Office. The agency also unveiled its new brand identity, marking its transition into a unified national investment platform designed to give domestic and international investors a single point of access, according to a press release. The unified authority integrates investment facilitation, policy coordination, economic zone development, and public-private partnership capabilities into one institution, addressing a long-standing demand for a simplified and coordinated mechanism. "This is more than an institutional merger. It is about organising the government more effectively around the investor," said Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, chairman of Invest Bangladesh. "By uniting our capabilities, we aim to provide clearer accountability and more coordinated support across the investment journey,” he added. Under the provisions of the Invest Bangladesh Act, 2026, the agency is empowered to bring economic zones, free-trade zones, and declared industrial areas under an integrated framework, define timelines for licenses and approvals, simplify procedures for PPP projects, bring underused state assets into productive use, and consolidate investment services onto a single digital platform. Invest Bangladesh will continue to operate “BanglaBiz”, the country’s single digital portal for investment services, enabling online and time-bound access to business permits. The agency is currently working to implement a 14-day business licensing framework and will publish a progress report before the end of its 180-day reform period. As part of the operational transition, regular employees from BIDA, BEZA, and PPPA are being absorbed into equivalent positions with full continuity of service and existing benefits protected, while outsourced personnel and daily-wage workers continue under their current contracts.