United News of Bangladesh

Fourteen prominent domestic companies and industrial conglomerates have expressed keen interest in investing in closed and loss-making state-owned factories and submitted 86 investment proposals to the government, according to official sources. Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) is currently scrutinising the proposals, said its Public Relations officer Md Abu Hanif on Thursday. 5 private banks brought on board BIDA's One-Stop Service platform Industries Secretary Abdun Naser Khan said, "We have received investment proposals from various business houses. Following the passage of the Invest Bangladesh Act 2026 last month, the models for handing over closed state units—whether through long-term lease, profit-sharing, or other mechanisms—will be finalised once the framing of guidelines under the new law is completed." He expressed optimism that the process would be finalised shortly. The interested conglomerates have proposed ventures spanning agriculture and agro-processing, electric vehicles and motorcycle manufacturing, data centers and digital infrastructure, food and water processing, light engineering, and renewable energy. The government initiated efforts in June to restart closed state-owned manufacturing units. BIDA initially shortlisted 44 state-owned enterprises eligible for private sector handover. These include 13 units under the Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation (BSFIC), 12 under the Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation (BTMC), 10 under the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC), five under the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC), and four under the Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation (BSEC). When BIDA invited expressions of interest (EOI), four standalone companies and 10 major industrial groups submitted 80 investment proposals, which later expanded to 86. Both Paragon Group and Kazi Farms Group have submitted proposals to invest in Thakurgaon Sugar Mills. Meanwhile, Nabil Group, BRAC Seed & Agro Enterprise, and Milk Vita have all expressed interest in taking over Setabganj Sugar Mills. The revival initiative gained momentum following a high-level meeting at the Prime Minister's Office on July 4, where Prime Minister Tarique Rahman directed authorities to expedite the process of reopening non-profitable state-owned factories through domestic and foreign investments. Subsequently, on July 8, Industries and Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir chaired a meeting at the Ministry of Industries, where participating companies presented their viewpoints, leading to a decision to form an effective committee to finalise the investment frameworks. Major Conglomerates and Their Investment Plans- PRAN-RFL Group: Leading the pack with 35 investment proposals covering 16 state-owned factories. Their plans include single and joint investments in automobile assembly, eco-tourism, agro-industry, construction materials, ready-mix concrete, paper mills, solar power, footwear, furniture, poultry, and dairy farming. PRAN-RFL has already revived Rajshahi Textile Mill and Rajshahi Jute Mill under Public-Private Partnerships (PPP), employing 3,500 people, and recently secured leases for Star Jute Mills in Dighalia, Khulna, and National Jute Mills in Sirajganj on August 11. Akij Resource Group: Submitted 12 proposals through two subsidiaries. Akij Agro & Livestock submitted three proposals for agriculture, solar power, and cold storage at three sugar mills, while Akij Electric & Electronics submitted nine proposals across light engineering, furniture, rubber, electric vehicles, power, and IT sectors. TK Group: Placed 10 proposals focusing on manufacturing automobile parts, electric vehicle assembly, leather footwear, and solar panel glass under long-term leases. BRAC Seed & Agro Enterprise: Submitted nine proposals for long-term leasing of Setabganj Sugar Mills to set up research and development, fruit and vegetable processing, organic fertilizer production, seed-potato multiplication, cold storage, and solar energy generation. Kazi Farms Group: Submitted four proposals targeting land acquisition or long-term lease of Khulna Newsprint Mills, Dhaka Leather, Pragoti Industries, Thakurgaon Sugar Mills, and Panchagarh Sugar Mills for agro-processing, corn starch, food processing, and beverage production. Transcom Group: Submitted three proposals for new investments across closed units of four state agencies. Nabil Group: Submitted two proposals targeting Rajshahi Sugar Mills and Setabganj Sugar Mills for sugar beet, integrated farming, and agro-processing projects. Paragon Group: Proposed establishing agro-processing, animal feed manufacturing, solar power plants, and rice/maize cultivation on sugar mill lands. Square Food & Beverage: Interested in agro-processing and setting up small-scale cold storage facilities. Milk Vita: Proposed installing a modern refinery with a daily capacity of 30,000 liters at Setabganj Sugar Mills. Gram Unnayan Karma (GUK): Submitted three proposals targeting electric vehicles, agricultural machinery, and sericulture. Active Fine Chemicals: Submitted a joint-venture proposal to produce Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) and biopharmaceuticals. Excellent Ceramics Group: Submitted three proposals focusing on EV assembly, battery systems, engineering, tiles, sanitaryware, and tableware manufacturing. Bengal Meat Processing Industry: Submitted proposals targeting the agro-food sector. Nahian Rahman, Executive Member of BIDA, said, “Following the Prime Minister's meeting on July 4, we formulated a draft policy within three weeks to transfer closed state units to private management.”  “We held consultations with private entrepreneurs on July 28, and we expect the policy framework—encompassing long-term leases, profit-sharing, or other models—to be passed within a month,” he added.

Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Wednesday thanked the United Arab Emirates for significant progress towards resuming visas for Bangladeshi nationals and welcomed investment proposals from the country in various sectors. Professor Yunus conveyed his gratitude to Sheikh Nahayan Bin Mobarak Al Nahayan, Cabinet Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence of the UAE, who led a high-level delegation in a meeting with the Chief Adviser at the State Guest House Jamuna. The UAE delegates led by Al Nahayan, also a former minister for higher education, arrived on a short visit in Dhaka at 2:45pm when they were received by Chief Adviser’s Special Envoy Lutfey Siddiqi at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. Ahmed Bin AliAl Sayegh, minister of state, ministry of foreign affairs, UAE, Mohammed Abdul Rahman Al Hawi, under-secretary of the ministry of investment, were part of the delegates. “I am here under the instruction of our President to express solidarity and underline our friendship with Bangladesh,” Al Nahayan told the Chief Adviser. “We appreciate the enhanced dialogue that our two governments have been arranging in recent times. We wish to assure and collaborate in all areas from investment to visas,” Al Nahayan said. Appreciating the gesture, Chief Adviser Professor Yunus said, “We welcome the engagement and support, we also welcome investment in a range of industries.” Bangladesh urges calm as tensions rise between India and Pakistan Mentioning the relaxation of visa regime, the Chief Adviser said, “Thank you for opening the door. Few steps still need to be taken, we hope that we will remain engaged and resolve those issues.” The UAE recently started issuing between 30 to 50 visit visas on a daily basis. Bulk visas for business delegations have also been expedited in recent weeks. Besides, the online system for skilled employment visas has been reactivated by the Ministry of Human Resources. Visas for marketing managers, hotel staff, etc. have issued via this route in recent weeks. Five hundred visas for security guards have just been issued with another thousand approved in the immediate pipeline. UAE Ambassador to Dhaka Abdullah Ali Al Hmodi and Bangladesh Ambassador to UAE Tareq Ahmed were also present at the meeting. The UAE delegates left Bangladesh after the meeting.

The investment proposals registered by Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) grew by 46.33 per cent in July-September 2021. This has been a marked improvement from July- September period of 2020 when the investment inflow fell due to worsening Covid-19 pandemic situation. BIDA, an entity attached with the Prime Minister Office, provided registration to 189 companies with investment proposals of Tk20463 crore in the three months (July-September) this year. A total 177 domestic companies have taken registration in July-September 2021 period with investment proposals of Tk18586 crore. Read: 184 industrial establishments get BIDA registration in 3 months In the similar period 7 foreign nationals-owned companies and 5-joint venture companies have taken registration with investment proposals of Tk 1877crore. The investors have preferred the agriculture based industries to textile, services and engineering sector to invest money. If the proposed investment is executed, the jobs opportunity of 28850 would be created. Bangladesh, growing rapidly over a decade, is on its way to becoming the next Asian Tiger. Economic and political stability are driving its journey towards the future. Currently the world’s 41st largest economy, Bangladesh will be the 25th largest economy by 2035, according to BIDA. Read: BIDA, BBF join hands to boost FDI BIDA is working to accelerate industrialization and employment. The entity has been providing transparent investor services of different organizations all in one place.