Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Allowed foreign entities to open offshore bank accounts to boost FDI

05 Mar 2024

On 5 March 2024, the Parliament of Bangladesh passed the Offshore Banking Act 2024 to attract foreign investment. Under this legislation, non-resident individuals or foreign entities can now open offshore bank accounts upon obtaining a license from the Bangladesh Bank. Those already licensed need not apply for a new one. However, only scheduled banks operating within Bangladesh are permitted to engage in offshore banking activities. The act permits offshore banking transactions to be conducted in five major currencies: US dollars, pound sterling, euros, Japanese yen, and Chinese yuan. Notably, no income tax or other charges will be levied on the interest or profits earned by offshore banking units (“OBUs”), and no fees will be imposed on depositor or foreign lender accounts.

  • UNCTAD has been collecting information on changes in national foreign direct investment (FDI) policies on an annual basis since 1992. This collection has provided input to the analysis of global and regional investment policy trends in the World Investment Report, the Investment Policy Monitors and the UNCTAD-OECD Reports on G20 Measures.

    In 2024, to further strengthen the quality of reporting, UNCTAD revised the methodology of monitoring investment policy measures. and revised the measures going back to 2012 accordingly.

    The Investment Policy Monitor provides the international investment community with country-specific, up-to-date information about the latest developments in foreign investment policies.

    Through its monitoring of investment policy changes, UNCTAD offers cutting-edge and innovative contributions to investment policy discourse, and contributes to preparing the ground for future policymaking in the interest of making foreign investment work for sustainable development.

  • The UNCTAD's Investment Policy Monitor database include official measures affecting FDI adopted by United Nations Member States. These encompass measures explicitly targeting FDI (FDI-specific), as well as general investment measures with a clear impact on foreign investment (FDI-related). The measures are either reported directly to UNCTAD by Member States through annual surveys or identified by UNCTAD researchers through publicly accessible sources (such as government websites and specialized policy databases). The classification of measures as more or less favourable is based solely on their potential impact on investors.

    Note: Measures are verified, to the fullest extent possible, by referencing government sources. The compilation of measures is not exhaustive.

    Disclaimer: the boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.

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