Invest Bangladesh has received the Special Recognition for Outstanding LDC Investment Promotion Agency at the WAIPA Investment Excellence Awards in Geneva, Switzerland.
His Excellency Riaz Hamidullah, Ambassador at Bangladesh’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, accepted the honour on behalf of Invest Bangladesh at 6pm Geneva time (11pm Bangladesh time) on Tuesday, 10 November.
The award was presented alongside the 30th World Investment Conference, organised by the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) and taking place in Geneva from 10 to 12 November. An independent international jury grants the Special Recognition to investment promotion agencies from least developed countries whose submissions meet a high standard of achievement.
The recognition highlighted two areas of work: Bangladesh’s reforms to make it easier to invest and Invest Bangladesh’s role in facilitating APM Terminals’ USD 550 million Laldia Container Terminal project. The state-of-the-art, fully electrified terminal is scheduled to open in 2030 and is expected to increase container-handling capacity at Chattogram Port, Bangladesh’s main seaport, by 44 per cent.
Ashik Chowdhury, Chairman of Invest Bangladesh, said:“I thank the Government for backing these reforms, our partners for helping put them into practice, and everyone at Invest Bangladesh who contributes to building a more responsive and investor-friendly experience. This recognition belongs to that collective effort.”
Bangladesh’s 2025 investment climate reforms were shaped by consultations with nearly 200 domestic and international investors. The measures included extending bonded warehouse facilities to partial exporters and digitalising and timebound security clearance for foreign professionals. The programme also advanced work to simplify foreign borrowing and capital repatriation. The Ambassador Programme brought agencies together to resolve longstanding issues for major investors, including Youngone. The FDI Heatmap identified 19 priority sectors to guide investment promotion.
Invest Bangladesh built on that work through its 180-day investment action plan, announced in March 2026, focusing on improving infrastructure, making government services easier for investors to access and helping prospective projects move towards implementation. Invest Bangladesh published an update on the plan in September. During that period, the merger that formed Invest Bangladesh brought investment facilitation, economic zones and public-private partnerships under one authority.
Bangladesh’s net foreign direct investment grew by approximately 39 per cent in 2025. Invest Bangladesh is currently tracking a pipeline of USD 1.3 billion in prospective investments across several sectors and source markets. Turning that pipeline into operating projects remains a priority as Bangladesh works to become a regional manufacturing hub.