Bangladesh may face political uncertainty and sluggish private investment unless the parliamentary election takes place within the promised timeframe, a leading economist warned yesterday.

Political stability is vital for attracting investment, said Prof Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

He was addressing a debate organised by Debate for Democracy (DFD) at Bangladesh Film Development Corporation in Dhaka on problems and prospects of foreign investment following the Bangladesh Investment Summit 2025, which took place earlier this month.

The interim government, which took the oath of office in August 2024 following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina's government in a popular uprising, had earlier announced that the election would be held between December this year and June next year.

There was not that much interest regarding making investments in Bangladesh even though the summit presented the prospects, said Rahman.

It is not possible for Bangladesh to attain the level of development now visible in Singapore in the next 10 years, he said.

"However, we can achieve the level of development of Thailand if we can create an investment-friendly environment," he added.

The economist said an unrealistic scenario for investments was portrayed during the tenure of the previous government. The stock of foreign investment is $360 billion in Vietnam, whereas it is $22 billion in Bangladesh, he said.

Hassan Ahamed Chowdhury Kiron, chairman of the DFD, said Bangladesh would have to register a 33 percent economic growth to attain the level of development of Singapore.