Foreign investment grew to 67.94 per cent last year

Bangladesh has received Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) worth $3.61billion in last year, registering 67.94 percent year-on-year growth, mainly because of major investment by Japan Tobacco Inc.

Last November, the Japanese tobacco company completed the agreement of acquisition of Akij Group's tobacco business with an investment worth $1.47billion, the biggest ever single FDI in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) revealed the compiled investment data of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) at a briefing at Hotel Pan Pacific Sonargaon in Dhaka today.

Bangladesh is the highest recipient of the FDI in 2018, among its South Asian peers, it said.

Also, last year’s total amount is the highest-ever FDI inflow in the history of Bangladesh, as the country received $2.15billion in 2017, BIDA said.

Among other South Asian nations, India in 2018 received FDI worth $42.29 billion, 6 per cent up from the previous year, Nepal received $160.8 million and Sri Lanka received $1.61billion, which are 24 per cent and 17 per cent more. Maldives’ FDI grew by 12 percent year-on-year to reach $551.8 million in 2018.

Two South Asian countries also experienced declining trend in attracting FDI last year. Pakistan’s FDI declined by 27 percent year-on-year to log at $2.35billion in 2018. Similarly, Bhutan’s FDI inflow declined by 160 percent year-on-year to log at $5.9million last year.