Bangladesh’s net foreign direct investment (FDI) rose 12.78 percent year-on-year to US$346.94 million in April-June 2026, driven mainly by a sharp increase in reinvested earnings by existing foreign investors.
According to the latest FDI statistics released by Bangladesh Bank, reinvested earnings increased 55.08 percent to $260.91 million during the quarter, indicating continued profitability and reinvestment by foreign-owned businesses operating in the country, said an Invest Bangladesh press release today.
Net equity investment, however, declined 4.77 percent year-on-year to $77.42 million, while net intra-company lending fell 85.17 percent to $8.61 million, reflecting substantial repayments of existing obligations despite gross inflows of $333.80 million.
The figures indicate that reinvestment by existing investors remained the principal driver of FDI growth, while fresh equity investment and net intra-company financing faced challenges amid global economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and rising energy costs.
In the non-export processing zone (non-EPZ) category, net FDI increased 20.75 percent year-on-year to $280.88 million in April-June 2026.
Net FDI in economic zones stood at $4.51 million, down 25.33 percent from the same period a year earlier, but significantly higher than $0.42 million in the preceding quarter.
Nahian Rahman Rochi, Member of the Investment Development Wing of Invest Bangladesh, said the year-on-year increase in overall FDI was encouraging amid continued global economic uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and higher energy costs.
“Fresh equity investment remains challenging as investors globally continue to take a cautious approach. At the same time, the strong growth in reinvested earnings is an important positive signal as it demonstrates confidence among existing investors in the long-term prospects of their operations,” he said.
He said reinvestment could support further business expansion, employment generation and growth in productive capacity.
“Our focus remains on improving the fundamentals of the investment climate to attract stronger and more sustainable FDI over time,” Rochi said, adding that recent investment announcements by leading international companies were encouraging.
He said Invest Bangladesh was working to advance its $1.3 billion investment pipeline to move more projects towards investment decisions and implementation.
On economic zones, Rochi said the agency was working to improve investment readiness and accelerate the development of infrastructure to attract more foreign investors.
The Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone, which had faced delays for more than a decade, was now under development, with a target of 2028 and approximately $500 million in prospective investment, he said.
Rochi also referred to Invest Bangladesh’s published 180-day progress report, which outlines achievements and outstanding work in improving the investment climate.
He said the focus would remain on translating investment interest into operational businesses, increased productive capacity and employment opportunities.