Separate programme on share market may be incorporated in next investment summit: Bida chief

The recently concluded Bangladesh Investment Summit 2025 focused on discussions regarding renewable energy, digital economy, textile and apparel, healthcare and pharma, and the agro-processing sectors. 

However, there was no discussion on the share market.

This issue was raised during a press conference held yesterday (13 April) at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka's Bailey Road.

When asked why the share market was not discussed, Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, the executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida), said, "The focus of our event this time was on primary investors – those who will primarily invest equity in institutions. Next time, we may hold a blended summit that includes both primary and secondary market investors, where many issues will be addressed."

Explaining why the share market was not discussed this time, he said, "The share market, our secondary market, is important for our investment. Compared to the size of our total GDP, the flow in the money and stock markets is relatively small compared to other large countries."

"One reason for this is that our GDP movement is somewhat dependent on the stock market. The second reason is that our focus this time was on primary investors, who primarily invest equity in institutions. They are not players in the secondary market."

Ashik said, "At the investment summit, you saw that we brought in those who work in the venture capital market and make initial investments in startups."

"The criteria for secondary market investors are significantly different. We don't need to show economic zones to those investing in the secondary market. They can make many decisions by looking at the Dhaka Stock Exchange [DSE] website. We need to organise a separate programme for them," he added. 

The four-day summit was held at the InterContinental Hotel in Dhaka from 7 to 10 April. The chief adviser officially inaugurated it on 9 April. The opening ceremony had 710 attendees, including 415 foreign delegates from 50 countries and 295 local participants. 

Throughout the four-day event, around 3,500 participants joined breakout sessions, roundtable discussions, and various other activities.   

On 7 and 8 April, around 70 investors were taken on tours of export processing and economic zones in Chattogram and Dhaka to showcase the real picture of the investment environment. 

Simultaneously, a separate session was held for startups in Dhaka. 

On the morning of 9 April, plans for developing the investment system and Bangladesh's ambitions were shared. On the final day, 10 April, discussions were held in four sessions, including textile and apparel. 

The summit was jointly hosted by the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida) and the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza).