The Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) has unveiled investment portfolios for 44 state-owned enterprises (SOEs), inviting private sector participation to revive underperforming industrial assets, generate employment, and reduce the government’s fiscal burden.

Under the initiative, both local and foreign investors will be able to participate through public-private partnerships (PPPs), joint ventures, long-term leases, and other investment models.

Announcing the initiative, BIDA Executive Chairman Ashik Chowdhury said the portfolio includes 44 investment opportunities across the steel, textiles, chemicals, sugar, food, and jute sectors, spanning more than 10,000 acres of industrial land.

In a statement shared on social media, he said:

“We are calling on investors to join us in revitalising state-owned enterprises through private sector investment. This win-win approach offers the private sector an opportunity to grow through plug-and-play industrial facilities, while the government benefits from job creation and a lower fiscal burden.”

Chowdhury noted that many of the identified enterprises are located on strategically valuable sites with existing utilities, transport connectivity, and established industrial ecosystems.

“We are engaging with both local and foreign investors to bring these assets back into productive use,” he added.

According to BIDA, investors will have access to transparent investment structures, streamlined approval processes, and coordinated facilitation to acquire or operate these industrial assets. Detailed information on each opportunity is available on BIDA’s website.

The portfolio includes:

• 4 industrial units under the Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation (BSEC)
• 10 under the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC)
• 13 under the Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation (BSFIC)
• 12 under the Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation (BTMC)
• 5 under the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC)

The announcement comes a day after a meeting in which Prime Minister Tarique Rahman instructed the relevant authorities to accelerate the reopening of suspended and loss-making state-owned factories by attracting both domestic and foreign investment.

Source: The Financial Express