Foreign investment in Bangladesh capital market doubled in 2014: Report

Taka gaining against the US Dollar and declining share prices in 2014 helped Bangladesh’s capital market to attract foreign investment twice the amount of 2013, a Bangladesh Bank report reveals.

More than 60 percent of it came from American investors.

Last year, the Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchanges received about $714 million investment from 19 countries.

American investors led the list with an investment of $471.1 million, which is 65.97 percent of the total foreign investment, according to the report.

Swiss investors followed with $120.8 million and the UK with $53.6 million.

Countries that invested in Bangladesh’s capital market last year include Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Germany Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Sweden.

International investment body IFC, too, invested.

ABM Mirza Azizul Islam, former chairman of market regulator SEC, said it was only natural for financial institutions of the US, Switzerland and UK to lead the top investors’ list.

“These countries have top financial companies in the world. They invest after analysing the whole scenario and it’s quite natural that they have the most investment in Bangladesh’s capital market,” he told bdnews24.com.

However, in the same year, foreign investors withdrew about $296.1 million – out of $347.4 million they invested in 2013, according to the central bank report.

Islam said foreign investors took advantage of huge slumps in capital market. 

"They went back after grabbing the windfall," he said.