Bangladesh Investment Development Authority

The Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) (বাংলাদেশ বিনিয়োগ উন্নয়ন কর্তৃপক্ষ) is the apex investment promotion agency (IPA) of Bangladesh. BIDA promotes and facilitates private investment and advocates business-friendly policies. BIDA provides regulatory services including registration, approvals and recommendations. BIDA is supervised by the Prime Minister's Office. The head office of BIDA is located in Dhaka and its divisional offices are in Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet and Barishal.

History
The Bangladesh Investment Development Authority was formed by the government of Bangladesh on 1 September 2016. It was formed through the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority Act. The authority was formed through the merger of Board of Investment and Privatisation Commission.

The authority has a 17 member governing body with the Prime Minister of Bangladesh as the chairman and the Finance Minister as the vice chairman. As of 2017 total Indian investment registered with the authority is over 3 billion USD.

Organization
The Prime Minister is the chair of the governing board of BIDA. The Finance Minister is the vice-chair. The governing board supervises the executive council, which is headed by the executive chairman (senior secretary) and made up of 6 (six) executive members.

Lokman Hossain Miah has been the Executive chairman of the authority since August 23, 2022. He has been appointed to the position for three years.

BIDA has six wings headed by executive members (additional secretary), which are: Strategic Investment, Marketing and Communication, International Investment Promotion, Local Investment Promotion, Investment Environment Services, Investment Ecosystem. The BIDA Secretary heads the administrative wing.

Services
BIDA is the first stop for investors exploring investment opportunities in Bangladesh. BIDA conducts active promotion of diversified investments in key strategic sectors and facilitates the entry, operation and growth of investment projects. BIDA also provides regulatory, information and aftercare services.

Following are the services offered by BIDA:


 * Pre-investment information and counseling service
 * Investor welcome service through speedier immigration
 * Registration/approval of foreign, joint-venture and local projects
 * Registration/approval of branch/liaison/representative offices
 * Work permit approval for the foreign nationals
 * Approval for remittance of royalty, technical know-how and technical assistance fees
 * Facilitating import of capital machinery & raw materials
 * Approval of foreign loan suppliers’ credit, PAYE scheme etc.
 * Facilitation for utility connections
 * Assistance in obtaining industrial plots

Online One Stop Service (OSS) portal
BIDA hosts the country's first inter-operable online One Stop Service (OSS) Portal. BIDA established this platform by driving the digitization and integration of the investor services of various ministries, departments and agencies in Bangladesh. There are currently 51 services of 16 agencies available on this single-window platform.

BIDA is working to integrate over 150 services of over 40 separate investor service providers. The International Finance Corporation, a development partner of BIDA, is providing technical assistance for the effective development of the OSS portal.