Dhaka: Invest Bangladesh has extended an invitation to relevant stakeholders to offer their opinions on a draft policy designed to rejuvenate distressed, non-operational, and closed state-owned industrial and commercial enterprises, along with their unused land and facilities, to bring them back into productive economic use.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, this initiative aims to enhance industrial production, attract both domestic and foreign investment, and generate employment opportunities. The transfer of state-owned assets, shares, and ownership interests, or strategic divestiture, will be executed through transparent and competitive processes, as stated in a press release.
The draft, titled "Policy on the Transfer of State-Owned Industrial or Commercial Enterprises or Their Unused Land or Facilities, Transfer of Shares and Ownership Interests, or Strategic Divestiture," was prepared by Invest Bangladesh. This was done under the authority granted by Section 48 of the Invest Bangladesh Act, 2026 (Act No. 104 of 2026).
The proposed policy outlines an integrated framework that includes due diligence and valuation of enterprises and assets, determination of appropriate transaction structures, investor attraction, and selection through transparent and competitive processes. It aims to safeguard public interest, ensure fair economic value for state assets, and provide mechanisms for post-transaction implementation and monitoring.
As part of the policy development process, Invest Bangladesh conducted a consultation with public and private sector stakeholders on July 12, 2026. Following this, the Ministry of Industries invited comments from relevant stakeholders on August 18.
Invest Bangladesh has reviewed the opinions received and incorporated those deemed relevant and reasonable into the draft policy as much as possible. The agency is now seeking further comments to enhance the policy's effectiveness, practicality, transparency, and investment-friendliness.
Various stakeholders, including relevant ministries and divisions, government departments and agencies, state-owned enterprises, business and industry associations, domestic and foreign investors, financial institutions, professionals, experts, and others have been asked to review the draft and provide their observations or recommendations.
Stakeholders are required to submit their comments prepared in Bangla using the Nikosh font, both as a scanned copy of the signed comments and an editable Word file, by September 17, 2026. Submissions should be emailed to [email protected] with the subject line: "Comments on Strategic_Divestiture Policy."