More than 200 foreign companies are operating businesses in Bangladesh, repatriating large amounts of money to their home countries every year. Foreign companies repatriated $6.15 billion in dividends, profits and income over the past five fiscal years, from 2021–22 to 2025–26, according to Bangladesh Bank data. Based on the average exchange rate of the Bangladeshi taka, the repatriated amount was equivalent to around BDT 700 billion. Companies in the telecommunications, oil, gas, minerals and power, ready-made garment and textile, banking, insurance and leasing, and other sectors were among the leading repatriators of funds, according to central bank sources.

For several years, multinational companies operating in Bangladesh faced difficulties repatriating dividends, paying royalties and conducting transactions in foreign currencies due to the dollar shortage. Bangladesh Bank’s statistics on fund repatriation show that around $1.38 billion was repatriated in the 2021–22 fiscal year, during the Covid-19 pandemic. At the average exchange rate for that fiscal year, the amount was equivalent to BDT 129.4 billion.

In the following fiscal year, 2022–23, repatriation fell by around 52 percent to $660.5 million, equivalent to BDT 70.1 billion. The country was facing a severe dollar shortage at the time, and the exchange rate rose from BDT 93.45 to BDT 106 per dollar.

Repatriation rose again to around $1.11 billion in the 2023–24 fiscal year, equivalent to BDT 132.1 billion at the average exchange rate. In 2024–25, the amount reached $1.52 billion (BDT 187.14 billion), the highest in five years. In the latest fiscal year, 2025–26, around $1.46 billion (BDT 179.4 billion) was repatriated, about 4 percent less than the previous year.

Officials from Bangladesh Bank’s Foreign Exchange Policy Department and other relevant departments said the dollar shortage began in mid-2022 and intensified in 2023. Many foreign companies were consequently unable to repatriate profits for three years, from 2022 to 2024. The central bank had also imposed restrictions on such transfers.

Consequently, profit repatriation fell to just $660 million in the 2022–23 fiscal year, but restrictions on profit repatriation were eased in early 2025, allowing companies to repatriate profits from 2022 and the following two years during the last fiscal year. The amount repatriated in 2024–25 consequently exceeded $1.5 billion.

Bangladesh Bank views the large-scale repatriation of profits by foreign companies as a positive development. Arif Hossain Khan, executive director and spokesperson of the central bank, told Bonik Barta, “The large amount of profits repatriated by foreign companies from Bangladesh means that it’s possible to make good profits by investing in the country. We’ll also encourage other foreign companies to come forward and invest in Bangladesh. There’s a business-friendly environment here, along with sufficient opportunities for investment and profit-making.”

The central bank spokesperson also urged local investors to draw on the experience of foreign companies. He said, “Foreign companies have brought not only capital but also modern technology and efficient management to the country. They’re making substantial profits by putting these to use. There’s much for local entrepreneurs and investors to learn from this. We want local entrepreneurs to follow the example of foreign companies and come forward with investments. This will strengthen the country’s economy while also saving a substantial amount of foreign currency.”

Companies from five sectors are currently the leading repatriators of profits from Bangladesh. Telenor Mobile Communications AS of Norway owns a 55.8 percent stake in Grameenphone, the country’s largest mobile operator. Telenor received BDT 222.17 billion in dividends from the company over the 24 years from 2002 to 2025, according to Grameenphone’s financial reports.

In the telecommunications sector, Axiata Investments (Labuan) Ltd of Malaysia, a subsidiary of Malaysia’s Axiata Group owns a 61.8 percent stake in Robi Axiata Ltd, the country’s second-largest mobile operator. Bharti International (Singapore) Private Ltd is owned by Bharti Airtel and holds a 28.2 percent stake in Robi Axiata. Axiata and Bharti International are also among the leading telecommunications companies in terms of fund repatriation from Bangladesh over the past five fiscal years.

Among companies in the oil, gas, minerals and power sectors, US-based Chevron Bangladesh tops the list of companies repatriating funds from Bangladesh. Under production-sharing contracts (PSCs), Chevron operates the Bibiyana, Jalalabad and Moulvibazar gas fields, and sells all its gas and condensate to Petrobangla. Bibiyana began production in 2007 and is now the country’s largest gas field. Chevron produces around 60 percent of Bangladesh’s domestic gas and 83 percent of its condensate, according to company data. Its foreign direct investment in projects in Bangladesh exceeds $4.2 billion.

Summit Power International Ltd is also among the leading companies in terms of fund repatriation. Registered in Singapore, the company is the parent of Summit Corporation Ltd. Through its subsidiary Summit Power Ltd, it operates 15 power plants in Bangladesh with a combined installed capacity of 975.96 MW. Summit Power International was established in 2016 in partnership with the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and co-investors. Japan’s JERA bought a 22 percent stake in the company for $330 million in 2019. Victoria Holdings B.V. is also among the leading companies in the sector in terms of fund repatriation from Bangladesh over the past five fiscal years.

Among companies in the ready-made garment and textile sector, R-PAC International Holding Co LLC (US), Unichela (Private) Ltd (Sri Lanka) and Paxar B.V. (Netherlands) are the leading repatriators of funds.

New York-based R-PAC International is one of the world’s largest suppliers of labels and packaging materials to the global apparel industry, operating at more than 25 locations worldwide. Sri Lankan company Unichela was established in 1986 in partnership with US-based Mast Industries and is well known for manufacturing women’s lingerie.

The Paxar Group is part of US-based Avery Dennison. Avery Dennison acquired Paxar Corporation in 2007. In Bangladesh, Paxar Bangladesh Ltd is a fully export-oriented manufacturer of apparel labels and operates in an export processing zone (EPZ).

Standard Chartered Bank (London), American Life Insurance Company (ALICO) and ASP Fin Asset and Liability Management (Hong Kong) are among the top three fund repatriators in the banking, leasing and insurance sectors. Operating in Bangladesh since 1905, Standard Chartered Bank is the country’s largest foreign bank. American Life Insurance Company has been operating in Bangladesh since 1952 and is the country’s largest life insurer. It was renamed under the “MetLife” brand in 2015, although its registered name remains American Life Insurance Company. Since 2010, it has been wholly owned by US-based MetLife.

Among companies from other sectors, Unilever UKCR Ltd of the UK, The Raleigh Investment Company Limited and Marico Ltd are among the leading companies repatriating funds from Bangladesh over the past five years.

Unilever is involved in the consumer goods business in Bangladesh. In 2020, Unilever acquired an 82 percent stake in GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Bangladesh for around BDT 20.20 billion. The Company Ltd is the principal shareholder of British American Tobacco Bangladesh Company (BATBC), one of the country’s largest tobacco companies, holding a 72.91 percent stake in BATBC.

India’s Marico Ltd, the parent company of Marico Bangladesh Ltd, owns a 90 percent stake in the Bangladeshi company and operates a consumer goods business in Bangladesh. Over the past five years, Marico Bangladesh has repatriated more than BDT 20 billion to its Indian parent company as dividends.

In recent years, macroeconomic challenges, sluggish private-sector investment and high inflation have reduced people’s purchasing power, which has had a negative impact on the businesses and profits of multinational companies. The impact is reflected in the financial results of companies listed on the country’s stock market. In addition to rising business costs squeezing profits, multinational companies have also faced difficulties repatriating funds, resulting in lower dividend payments.

A review of dividend payments by 13 listed multinational companies over three fiscal years, from 2021 to 2023, shows that the dividend payout ratio of six companies declined consistently during the period. The trend continues to this day.

Rupali Haque Chowdhury, president of the Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), told Bonik Barta, “Given the overall business environment in the country, profit repatriation may decline in the 2025–26 fiscal year compared with the previous year. If businesses don’t perform well or profits don’t grow, companies may declare lower dividends.”

She further said, “If we look at the top 10 companies in the stock market, we’ll see that while profits have increased for some, they’ve declined for many others; some have even incurred losses. In other words, large companies aren’t seeing the desired growth in business overall, reflecting in GDP forecasts and actual GDP growth.”

Of the three subcategories in which foreign investment in Bangladesh is recorded, reinvested earnings and inter-company loans account for the larger shares. But the actual picture of foreign investment is reflected mainly in equity capital, which represents new capital. As Bangladesh has not been receiving a steady flow of new foreign investment, this component remains relatively small. In the 2024–25 fiscal year, both the registration of foreign investment proposals and the inflow of equity capital declined. During the fiscal year, $554.77 million in equity capital entered the country, around 17 percent less than in the previous fiscal year.

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) play a central role in the step-by-step value addition process in global manufacturing by organising production networks, setting standards and controlling market access. But the participation of multinational companies in value addition in goods and services and in exports remains limited in Bangladesh.

A recent report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), titled “Global Value Chains and Inclusive Development: Asian Development Policy Report”, found that multinational companies’ contribution to Bangladesh’s GDP is less than 5 percent, and their contribution to exports has also not reached 5 percent.

Dr M Masrur Reaz, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Policy Exchange Bangladesh, told Bonik Barta, “Foreign investors don’t bring only capital to a country. They also bring modern technology and efficient management. In exports, they help create new products and markets. In the SME sector, foreign investors play a role in creating supply chain linkages. But we’re seeing that foreign investment in Bangladesh hasn’t played a significant role in developing the local market or creating local entrepreneurs.”

Referring to the ready-made garment sector, which emerged in Bangladesh with the involvement of foreign investors, he said, “Later, local entrepreneurs, new products and markets developed only in this sector. But foreign investment hasn’t created supply chain linkages in the SME sector. There was considerable scope for foreign investment in this area. More foreign investment is needed to advance the country’s economy.”