Trade, Commerce & Industry Archives

Bankable by Design: Strengthening Cross-Border MOUs and NDAs in Bangladesh

July 16, 2026July 16, 2026 editor No Comments

Purpose The purpose of this report is to assess how Bangladesh can strengthen cross-border memoranda of understanding and non-disclosure agreements used in international trade, brokerage, technology transfer and foreign investment. It considers legal enforceability alongside counterparty verification, trade execution, payment security, information governance and international dispute resolution. Executive summary MOUs and NDAs should be treated…

Trade, Commerce & Industry

Investment Agency Merger in Bangladesh: Too Big to Fail?

July 16, 2026July 16, 2026 editor No Comments

The proposal to merge Bangladesh’s four principal investment agencies, the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority, the Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority, and the Public-Private Partnership Authority, into a single body called the Unified Investment Development Authority (UIDA) is being pitched as a structural reform that will simplify investor services, reduce bureaucratic fragmentation,…

Trade, Commerce & Industry

Bangladesh’s Hospitality Industry: Immense Potential Amid Persistent Challenges

July 9, 2026July 9, 2026 editor No Comments

The hospitality industry is widely regarded as one of the fastest-growing sectors of the global economy. Hotels, resorts, restaurants, convention centers, travel services, and tourism-related businesses are important contributors to national income and foreign exchange earnings. The hospitality industry in Bangladesh has shown remarkable growth over the past two decades. This growth can be attributed…

Trade, Commerce & Industry

Strengthening Regional Trade: Applying the TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) Model to the India–Bangladesh–Myanmar Trade Transit Mechanism

July 2, 2026July 4, 2026 editor No Comments

Regional trade corridors play a vital role in promoting economic integration, reducing transport costs, and improving connectivity among neighboring countries. The India-Bangladesh-Myanmar (IBM) trade transit corridor holds significant strategic potential as a gateway linking South Asia with Southeast Asia hence supporting regional initiatives such as the Act East Policy and BIMSTEC cooperation. Despite this potential,…

Trade, Commerce & Industry

Building Bangladesh’s Fashion Brand Competitiveness Beyond Contract Manufacturing

July 2, 2026July 2, 2026 editor No Comments

A Manufacturing Power Without Brand Power Bangladesh has built one of the world’s most important apparel manufacturing platforms. Its factories supply major international retailers and its ready-made garment sector anchors national exports. Yet a strategic paradox remains. Bangladesh is globally competitive in producing clothing for others, but Bangladeshi clothing brands have not achieved equivalent strength…

Trade, Commerce & Industry

Bangladeshi Cuisine in the Global Market: From Invisible Labor to Gastrodiplomacy

June 25, 2026June 25, 2026 editor No Comments

Food is among the most potent soft power tools a nation can wield. Chinese restaurants operate in virtually every city on earth, Indian curry is a comfort staple from London to Melbourne, and Turkish doner culture has rapidly conquered European street food markets. Still, Bangladeshi cuisine, despite its extraordinary depth, regional diversity, and centuries of…

Trade, Commerce & Industry

The US-China Strategic Contest and Bangladesh Part II. From Diplomacy to Delivery

June 25, 2026June 25, 2026 editor No Comments

Bangladesh’s challenge is no longer simply to identify opportunities arising from global realignment. It is to build the institutional capacity to evaluate commitments, implement reforms and measure outcomes consistently. The anticipated visit of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to China should therefore be assessed through a practical lens. The relevant question is not merely how many…

Trade, Commerce & Industry

The US-China Strategic Contest and Bangladesh Part I: Navigating Opportunity in an Age of Managed Competition

June 18, 2026June 18, 2026 editor No Comments

The economic relationship between the United States and China has entered a more complex phase. It can no longer be understood simply as a conventional tariff dispute. Tariffs remain important, but the contest now extends to technology, industrial capacity, critical minerals, investment screening, digital systems and the security of global supply chains. US goods trade…

Trade, Commerce & Industry

Why Top Global Brands Avoid Bangladesh?

June 13, 2026June 13, 2026 editor No Comments

Ayon Sabbir Alam Freelance Consultant – Business & Policy Bangladesh manufactures garments for some of the world’s most recognisable brands, yet it cannot persuade those same global corporations to set up shop within its own borders. Moreover, Apple, Amazon, McDonald’s, Mercedes Benz, Microsoft, and Starbucks are conspicuous by their absence from the country’s consumer landscape,…

Trade, Commerce & Industry

When Financial Statements Lose Credibility: Why Audit Reform Must Become a Governance Priority in Bangladesh

June 13, 2026June 13, 2026 editor No Comments

Iftekhar Rahman Verdant Global The Governance Risk Hidden Inside the Numbers Corruption is not always visible as a bribe, an illicit payment or an unexplained transfer of public funds. It can also appear in subtler forms: a loan repeatedly rescheduled without genuine recovery, an inadequately disclosed related-party exposure, an asset valuation that is not challenged,…

Trade, Commerce & Industry