The American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham) on Sunday called for policy reforms to promote innovation, investment, cybersecurity and ICT-led growth in Bangladesh.
AmCham leaders also suggested involving foreign investors in policymaking and national business forums to bring global expertise and international best practices in the process and help create a more competitive, transparent and investment-friendly business environment.
They made the recommendations at a policy dialogue titled “Accelerating Bangladesh’s Digital Future: Policy Priorities for Innovation, Investment and ICT-Led Growth” held at a city hotel. Rehan Asif Asad, adviser to the prime minister on post, telecommunications, ICT, science and technology, attended the event as the chief guest.
Moderated by Rubaba Dowla, chair of the AmCham ICT Subcommittee and country managing director for Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan at Oracle, the dialogue focused on four areas: building a competitive digital economy, developing trusted digital infrastructure, accelerating AI, innovation and talent, and strengthening government-industry partnerships.
Speaking at the event, Rehan Asif Asad outlined five government priorities for the ICT and telecommunications sector, which has been designated a thrust sector.
The priorities include consistent and forward-looking policies under a five-year tax framework, improved mobile and broadband connectivity, digital public infrastructure, development of AI-ready talent and promotion of electronics manufacturing.
He said the telecom sector faces an effective tax burden of 51-56 per cent, compared with a global average of 22-27 per cent.
On digital infrastructure, Asad outlined the government’s plan for ‘One Citizen, One ID, One Digital Wallet’, based on Estonia’s X-Road platform. The system would be provided free of charge, with each ID linked to bank accounts and the National Board of Revenue.
He noted that the government also plans to equip 23,000-30,000 engineering and science graduates each year with skills in AI, cybersecurity and data, while introducing these subjects into school curricula.
Citing Vietnam’s growth in consumer electronics exports from $1 billion to $217 billion over a decade, Asad stressed the need to promote electronics manufacturing through incentives similar to those provided to the garment sector.
In his opening remarks, AmCham president and Mastercard vice president Syed Mohammad Kamal welcomed the government’s ratification of the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), saying the final legislation incorporated most of AmCham’s recommendations.
While welcoming some measures in the Finance Act 2026, he called for greater clarity on the new digital permanent establishment provision linked to the 100,000-subscriber threshold.
He also urged the government to reconsider the increase in the turnover tax for internet service providers from 1.0 per cent to 1.5 per cent of gross receipts and facilitate inbound and outbound international payments for technology companies and startups.
Kamal also called for greater involvement of foreign investors in policymaking and national business forums to bring international expertise and best practices into the process.
Representatives of AmCham member companies, including Citibank, Cisco, HSBC, Mastercard, MetLife, Pathao, PwC, Standard Chartered Bank, ShopUp and Visa, raised issues concerning digital payments, cloud services, cybersecurity, data governance and AI talent.
They called for open-loop ticketing on metro and toll systems, wider access to Bangla QR and the “One Citizen, One Wallet” initiative for international payment networks, and alignment of cloud policies for banks and non-bank financial institutions with the PDPA.
They also urged early formation of the National Data Governance Authority, wider use of digital signatures and enforceable electronic agreements, stronger national cybersecurity and closer industry-academia cooperation to address shortages of AI and data engineering talents.
In response, Asad said RFID-based automated toll collection was being tested and Bangladesh Bank had agreed to open Bangla QR for inward international payments as a first step.
He said the “One Citizen, One ID” platform would be open to both domestic and international networks, while Startup Sandbox provisions would be fine-tuned in consultation with the broader startup community.
Identifying national cybersecurity as his immediate priority, Asad said work on a national AI policy would begin in the fourth quarter through a joint team comprising representatives from the private sector, government, academia and research institutions.
He also stressed the need to expand submarine cable capacity, noting that Bangladesh currently has six terabytes of capacity against peak national demand of 12 terabytes.
Source: https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/bangladesh/amcham-pushes-for-reforms-to-drive-ict-led-growth-investment
