Finance minister sets out bond-market route for Bangladesh’s funding needs

Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury has set out plans to raise more funding through bond markets, signalling an effort to broaden Bangladesh’s financing options beyond bank lending and international development institutions.

Speaking at the opening of World Investor Week in Dhaka on 4 October, he discussed borrowing through domestic and overseas securities markets. The options he outlined included dollar-denominated bonds and instruments aimed at Chinese and Japanese investors.

The minister said Bangladesh needed about US$50bn in financing annually. He also proposed using income-generating public assets to support securities issuance, citing bridges as a possible example.

Such financing would draw investors into instruments backed by future revenues rather than rely entirely on direct budget allocations. The remarks described a policy direction; the reports did not set out an issuance timetable or detailed borrowing terms.

Khosru also criticised conditions attached to International Monetary Fund support and said Bangladesh would reject terms it considered unacceptable. Reports differed on whether his remarks referred to cancelling a meeting or a programme, leaving the formal position unresolved.

His broader message was that a stronger capital market should finance more investment. Delivering that ambition would require specific offers, credible repayment arrangements and sufficient investor demand.