Foreign investors traded a total of 47.07 billion taka on Bangladesh’s capital market over the 13 months from July 2025 through July of this year, with monthly transactions peaking at 6.63 billion taka in February before falling to just 740 million taka in May.
An analysis of month-by-month data on foreign investor transactions shows that foreign trading stood at 4.91 billion taka in July 2025, before falling to 3.71 billion taka in August. It rose slightly to 4.40 billion taka in September before falling again to 3.68 billion taka in October. Foreign investor activity fell further in November and December, to 2.67 billion taka and just 1.46 billion taka, respectively.
Foreign investor trading picked up somewhat at the start of 2026. Transactions stood at 3.77 billion taka in January before jumping to 6.63 billion taka in February — the highest of the 13-month period. But the figure fell again, to 2.72 billion taka in March and 1.75 billion taka in April.
May saw the sharpest drop in foreign investor trading, with total transactions of just 740 million taka that month. Activity picked up again over the following two months, with foreign trading rising to 5.40 billion taka in June and 5.23 billion taka in July.
Beyond the monthly trading figures, foreign investors’ net position in the country’s capital and bond markets has also been negative for several years. Net foreign investment flows into domestic debt securities have been negative since the 2020-21 fiscal year, when net portfolio investment outflows stood at 28.80 billion taka. That outflow rose to 30.60 billion taka in 2021-22, eased slightly to 26.40 billion taka in 2022-23, and then climbed to a high of 38.20 billion taka in 2023-24.
The net portfolio outflow eased somewhat to 16.80 billion taka in 2024-25, before rising again to 27.21 billion taka in the most recent 2025-26 fiscal year. As a result, foreign investors’ net position in the country’s capital and bond markets has remained on a consistent outflow trend for several years.
Foreign investor participation in the capital market has also declined over the longer term. According to Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) data, foreign investors’ share of the exchange’s total trading has fallen significantly in recent years. In 2016, foreign trading on the DSE stood at 87.73 billion taka, or 3.68% of the exchange’s total turnover that year. In 2017, foreign trading rose to 114.48 billion taka, but their share of total turnover fell to 2.64%.
In 2018 and 2019, foreign investors traded shares worth 92.73 billion taka and 78.23 billion taka on the DSE, respectively, representing 3.48% and 3.44% of total turnover in those two years.
In the pandemic year of 2020, foreign trading on the DSE stood at 103.88 billion taka, or 3.85% of the exchange’s total turnover. Foreign investor participation then fell sharply: in 2021, their share of total turnover dropped to 1.10%, with trading worth 77.64 billion taka.
Foreign trading fell further in 2022 and 2023, with foreign investors’ share of the DSE’s total turnover at 0.89% and 0.77%, respectively, and trading worth 41.80 billion taka and 21.67 billion taka. In 2024, foreign trading rose slightly to 39.29 billion taka, but their share of total turnover was just 1.22%.
Market observers say the fluctuations in foreign investor trading are being driven by a range of factors, including the overall state of the capital market, share-price trends, the country’s broader economic situation, currency market stability, and the ease of withdrawing investments. With foreign investment recording a sustained net outflow and foreign investors’ share of the DSE’s total turnover in long-term decline, their activity in the country’s capital market has yet to return to its earlier levels.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report