The outflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) from Bangladesh recorded a big jump in the last calendar year of 2021.
According to the latest statistics, released by Bangladesh Bank last week, the net amount of outward FDI reached US$91.71 million in 2021, posting some 209 per cent growth over the amount in 2020.
In 2020, the net outflow of FDI from the country was only $11.60 million.
It also showed that the gross amount of outward FDI stood at $94.69 million last year against $31.06 million in 2020.
Outward direct investment (ODI) is defined as a business strategy in which a domestic firm expands its operations to a foreign country. This can take the form of a green field investment, a merger or acquisition, or an expansion of an existing foreign facility.
Statistics compiled by the central bank also showed that the stock of outward FDI stood at $389.80 million in 2021 which was $327.14 million in 2020.
In the last year, 57 per cent of the total outward FDI landed in the United Kingdom, followed by Hong Kong, Nepal, India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) respectively.
These five countries received 94.9 per cent of Bangladesh's annual outward FDI.
The highest amount of annual outward FDI from Bangladesh was recorded at $142 million in 2017. The amount in 2021 is the second highest in terms of net outward FDI.
