AmCham Pledges Support for Bangladesh’s Digital Transformation
DHAKA, August 9, 2026 (Sunday): The American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham) has pledged continued partnership with the Bangladesh government to accelerate the country’s digital transformation, focusing on innovation, cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, investment and efficient governance.
The commitment came at AmCham’s policy dialogue titled “Accelerating Bangladesh’s Digital Future: Policy Priorities for Innovation, Investment & ICT-Led Growth”, held at The Westin Dhaka on Sunday.
Advisor to the Prime Minister on Post, Telecommunication, ICT, Science and Technology, Rehan Asif Asad, attended the event as chief guest.
In his opening remarks, AmCham President and Mastercard Vice President Syed Mohammad Kamal thanked the government for ratifying the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), saying the legislation reflected most of AmCham’s recommendations following sustained engagement with policymakers.
He also welcomed key measures in the Finance Act 2026, including tax exemptions for freelancers and content creators and customs relief on computers, digital devices and semiconductor-related materials.
Kamal called for greater clarity on the new digital permanent establishment provision linked to the 100,000-subscriber threshold. He also urged reconsideration of the increase in turnover tax on internet service providers from 1% to 1.5% of gross receipts and sought easier inbound and outbound international payments for technology companies and startups.
He stressed that greater participation of foreign investors in policymaking and national business forums would bring global expertise and international best practices to Bangladesh’s policy formulation.
Chief Guest Rehan Asif outlined five government priorities for ICT and telecommunications, which he described as a designated thrust sector.
The priorities include establishing consistent and forward-looking policies under a five-year tax framework, improving mobile and broadband connectivity, developing digital public infrastructure, building AI-ready human resources and promoting electronics manufacturing.
He said Bangladesh’s effective tax burden on the telecommunications sector stands at around 51–56%, compared with a global average of 22–27%, while noting the removal of the SIM tax.
On digital public infrastructure, he outlined the proposed “One Citizen, One ID, One Digital Wallet” framework, based on Estonia’s X-Road model. He said the platform would be offered free of charge, with citizens’ digital IDs linked to bank accounts and the National Board of Revenue.
The government also plans to equip Bangladesh’s annual pool of around 23,000–30,000 engineering and science graduates with skills in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and data technologies. AI-related subjects are also being considered for inclusion in school curricula.
Highlighting the potential of electronics manufacturing, the adviser pointed to Vietnam’s rapid growth in consumer electronics exports, from around US$1 billion to US$217 billion over a decade, and suggested that Bangladesh could pursue similar sector-specific incentives.
He also cited a UN-ITU finding that a 10% increase in broadband penetration can contribute approximately 1% to national GDP.
The dialogue was moderated by Rubaba Dowla, Chair of the AmCham ICT Subcommittee and Country Managing Director for Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan at Oracle.
Representatives from Citibank N.A., Cisco, HSBC, Mastercard, MetLife, Pathao, PwC, Standard Chartered Bank, ShopUp, Visa and other AmCham member companies raised a range of policy and regulatory issues.
They called for open-loop ticketing for metro rail and toll systems, wider access to Bangla QR and the proposed digital wallet for international payment networks, and adjustments to the 15% VAT waiver under the NBR Startup Sandbox.
Businesses also urged alignment of cloud policies for banks and non-bank financial institutions with the PDPA to facilitate the use of public cloud platforms.
Other recommendations included early establishment of the National Data Governance Authority, wider adoption of digital signatures and legally enforceable electronic agreements, stronger national cybersecurity measures and greater industry-academia collaboration to address shortages in AI and data engineering talent.
Responding to the recommendations, Rehan Asif said RFID-based automated toll collection is currently under trial.
He said Bangladesh Bank has agreed, as a first step, to open Bangla QR for inward international payments. The proposed “One Citizen, One ID” platform will also be open to both domestic and international payment networks.
He added that Startup Sandbox provisions would be fine-tuned in consultation with the broader startup community.
The adviser identified national cybersecurity as his immediate priority and announced that work on a national AI policy would begin in the fourth quarter through a joint initiative involving the private sector, government, academia and researchers.
He also stressed the urgent need to expand Bangladesh’s submarine cable capacity. According to him, current capacity stands at around 6 terabytes against peak national demand of 12 terabytes, while internet traffic is doubling approximately every two years.
He noted that developing new submarine cables takes two to three years, making expanded submarine connectivity essential to Bangladesh’s long-term digital sovereignty.
The programme concluded with a vote of thanks from Ala Uddin Ahmad, Vice President of AmCham and Chief Executive Officer of MetLife Bangladesh.
The policy dialogue brought together members of the AmCham Executive Committee, ICT-sector representatives, member companies and officials from the U.S. Embassy, reflecting the chamber’s continued engagement in supporting Bangladesh’s digital transformation.
The event was supported by Cisco.
