At a glance: investment treaty practice in Bangladesh

Investment treaty practice

Does the state have a model BIT?

Bangladesh does not have a model bilateral investment treaty (BIT).

Does the state have a central repository of treaty preparatory materials? Are such materials publicly available?

Bangladesh does not have a central repository of treaty preparatory materials.

What is the typical scope of coverage of investment treaties?

The BITs provide protections to the natural persons having the nationality of the contracting state, and legal persons (eg, companies, corporations, firms, business partnerships incorporated or constituted under the law in force of a contracting state) making an investment in Bangladesh in accordance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations.

The definition of investment provided in the BITs of Bangladesh generally covers a broad range of investments including:

• movable and immovable property and any other property rights (including mortgages, liens and pledges);
• shares, stocks, debentures and any other form of participation in companies;
• claims of money or claims of performance having financial value;
• industrial and intellectual property rights, including patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyright, technical processes, goodwill and know-how; and
• business concessions conferred by law or by contract.

What substantive protections are typically available?

In general, the Bangladesh’s BITs provide a core set of protections to the investors, which includes promotion and protection of investments, fair and equitable treatment, repatriation of investment, subrogation, and safeguard from expropriation and nationalisation.

The BITs of Bangladesh also include the most favoured nation clause, which stipulates that the contracting state (who is accorded a most favoured nation status in the BIT) shall receive fair and equitable treatment that is no less favourable than that accorded to inveastments made by investors from any other country.

What are the most commonly used dispute resolution options for investment disputes between foreign investors and your state?

All the seven reported investment treaty disputes brought by or against Bangladesh were arbitrated, or are currently being arbitrated, under ICSID.

Does the state have an established practice of requiring confidentiality in investment arbitration?

The lack of public information on investment arbitrations involving Bangladesh does not allow firm conclusions to be drawn regarding Bangladesh’s policy on confidentiality.

Does the state have an investment insurance agency or programme?

Bangladesh does not have an insurance agency or programme. However, Bangladesh is a member of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency since its inception in 1985.

However, a number of BITs of Bangladesh (including the Bangladesh–United States, Bangladesh–Thailand and Bangladesh–India BITs) have ‘Compensation for Loss’ clauses regulating the treatment of foreign investors in the event their investments suffer losses from war or other armed conflicts, states of national emergency, civil disturbances or similar events. In these events, Bangladesh is required to provide most-favoured nation treatment to the availability of compensation for such losses.

Law stated date

Give the date on which the above content is accurate.

21 September 2020.