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Bangladesh as the South Asian IP Holding Hub of Choice

July 21, 2026 9 min read by Tahmidur Remura Wahid

Bangladesh as the South Asian IP Holding Hub of Choice

ARTICLE |
By Tahmidur Rahman and Remura Wahid |
Tahmidur Rahman Remura Wahid — TRW Law Firm |
Applicable law: Bangladesh | 5 minute read

As intellectual property (IP) and intangible assets become increasingly central to enterprise value, the choice of jurisdiction for holding, managing, and commercialising IP has become a critical strategic decision for any business operating across borders. The question is no longer merely where to register a trademark or file a patent — it is where to structurally locate the IP-holding entity so as to maximise market access, minimise tax friction, and ensure robust legal protection.

For multinational businesses, technology startups, and regional conglomerates looking to capture the rapidly growing South Asian market, Bangladesh offers a compelling and frequently underappreciated combination of demographic scale, aggressive fiscal incentives, and a rapidly modernising legal infrastructure. With a population exceeding 170 million people, a median age of 27, and a digital economy growing at double-digit rates, Bangladesh is no longer merely a manufacturing hub — it is becoming a serious candidate for regional IP commercialisation structures.

In this two-part series, TRW Law Firm — Tahmidur Rahman Remura Wahid — first considers how Bangladesh's Hi-Tech Park framework and broader Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policies provide unprecedented fiscal incentives for IP-intensive sectors, rewarding software development, technology transfer, and eligible IP income. In the second part, we will examine Bangladesh's bilateral investment treaties, double taxation avoidance agreements (DTAAs), and dispute resolution frameworks, explaining how these features further strengthen Bangladesh's competitiveness as a regional IP-holding platform.

Hi-Tech Parks enhance Bangladesh's position as a regional tech hub

The Bangladesh Hi-Tech Park Authority (BHTPA) has established a nationwide framework of technology and software parks designed specifically to attract IP-intensive and technology-driven businesses. For companies relying on software, digital platforms, and technical know-how, locating an IP holding or operating subsidiary within a designated Hi-Tech Park or Software Technology Park offers significant structural advantages that are difficult to replicate elsewhere in South Asia.

While this framework does not alter fundamental IP ownership rules under the Trademarks Act 2009 or the Patents and Designs Act 1911, it provides qualifying tech and IP-driven companies with preferential fiscal treatment and streamlined regulatory access. When a technology business uses a Bangladesh company established within a Hi-Tech Park to hold, license, or deliver IP-based services, it gains access to a highly favourable tax environment designed to accelerate growth and reinvestment — one that rivals the patent box regimes of far more established jurisdictions.

To enjoy these preferential treatments, an entity needs to be validly incorporated in Bangladesh, register as an investor with the BHTPA, and operate within the designated zones. The government has deliberately streamlined the establishment process through a One-Stop Service (OSS) portal, significantly reducing the bureaucratic friction traditionally associated with South Asian market entry. Under recent regulatory reforms, the general requirement for investors to demonstrate a minimum period of substantive business operations has been relaxed in most technology sectors, allowing newly incorporated entities to access incentives from the outset of commercial operations.

These targeted tech-sector opportunities complement Bangladesh's broader macroeconomic strengths: a domestic market of over 170 million people, a rapidly digitising economy supported by the government's "Smart Bangladesh 2041" vision, and a young, highly adaptable workforce. Together, Bangladesh's demographic dividend and the BHTPA's preferential treatment make the country a strategically attractive location for regional IP commercialisation structures.

Sector-specific applications

The Bangladesh IP and technology incentive framework is most useful where software development, IT-enabled services (ITES), and digital commercialisation are integral to the IP monetisation model. TRW Law Firm regularly advises clients across the following sectors on structuring their Bangladesh IP holding arrangements.

Software and IT-Enabled Services (ITES). Bangladesh offers a 100% tax exemption on income derived from software development and nationwide IT-enabled services. For foreign software companies and digital platforms, establishing a subsidiary in Bangladesh to hold local IP rights and conduct development activities means that revenue generated from these specific tech services can be entirely shielded from corporate income tax. This is particularly relevant for businesses whose value is derived primarily from SaaS models, AI-enabled technologies, proprietary platforms, and data analytics — sectors where Bangladesh's growing pool of software engineers provides a genuine operational advantage alongside the fiscal benefits.

Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure. As Bangladesh continues its massive digital transformation — with mobile internet penetration exceeding 60% and the government's ambitious broadband rollout programme — the demand for telecommunications infrastructure, data centres, and digital services has surged. IP related to network architecture, proprietary interfaces, and digital service models can be commercialised through local joint ventures or wholly owned subsidiaries. The BHTPA framework supports the market-access layer through which such IP is used commercially, offering tax holidays and duty exemptions on imported capital machinery required to deploy these technologies.

Manufacturing and Tech Hardware. For businesses combining proprietary manufacturing processes with hardware assembly — such as consumer electronics, IoT devices, or medical equipment — Bangladesh offers extended tax holidays ranging from five to ten years depending on the location of the industrial unit. This allows companies to license their manufacturing IP to a Bangladesh subsidiary, combining the benefits of low-cost, high-scale production with significant corporate tax relief on the resulting profits. The Bangladesh Export Processing Zones (EPZs) and Special Economic Zones (SEZs) provide additional layers of fiscal and regulatory protection for such structures.

Franchising, Retail and Brand Management. By establishing a qualifying Bangladesh entity, a brand owner can combine IP licensing from an offshore IP holding company with Bangladesh-facilitated activities such as retail operations, market research, and digital marketing — all of which are central to launching and scaling branded concepts across the country's 64 districts. In practice, this enables a regional F&B, lifestyle, or technology brand to roll out a franchised network using centrally held IP while benefiting from Bangladesh's low operational costs and high consumer growth trajectory.

Bangladesh innovation incentives

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) and the BHTPA have expressly linked Bangladesh's fiscal incentives to encouraging the IT sector, software development, and the exploitation of technical intellectual property. The alignment between market-access opportunity and fiscal incentive is clear and deliberate.

While Bangladesh's demographic scale provides the revenue generation opportunity, the state's innovation incentives support the creation, hosting, and management functions that give the Bangladesh platform commercial substance. Together, they encourage IP-intensive businesses to develop and commercialise their IP in Bangladesh, rather than merely treating the country as a passive consumer market served from an offshore holding structure.

Tax holidays and FDI support

Bangladesh's fiscal regime for tech and IP-driven businesses is among the most aggressive in South Asia, and TRW Law Firm advises both domestic and international clients on structuring their affairs to take full advantage of these incentives.

Qualifying investors in Hi-Tech Parks can benefit from a tiered corporate income tax exemption that provides a 100% tax waiver for the first several years of commercial operation, followed by partial waivers in subsequent years. For income generated from software development and ITES activities specifically, the 100% tax exemption applies on a nationwide basis — not merely within designated zones — making it one of the broadest tech-sector tax reliefs available anywhere in Asia.

Furthermore, Bangladesh encourages foreign direct investment through a highly liberalised capital regime. The country allows 100% foreign equity ownership in most sectors and guarantees the unrestricted repatriation of profits, dividends, and technical know-how fees (royalties). For an IP holding company licensing its technology to a Bangladesh operating entity, the ability to freely remit royalty payments — subject to applicable withholding taxes which can be mitigated via Bangladesh's network of DTAAs with 36 countries — is a critical structural advantage.

The following table summarises the key fiscal incentives available to IP-intensive businesses in Bangladesh:

Incentive	Applicable Sector	Duration / Rate
Corporate income tax exemption	Software development, ITES (nationwide)	100% — until 2035
Hi-Tech Park tax holiday	All tech investors within BHTPA zones	100% years 1–10; 70% year 11; 30% year 12
Capital machinery duty exemption	All BHTPA zone investors	100% on import duties
VAT exemption	Software, IT services	Full VAT exemption
Royalty remittance	All sectors	Freely remittable; WHT mitigable via DTAAs
Foreign equity ownership	Most sectors	100% permitted
Profit repatriation	All sectors	Unrestricted

Viewed together, Bangladesh's market scale and its targeted tech incentives support different but complementary stages of an IP strategy. The domestic market provides the revenue generation opportunity, while the BHTPA incentives and 100% ITES tax exemptions encourage the development and management of technical IP within the country. For businesses targeting South Asia, this combination makes Bangladesh a highly attractive hub for managing and commercialising IP.

Looking ahead

The fiscal incentives and Hi-Tech Park framework form only part of the broader proposition. The effectiveness of an IP-holding structure also depends on the ability to protect, enforce, and monetise IP across borders, and to manage the resulting capital flows in a tax-efficient manner. In the next part of this series, TRW Law Firm will examine how Bangladesh's network of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs), bilateral investment treaties (BITs), and dispute resolution mechanisms — including the Bangladesh International Arbitration Centre (BIAC) and the country's accession to the New York Convention — further strengthen its position as a regional commercial hub.

If you have any questions on this topic, please get in touch with TRW Law Firm or the authors of this article.

This document is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Professional legal advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from any action as a result of the contents of this document.

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Tahmidur Rahman
Partner | Dhaka
Tahmidur Rahman Remura Wahid — TRW Law Firm
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Remura Wahid
Partner | Dhaka
Tahmidur Rahman Remura Wahid — TRW Law Firm
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Bangladesh as the South Asian IP Holding Hub of Choice