Days after winning the national election, Tarique Rahman, chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and the country’s expected next prime minister, is being closely scrutinized by the business community, both local and global.
The formal swearing-in of the new cabinet is slated for Tuesday, Feb. 17, along with the oath-taking of the new prime minister.
Although election results, declared on Friday, have only just begun to sink in, with the BNP-led alliance winning 209 seats and the Jamaat-led bloc securing 68 in the 297 constituencies for which results were declared, the initial sense of relief at the relative calm in the aftermath of the vote has quickly given way to a more urgent articulation of economic aspirations.
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Wish lists are being drawn up with urgency, led by industry heads pressing for clear action in the first 100 days.
Speaking to the media at the InterContinental, Dhaka on Sunday, Tarique Rahman addressed the issue with candor. He acknowledged the existing “fragile economic and constitutional structures” and the need for reform, reiterating that meaningful implementation could only happen with peace and law and order.
“We will not tolerate any kind of chaos,” he said—a concern that has kept global business leaders wary of making long-term investments over the past 18 months.
Rahman said the focus must “now shift from protest to nation-building” and reiterated that the “free and fair” elections had the participation of 51 political parties, brushing aside rhetoric from the Awami League, the party of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, which had been barred from participation.
He called on party members to “remain calm and vigilant” in the face of provocation to prevent post-election violence, and struck a note of emotion in paying tribute to his mother, Khaleda Zia, the former BNP chairperson and prime minister. She passed away in December, shortly after her son returned from 17 years in political exile in the United Kingdom. He spoke of her absence at what he described as a “moment of national joy,” saying it was deeply felt.
Business leaders have expressed both relief at the prospect of stability and guarded hope for what lies ahead.
“With the election now done, the first sigh of relief has been that everything is stable,” Faisal Samad, director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) told Sourcing Journal. “The way we are in this part of the world, loss doesn’t sit well. That was a big concern for the business community—how fast the dust would settle—and fortunately the dust settled very quickly,” he said.
“There are good signs, as Tarique Rahman, our prime minister-to-be, says ‘Bangladesh first.’ I think no industry carries this better than the apparel sector. The opposition also seems to understand the importance of the business community and has held business symposiums in the past weeks,” he said. “I was in the delegation that met Tarique Rahman when he returned from the U.K. I felt he was calm and collected and focused on understanding the ways to help the industry.”
Observing that the industry has endured challenging conditions over the past 24 months, Samad said BGMEA is preparing a status paper for the incoming government outlining the sector’s current position, its five-year targets, and the policy support required to achieve them.
“The first is the availability of power and utilities. The government has to help us with this. No matter how much business comes to Bangladesh, we cannot deliver unless we have electricity and utilities. The second is finance; bank interest rates need to be reviewed and brought down. And stability of the country is the top priority. ‘Bangladesh first’ and ‘Made in Bangladesh’ can go hand in hand—we can be the driving engine. The BGMEA president has a vision and a roadmap for that,” Samad said.
Similar sentiments were echoed across other associations.
“Sustained confidence will depend on how the new government addresses law and order, corruption, extortion and illegal occupation,” said Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, executive president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), emphasizing that for exports to grow, global players must also feel reassured, particularly as manufacturers grapple with rising input costs and financial bottlenecks.
Over the last year, labor tensions over minimum wages and working conditions have intensified over the past year, even as global consumption patterns disrupted orders. The impact of reciprocal tariffs set out by the U.S., along with shifting geopolitics in Asia, has further complicated sourcing decisions.
Manufacturers told Sourcing Journal that many brands have shifted orders to other countries, including India, Vietnam and Cambodia, citing political stability as a key concern, while also demanding tighter margins and shorter, more flexible production runs in Bangladesh.
In the first six months of fiscal year 2025–26 (July–December 2025), apparel exports from Bangladesh totaled $19.37 billion, according to the Export Promotion Bureau, 2.63 percent lower than the same period a year earlier. In December alone, exports fell 14.2 percent year-on-year.
Analysts also noted that the longstanding nexus between business leaders and politicians has been a mixed blessing in Bangladesh—often facilitating swift policy decisions to support industry, yet at times blurring lines between commercial and political interests. This election was no exception, with more than half of the candidates declaring their profession as “business people.”
Among the winning candidates are several prominent industry figures, including Abdul Awal Mintoo, former president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI); SM Faysal, former vice president of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA); Ershad Ullah, former first vice president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), among others.
BGMEA president and managing director of Rising Fashions Ltd., Mahmud Hasan Khan (Babu), who contested as a BNP candidate, lost the election, as did former BGMEA president Redwan Ahmed.
Overall, a sense of cautious optimism has permeated the industry.
The landmark trade agreement with the U.S. earlier this month, reducing Bangladesh’s reciprocal tariffs to 19 percent and granting zero tariffs on certain apparel products made with U.S.-sourced cotton or man-made fiber, has fueled expectations that exports could be boosted by billions of dollars over the next few years.
Others caution that the election is no magic wand.
Structural challenges—including constraints in yarn supply, port bottlenecks, rising labor costs and ongoing wage negotiations will require sustained and coordinated effort.
International credit rating agencies are also assessing the situation. A Moody’s report on Friday noted that “election results reduce political uncertainty, but reform momentum remains key to credit quality,” highlighting that sporadic protests and localized lapses in law and order have continued to weigh on economic activity.
There is also hope that the new government will help thaw relations with India, which have been strained over the past year, affecting trade and broader business ties. The invitation to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend Tarique Rahman’s swearing-in is being viewed as a positive signal, as is Modi’s warm public congratulation. Although Modi declined due to prior commitments, Om Birla, speaker of India’s lower house of parliament, is expected to attend. Other invited countries include China, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Malaysia, Brunei, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the Maldives and Bhutan.
The sense of widening global engagement, combined with a sober assessment of the economic priorities that demand immediate attention, appears to bode well, according to analysts in Dhaka, who note that Tarique Rahman inherits no easy mandate as he steps into his new role.
As Asif Ibrahim, former president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), put it, “Global headwinds and domestic challenges require partnership over politics.”
Perhaps it is that partnership that will ultimately steer the economics of the new era.
