Chinese tech giant Tencent has shown interest in entering the Bangladeshi market, as confirmed by Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, special assistant to the chief adviser on posts, telecommunications, and information technology. In a Facebook post on Monday, Taiyeb shared that the chief adviser, Professor Muhammad Yunus, had approved the license application of American tech giant Starlink, marking the beginning of major global tech companies entering Bangladesh under Yunus’s leadership.
In the same post, Taiyeb announced that Tencent, founded in 1998 and headquartered in Shenzhen, China, is keen on expanding into Bangladesh. He assured that policy support would be provided to the company promptly to facilitate their entry into the market. Taiyeb also mentioned the Osiris Group’s plans to build a hyperscale cloud and data center at the Kaliakoir Hi-Tech Park, with local data and cloud companies involved. This setup is expected to accommodate tech giants such as Meta and Google.
Tencent is known for its significant influence in the gaming industry, where it publishes some of the world’s most popular games. The company also offers a broad range of services, including cloud computing, advertising, FinTech, and artificial intelligence. It owns WeChat, the widely used messaging app, and has been listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since 2004.
The gaming sector in Bangladesh holds enormous potential. According to a seminar held last February, the global gaming market has surpassed USD 200 billion, larger than both the music and film industries combined. With a growing economy and increasing internet access, Bangladesh offers a ripe market for gaming growth. Tencent is interested in partnering with local entities to advance the gaming and digital sectors in the country, contributing to the country’s GDP.
Despite the lack of formal research on the gaming market in Bangladesh, industry estimates suggest it is worth around USD 50 million. As Tencent moves forward with its plans, it will likely play a key role in accelerating the growth of the digital economy in Bangladesh.
