The Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (Bida) has received applications from 10 firms interested in becoming the government's transaction adviser for the planned sale of Nagad, the mobile financial service (MFS) provider under the Bangladesh Post Office.

However, Bida is yet to select any potential firm for the appointment, officials familiar with the matter told The Daily Star.

Most of the global firms that have shown interest, including Deloitte, PwC, and KPMG, have operations in Bangladesh, according to sources at Bida.

A transaction adviser is usually a financial expert hired to guide the government on how to sell a company, helping determine the value, preparing documents, and finding buyers. Bida had invited expressions of interest (EOIs) from financial advisory firms within September 15 to become the exclusive adviser overseeing the potential sale.

"We floated an advertisement for a transaction adviser to handle the sale of Nagad, as per a request from the Directorate of Posts," said Nahian Rahman Rochi, head of business development at Bida.

But he noted that the government has not carried out this kind of sale for a long time, and the current rules and policies are outdated.

"To move forward, the guidelines must be revised. We have already made substantial progress in drafting the updated version, which will soon be sent to the cabinet for approval," he added.

Once the revised guidelines are approved, Bida will proceed with the next steps in the appointment process.

According to the terms of the advertisement, the selected adviser will be responsible for assessing and refining Nagad's market positioning and value proposition. The firm will also be required to prepare marketing materials and identify potential strategic and financial buyers.

A senior Bida official had earlier said a high-level government meeting in August approved the decision to transition Nagad into the private sector, prompting Bida's involvement in facilitating the sale.

The initiative follows concerns raised by the Bangladesh Bank over the capacity of the Directorate of Posts to run the MFS operator efficiently.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur recently said the central bank concluded that the directorate lacked the institutional strength to run such a large digital finance operation, necessitating the involvement of a more competent entity.

He also stated that many irregularities stemming from the previous ownership have been addressed. Nearly 1.5 crore fake or inactive accounts have been deactivated, and the company is now undergoing significant restructuring.

The update comes at a time when Nagad continues to post record transaction volumes. In October, it logged its highest-ever monthly figure, processing over Tk 34,705 crore, driven largely by government allowance disbursements.

According to a press release, allowances were disbursed among 79 lakh beneficiaries last month through Nagad, under programmes of the Department of Social Services and the Department of Women Affairs.

The company previously recorded Tk 34,000 crore in transactions in March 2025 and Tk 32,000 crore in June 2024.