Industrial stagnation and shrinking private investment have caused 1.4 million (14 lakh) people to lose jobs, leaving them “wandering on the streets without employment,” Ha-Meem Group Managing Director and former FBCCI president A.K. Azad said on Saturday. Speaking at the opening sessi
Non-performing loans (NPLs) in Bangladesh's agriculture sector have surged to substantial levels, with nearly 34 per cent of outstanding farm credit now classified as defaulted, according to the latest Bangladesh Bank (BB) data. The sharp rise has heightened concerns over the financial stability o
The Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) has urged the authorities concerned to take necessary steps so that its officials are not enlisted as defaulters by the central bank's Credit Information Bureau (CIB), when they are nominated as directors of any loan defaulter company. The state-run e
The private sector is facing a deepening crisis as persistent gas shortages and repeated energy price hikes have slashed output up to a half in key industries, sparking concerns over economic growth, employment, and competitiveness of Bangladesh's manufacturing base, economists and industrialists w
Bangladesh's large industrial sector recorded a subdued performance in September, weighed down by contractions in major segments including clothing and textiles. The slowdown comes despite earlier signs of momentum at the start of the fiscal year. Large industries, which make up more than 11 per
Despite the ongoing digital transformation in the banking sector, about 75 per cent of total customers in the country still remain outside any digital banking services, according to a study by the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM). "The percentage of total customers who currently use
Bangladesh's economy is trapped in a difficult-to-break vicious cycle of high interest rates, persistent inflation, weak investment, and slowing gross domestic product (GDP) growth, making it increasingly challenging to revive private-sector activities, experts say. They note that the financial se
Bangladesh’s economy has slipped into a vicious circle of high interest rates, persistent inflation, weak investment and slowing GDP growth, making it increasingly difficult to break out of the cycle, said Dr Zaidi Sattar, Chairman of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh (PRI). Speaki
The classified loans in the country’s banking sector hit an all-time high at Tk 6.44 trillion in September 2025, accounting for 35.73 per cent of the entire loans worth Tk 18.04 trillion disbursed by all scheduled banks. The volume of non-performing loans (NPLs) rose to Tk 6.44 trillion as o
Bangladesh reduced poverty significantly between 2010-2022, lifting 25 million people out of poverty and another 9 million people out of extreme poverty while improving living standards and access to essential services like electricity, education, and sanitation, but since 2016, the pace of poverty
A total of 365,472 financial units were excluded from the count of the Economic Census, according to a survey. The Economic Census, conducted in 2024, had recorded over 11.88 million financial establishments, but a later Post Enumeration Check (PEC) revealed that the national Net Coverage Er
Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed on Monday said the government may need to revise the election budget as holding the national election and the referendum on the same day will inevitably raise costs, particularly for security and manpower. “When we first received their proposal, the refere
Mongla Port, the country's second-largest seaport, recorded the arrival of 324 foreign commercial ships in the first 146 days of the current 2025-26 fiscal year (FY), significantly boosting its revenue earnings. According to the Mongla Port Authority (MPA), of the total ships, 41 carried 13,854 TE
