Net inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country declined by 13.80 per cent in the last calendar year, according to the latest statistics of Bangladesh Bank. It showed that the net inflow of FDI came down to US$3,000 million (or $3.0 billion) in 2023 from $3,479.45 million (or around $
Country’s debt sustainability needs proper assessment as it has been failing to address repayment issues tarnishing its long-established reputation on payback.Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya said the repayment period for the Rooppur power plant has been awaiting an extension by another two years wh
Bangladesh's youth labour force is shrinking, according to official data, as the total workforce has been estimated at 25.92 million in the first quarter of 2024. In the January to March period of the current calendar year, the youth workforce aged between 15 to 29 has fallen by 1.46 million com
Casting wide tax net and bolstering it base would be prime concern in the next national budget to ramp up the tax-GDP ratio, said speakers at a meet here Monday. Mentioning that the budget is in a 'difficult time', they said the government would have to address fiscal policy for the graduation pre
Agricultural loan disbursement witnessed a 10.55-percent increase during the July-March period of current fiscal year (FY 2023-24) compared to the matching period of last FY. According to Bangladesh Bank data, the agriculture and rural credit rose to Tk 266.67 billion at the end of third quarter (
Phasing out certain tax exemptions could generate additional Tk 600 billion as tax revenue in the next four years while more extensive reform measures are designed and implemented. Dr Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute (PRI) said this at a programme at a city hotel
The Asian Development Bank (ADB), in its latest policy brief, has given several recommendations for promoting export diversification of Bangladesh. Given the urgency of the current economic situation, focusing on trade policy issues and improving export competitiveness should be a central part of
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday again advocated for Bangladesh to go for greater exchange rate flexibility to overcome the forex reserve linked problems. “It’s important that the next stage of the reform agenda is to allow greater exchange rate flexibility,
Bangladesh needs to assess its domestic capacity to maintain its target of 7.0-percent annual GDP growth, said the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) country chief on Monday. "Does the banking sector have the capacity to facilitate the increased demand from investors to drive economic growth?" ADB Cou
The government plans to substantially increase public investments across key sectors such as road, rail, bridge, shipping, civil aviation, and telecommunications, aiming to transform Bangladesh into an upper middle-income country by 2031 and a smart, developed country by 2041. According to the 'Me
Martin Holtmann, IFC’s Country Manager for Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal, said that microfinance has been an important part of Bangladesh’s development journey. "As our economy transitions from Least Developed Country (LDC) status to the next level, the Microfinance industry can contin
The visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation has advised Bangladesh Bank (BB) to disclose detailed and complete information regarding bad and risky loans in the public interest. The visiting IMF delegation gave this suggestion in the meeting held with the central bank officials on Sun
Thai entrepreneurs may take full advantage of the reformed investment policies of Bangladesh by investing in various sectors of the country, a spokesperson for foreign ministry said on Saturday. To enhance bilateral trade, the Embassy of Bangladesh in Bangkok hosted a business meeting with Thai en
