Bangladesh's FY25 GDP growth may fall due to unrest, floods, reforms

The Bangladesh Bank identified inflation as a major concern for the country in its latest quarterly report. “To tackle the inflation, the central bank may maintain its contractionary monetary policy stance until there are clear signs of inflation easing,” the report noted.

For FY25, the former dispensation had set a GDP growth target of 6.8 per cent, a recovery from 5.82 per cent estimated by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) for FY24.

The country witnessed the highest inflationary pressure—11.66 per cent—this July. It slightly declined to 10.49 per cent in August as the Sheikh Hasina regime fell. During September, the figure further dropped to 9.92 per cent.

“Nonetheless, the new interim government has a mandate of initiating and implementing comprehensive reform measures, including economic reforms, towards achieving macroeconomic stability and ensuring governance in the financial sector,” the central bank report said.

“Robust inflows of remittances, along with substantial foreign assistance from several multilateral organisations and development partners are anticipated, which may help to improve the balance of payments situation,” it said.

Looking ahead to FY25, expectations for continued economic growth are high, supported by improved internal and external macroeconomic conditions, the report added.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)