Economy
Blue Economy Dev: Govt to take project on Tuna, similar pelagic fishing in deep Sea
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has announced a plan to take up a project called ‘‘Pilot Project on Tuna and Similar Pelagic Fishing in the Deep Sea” as part of Blue Economy development.
Announcing the new project in his budget speech in parliament, he said that this will open a new horizon in the ocean economy.
He mentioned that the historic sea conquest under the leadership of the current government has paved the way for developing the country’s blue economy.
In 2014, they prepared short-term, medium-term and long-term plan of action to develop the blue economy and harness the potentials of marine resources.
Recently, the action plan has been updated (2018 to 2030) in line with SDGs declared by the United Nations and have started implementing them.
“Through the joint efforts with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO-UN), we have prepared a ‘National Plan of Action’ to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal and unregulated fishing”, he said.
As of February 2022, the fish research and survey vessel ‘RV Meen Sandhani’ has so far conducted 35 survey cruises, he mentioned.
Read: Blue economy potentials: Experts for maritime affairs ministry
Pursuing economic diplomacy to contribute to timely attainment of SDGs: FM
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has sought stronger efforts to promote economic diplomacy, noting that attracting foreign direct investment has always been a cornerstone of their economic diplomacy.
“As we have lost two years due to the pandemic, time has come to further bolster our efforts,” he said, adding that their endeavour of effectively pursuing economic diplomacy would also immensely contribute to the timely attainment of the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Momen was speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural session of the “First Economic Diplomacy Week” that began at Foreign Service Academy in city on Thursday.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), in collaboration with the relevant ministries and divisions, is hosting the programme as the country seeks prosperity through economic diplomacy.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, Secretary (Maritime Affairs Unit) Rear Admiral (Retd) Md. Khurshed Alam and reactor at Foreign Service Academy Ambassador Asad Alam Siam, among others, spoke at the session.
Momen said the economic diplomacy package has five components and these are more foreign investment, more trade and export diversity, gainful employment of human resources both at home and abroad, transfer of technology, and quality services to Bangladeshi Diaspora and to others.
Read: Bangladesh wants peace, stability everywhere: FM
He said the ministry of commerce, teaming up with Bangladesh Missions abroad, is in the process of finalizing preferential and free trade deals with a number of countries.
“We have already conducted feasibility studies on 23 countries for bilateral and regional trade agreements, free trade agreement and comprehensive economic agreement. We are opening up new markets,” the foreign minister said.
Foreign Minister Momen said Bangladesh’s stable growth and political stability has raised tens of millions to ‘middle class and affluence’ status.
Apart from being a booming domestic market, he said, Bangladesh is also a strategic hub linking India, China and the ASEAN countries.
Momen hoped that Bangladesh will be a developed nation by 2041 and Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s dream of building a ‘Golden Bengal’ will be realized.
“I am confident that the vision of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina emphasizing on economic diplomacy and its implementation by all concerned ministries and authorities of the government will help realize this dream,” he said.
A country, one-seventh of whose population had to seek refuge in neighbouring India during 1971; Momen said, Bangladesh is now globally praised due to its generosity and capacity in temporarily sheltering over a million Rohingyas on its land.
Read: Bangladeshi students in Hungary urged to contribute to Bangladesh’s dev
A country that was known to be “controlled by nature and not by men” due to recurrent natural calamities, Bangladesh has now become a global example of disaster preparedness, he said.
Renowned scholars, high officials, business leaders and members of the academia are also joining the two-day programme (Thursday and Saturday).
The issues related to blue economy, climate action, sustainable development goals, agricultural innovations, contact farming, food security, connectivity, human resources and skills development; trade liberalization are being discussed to identify the challenges and opportunities in these areas.
China's foreign trade regains momentum in May
China's foreign trade rebounded in May as total imports and exports went up 9.6 percent year on year to 3.45 trillion yuan on top of April's 0.1-percent expansion, official data showed Thursday.
In the first five months of 2022, the country's foreign trade volume gained 8.3 percent year on year to 16.04 trillion yuan, outpacing the 7.9-percent-growth in the January-April period, according to the General Administration of Customs.
In U.S. dollar terms, total foreign trade came in at 2.51 trillion U.S. dollars in the five-month period, up 10.3 percent year on year.
In the first five months, exports grew 11.4 percent year on year while imports rose 4.7 percent, leading to a trade surplus of 1.84 trillion yuan, customs data showed.
Read: Bangladesh yet to reap full benefits of Chinese market facilities: Speakers
During this period, China's trade with its top three trading partners -- the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the European Union and the United States -- expanded by 8.1 percent, 7 percent and 10.1 percent from a year ago, respectively.
From January to May, China's trade with Belt and Road countries jumped by 16.8 percent year on year to 5.11 trillion yuan.
Private enterprises reported a faster growth as their imports and exports rose 11.8 percent to 7.86 trillion yuan in the first five months, accounting for 49 percent of the country's total, marking an increase of 1.5 percentage points from the same period last year.
In terms of types of goods, exports of mechanical and electrical products expanded by 7 percent to account for 57.2 percent of the total, while labor-intensive products increased 11.6 percent in the first five months, customs data showed.
Read: Chinese investors can maximise profits by setting up industries in Bangladesh: Envoy
Bangladesh economy’s remarkable progress in 50 years
Bangladesh’s socio economic development over the past 50 years has been surprising despite problems of alleged corruption, poor intuitional capacity and natural disasters.
Dismissed as a basket case at independence in 1971, Bangladesh has braved stiff hurdles to become self-sufficient in food grains production and made good progress in manufacturing sector too.
This remarkable progress is best illustrated by a chronology of the national budgets since 1972.
Also read: PM: US$1500 million under way as budgetary support
In 1972, the budget of Bangladesh was Tk 786 crore while the gross domestic product (GDP) was USD $6.288 billion. As per the GDP, per capita income was $94.4 or Tk566 in 1972 and the population was about 70 million.
In the fiscal year 2021-22 the country’s budget size swelled to Tk 603681 crore ($ 71 billion), the estimated GDP was $465 billion. The population Bangladesh is stood at over 160 million in 2021.
The provisional estimate for per capita income in 2021-22 was $2,824, up from $2,591 in the previous year, accoding to a Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics report. “In nominal terms, Bangladesh's GDP stands at $465 billion in the current fiscal year.
Braving flood, cyclone and drought, the economy has grown steadily since the independence. Bangladesh has achieved remarkable success in food production, manufacturing and manpower export.
Bangladesh is characterized as a developing economy. It is the 41st largest in the world in nominal terms or at current prices, and 30th largest by purchasing power equivalence; international dollars at current prices.
Also read: Finance minister is set to unveil Tk6.80 tn national budget at JS on Thursday
At a glance Bangladesh’s budget:
Fiscal Year – by Whom - Annual Outlay-
1972-'73 Tajuddin Ahmed Tk 786 crore
1973-'74 Tajuddin Ahmed Tk 995 crore
1974-'75 Tajuddin Ahmed Tk 1,084.37 crore
1975-'76 Azizur Rahman Tk 1,549.19 crore
1976-'77 Maj Gen Ziaur Rahman Tk 1,989.87 crore
1977-'78 Lt. Gen. Ziaur Rahman Tk 2,184 crore
1978-'79 President Ziaur Rahman Tk 2,499 crore
1979-'80 MN Huda Tk 3,317 crore
1980-'81 M Saifur Rahman Tk 4,108 crore
1981-'82 M Saifur Rahman Tk 4,677 crore
1982-'83 AMA Muhith Tk 4,738 crore
1983-'84 AMA Muhith Tk 5,896 crore
1984-'85 M Sayeduzzaman Tk 6,699 crore
1985-'86 M Sayeduzzaman Tk 7,138 crore
1986-'87 M Sayeduzzaman Tk 8,504 crore
1987-'88 M Sayeduzzaman Tk 8527 crore
1988-'89 Maj Gen (rtd) Munim Tk 10,565 crore
1989-'90 Wahidul Haq Tk 12,703 crore
1990-'91 Maj Gen (rtd) Munim Tk 12,960 crore
1991-'92 M Saifur Rahman Tk 15,584 crore
1992-'93 M Saifur Rahman Tk 17,607 crore
1993-'94 M Saifur Rahman Tk 19,050 crore
1994-'95 M Saifur Rahman Tk 20,948 crore
1995-'96 M Saifur Rahman Tk 23,170 crore
1996-'97 Shah AMS Kibria Tk 24,603 crore
1997-'98 Shah AMS Kibria Tk 27,786 crore
1998-'99 Shah AMS Kibria Tk 29,537 crore
1999-'00 Shah AMS Kibria Tk 34,252 crore
2000-'01 Shah AMS Kibria Tk 38,524 crore
2001-'02 Shah AMS Kibria Tk 42,306 crore
2002-'03 M Saifur Rahman Tk 44,854 crore
2003-'04 M Saifur Rahman Tk 51,980 crore
2004-'05 M Saifur Rahman Tk 57,248 crore
2005-'06 M Saifur Rahman Tk 61,058 crore
2006-'07 M Saifur Rahman Tk 69,740 crore
2007-'08 AB Mirza Azizul Islam Tk 87,137 crore
2008-'09 AB Mirza Azizul Islam Tk 99,962 crore
2009-'10 AMA Muhith Tk 113,815 crore
2010-'11 AMA Muhith Tk 132,170 crore
2011-'12 AMA Muhith Tk 165,000 crore
2012-’13 AMA Muhith Tk 191,738 crore
2013-’14 AMA Muhith Tk 222,491 crore
2014-’15 AMA Muhith Tk 250,506 crore
2015-’16 AMA Muhith Tk 295,100 crore
2016-’17 AMA Muhith Tk 340,605 crore
2017-18, AMA Muhith Tk 4, 00,266 crore
2018-19, AMA Muhith Tk4, 64,573 crore
2019-20, AHM Mustafa Kamal Tk 5, 23,190 crore
2020-21 AHM Mustafa Kamal Tk 5, 68,000 crore
Sri Lanka holds its breath as new PM fights to save economy
It has been nearly three weeks since Ranil Wickremesinghe took over as prime minister of Sri Lanka with a daunting mandate to pull the crisis-weary country from the brink of an economic abyss that threatens to tear it apart.
The five-time prime minister has inherited a nation barreling toward bankruptcy and saddled with foreign debt so big that it has no money left for basic imports. Sri Lankans are struggling to access the bare necessities like food, fuel, medicine, cooking gas and even toilet paper and matches.
In his new job, Wickremesinghe left little doubt about what lies ahead. “The next couple of months will be the most difficult ones of our lives,” he told the nation fed up with long lines, sky-rocketing inflation and daily protests that seem to be getting out of control.
“We must prepare ourselves to make some sacrifices and face the challenges of this period.”
Since the May 17 televised speech, the seasoned politician, who also serves as the finance minister, has begun difficult negotiations with financial institutions, lenders and allies, and United Nations agencies to fill the coffers and give some relief to impatient citizens.
Also read: Bangladesh won’t face Sri Lanka-like crisis: Ambassador Haas
He has taken necessary steps like raising taxes and has pledged to overhaul government that concentrates power under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a model that many believe exacerbated the crisis.
He took over after days of violent protests last month forced his predecessor, President Rajapaksa's brother Mahinda, to step down and seek safety from angry crowds at a naval base. Wickremesinghe is due to deliver a much-awaited speech in Parliament on Tuesday that many hope will showcase a strategy to fix the crisis.
But time may not be on his side as reforms are slow and people want results now. He’s also a one-man party in Parliament — the only lawmaker from his party to hold a seat after it suffered a humiliating defeat in a 2020 election.
“A person who doesn’t have a political base has an unprecedented crisis to manage,” said Dayan Jayatilleka, a former diplomat and political analyst.
Lines to buy fuel and cooking gas have stretched kilometers (miles) every day, snaking around blocks, with Sri Lankans weathering heavy rains and scorching heat to buy essential items that cost three times what they used to. Often, they have to wait days, and many still end up empty-handed.
Jagath Chandana, 43, has been waiting in line on the outskirts of the capital, Colombo, with a canister to buy cooking gas for two days. “It has been crazy. We are totally helpless. It seems even Ranil can’t resolve the crisis. They (politicians) just talk but on the ground level, people are suffering,” he said.
Also read: Sri Lanka closes schools, limits work amid fuel shortage
For over 50 days, protesters have camped outside Rajapaksa’s office demanding he step down.
They say economic mismanagement, policy blunders like a hasty ban on imported chemical fertilizers that devastated crops, and a government stocked with Rajapaksa relatives caused the crisis. At their peak in power, six Rajapaksas occupied government posts — the crisis has seen the exit of all except one. The other five still remain as lawmakers.
Sri Lanka has suspended repayment of nearly $7 billion in foreign debt due this year. It owes $26 billion through 2026 out of a total of $51 billion.
Foreign currency reserves have diminished to just two weeks’ worth of imports while Wickremesinghe prepares to obtain a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund. On Thursday, he said any bridge financing will depend on an IMF agreement and he was hopeful that negotiations would finish by the end of June. The government is targeting $5 billion for repayments and another $1 billion to pad up the country’s reserves, Wickremesinghe said last week.
In such a volatile situation, Wickremesinghe has been able to bring some transparency and rationality that was lacking in the previous administration run by the Rajapaksa clan, said Jayatilleka.
But analysts also say it will be difficult for him to deliver on some of the challenges, especially as he also faces a messy battle to overhaul the constitution and strengthen the powers of Parliament to bring in much-needed reforms.
“His proposals are good for medium and long term. But people want immediate changes to take place and that they don’t see,” said political analyst Jehan Perera, adding that some see Wickremesinghe as helping Rajapaksa to stay in power.
In addition to demanding a new president, protesters have for weeks pushed for a complete revamp of what they say is a broken governance model.
For nearly 45 years, Sri Lanka has been ruled under a powerful executive presidential system. After a thumping election victory in 2019, Rajapaksa strengthened the system through constitutional amendments that further concentrated powers in the presidency — a move that alarmed critics at the time too.
Wickremesinghe made a key and early pitch to roll back some of the presidential powers. But such measures will not be easy and will require not just the approval of the Supreme Court but also a two-thirds majority in Parliament.
Questions remain whether Wickremesinghe would be able to push through reforms in the 225-seat Parliament where Rajapaksa’s party holds the majority. Some opposition parties have already thrown their support behind the reforms, but Wickremesinghe's sole standing in the chamber could prove a major drawback. Or it could be an asset.
His party split in 2020 amid a leadership crisis, prompting most of the senior members to leave and form a new party — currently the country’s main opposition.
“He has the opportunity of playing the role of a technocratic prime minister, with his expertise and experience, unconnected to any political party,” said Jayatilleka.
The size of the protests since Wickremesinghe assumed duties has also been shrinking. Perera said it is tough for people to sustain the high momentum but that as long as the economic crisis continues, so will the demonstrations.
While signs of financial hardship and struggle remain in Sri Lanka, there is growing hope among some that Wickremesinghe will see them through the tough times.
“He can’t perform miracles, it will take time to resolve the crisis because previous ministers have messed up,” said Amila Prasanna, a carpenter. “He is trying to solve the problems, one by one, and I am sure he will do something,” he said as he queued up for three days to buy gas.
Fiscal policy support needed for economy to tackle inflation: CPD
The economy is under pressure due to challenges caused by global and domestic factors, that are apprehended to continue for some time in view of slower growth in the world economy.
This view was put forward in the Independent Review of Bangladesh’s Development (IRBD) conducted by Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a private think tank, released in a media briefing in the capital on Sunday.
Dr Fahmida Khatun, executive director of CPD, briefed the reporters on the review report. Dr Mustafizur Rahman, distinguish fellow, Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director, and Towfiqul Islam Khan, senior research fellow, among others, spoke on the review report.
CPD carries out an interim review of the national economy towards the end of every fiscal year. Accordingly, the third interim review of Bangladesh’s macroeconomic performance for FY22 has been undertaken.
Also read: CPD, ILO bring together stake holders to develop national industrial safety framework
The average cost of living on a “regular” diet for one household of 4 persons living in an apartment with one bedroom outside the city centre in Dhaka in May 2022 would be approximately BDT 42,548, the review said.
The review found that higher living costs in the capital are pushing up inflation.
The average cost of living on a “compromised” diet for one household of 4 persons living in an apartment with one bedroom outside the city centre in Dhaka in May 2022 would be approximately BDT 29,206. The difference goes to show the impact of food inflation in particular on ordinary families.
Apart from the high price of basic food items, the high prices of non-food items were putting a huge burden on households. Available data shows that maintaining even a modest standard of living was becoming prohibitively expensive for households in Dhaka.
In the absence of support from the government, out-of-pocket expenditure on health for a household of 4 persons was equivalent to Tk 2,625 per month in 2019, at purchasing power parity, said CPD.
It is apprehended that many households are at risk of falling below the poverty line due to out-of-pocket expenditure on health, CPD predicted.
“This is worrisome for the overall macroeconomic situation and it requires proactive measures by the policymakers both in the immediate and medium terms,” the CPD study recommended.
The quality, reliability and consistency of data of economic indicators will be the first step towards enacting proactive measures since the effectiveness of policy making depends on credible real time data.
Also read: High value public debt spent on nonproductive sector causes imbalance in economy: CPD
Policymakers will have to come out of growth obsession and focus on the quality of growth in terms of distribution of the benefits of growth more equally.
Since the poor and disadvantaged people are yet to overcome the impact of the pandemic and have been affected further due to high prices of essential commodities, the policy should protect the purchasing power of the poor and low-income groups, the study said.
CPD has been proposing various measures to ease the burden of rising prices and shrinking purchasing power of low- and fixed-income earning people including selectively reducing taxes at import and domestic stages and expanding social protection.
Besides, strategic sectors such as energy and agriculture will have to be supported through subsidies for economic growth and food security.
These measures should be combined with higher efforts for domestic resource mobilisation and reduced unnecessary and less important expenditures.
In the FY23 budget, fiscal measures pertaining to the external sector should focus on addressing the adverse impacts of imported inflation, CPD said.
High value public debt spent on nonproductive sector causes imbalance in economy: CPD
Though Bangladesh remains in a suitable position on public debt, it may be pushed to yellow rate after FY 25 as spending of high value foreign debt increases at the nonproductive sector, a CPD study says.
Both public and private sector debt from external sources have increased in recent past , which would create stress on forex reserves and widen the imbalance of trade, according to the study.
The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a think tank, presented the study in a programme titled ‘Deconstructing Public Debt of Bangladesh: Trends, Status and Outlook’ organized virtually on Monday.
Debapriya Bhattacharya, distinguished fellow of the CPD, presenting the overall scenario of Bangladesh’s debt said total national debt is increasing at a faster rate than Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Also read: Sovereign debt set to edge upwards in coming years
He said the macro economy of the country will face pressure if the government does not take cautionary measures from now to spend debt money in the nonproductive sector.
If the current tendency of national debt continues, the economy will witness weakening of external balance, deteriorating current account and balance of payment, fall in external financial flows including export revenue, remittance income, FDI, income on assets overseas, he said.
As a result, the situation may arise as debt default, fall in economic growth, high inflation, foreign exchange reserve depletion, exchange rate depreciation, loss of economic competitiveness and lowering of credit rating, Debapriya observed.
Replying to a query he said, if the GDP ratio of Bangladesh is not matching with other indicators of economy and different economic indicators are interrelated, while one of it is rising, the changes also affect others indicators.
He urged the government to continue the quarterly budget review and debt situation review so that parliamentary standing committee members can discuss the matter for national interest.
Also read: Bangladesh’s foreign debt far below risk limit: Economic review tells PM
Bebapriya also urged the government entities to be more friendly and transparent in releasing economic data and easy access to it for the researchers.
Bangladesh’s total public debt (as % of GDP), 34.7 percent, was among the lowest in South Asia in FY20, with Sri Lanka (112.2%) and Bhutan (120.7%), being the highest, source: IMF.
The total outstanding debt amount in FY21 in Bangladesh was $131.14 billion, it increased by $16.45 billion on average for the past 3 years, which was about 2.5 percent of GDP.
In FY21 only, total public debt increased more than $18.64 billion (additional 2.2 percent of GDP) of which more than 54 percent was domestic debt.
The total debt as percentage of GDP decreased in Bangladesh between FY08 (38.8%) and FY17 (28.2%). It has since increased between FY18 (29.5%) and FY21 (36.9%). The linear decadal growth rates were 44.1% (FY02 to FY11) 66.6% (FY12 to FY21).
Per capita outstanding debt – $432 (FY21), the annual increase of outstanding debt (FY20 to FY21) – $9.62 billion and annual increase in DSL – (FY20 to FY21) – $ 0.7 billion.
Total outstanding external private debt amount in Bangladesh was $18.69 billion in FY21, the share of external private debt in total debt increased between FY03 (3.9%) and 2021 (14.5%)
Bangladesh’s creditworthiness becomes high after graduation from LDC
Bangladesh’s graduation to lower middle income country from low income bracket has improved the credit worthiness of the country, according to an official document.
This has also opened new windows for financing of Bangladesh development projects by the World Bank and other development partners with slightly higher interest rates, says the document obtained by UNB.
In line with the Public Money and Budget Management Act, 2009, the government aims at minimizing interest costs and risks by choosing an appropriate borrowing mix.
Also read: International solidarity key to achieving DPoA for LDCs: Bangladesh
The document says Bangladesh's concessional financing facilities from bilateral and multilateral development partners has shrunk slightly in the recent past as the country elevated itself into the lower middle income status.
The government has been pursuing a medium term deficit financing strategy to strike a balance between domestic and external source as interest rate of foreign loans is still cheaper than
that of domestic loans despite some foreign exchange risk.
Further, the document mentions, global interest rate is likely to remain reasonably low as the global economic recovery might be delayed due to the advent of new variants of COVID-19 amid supply shortage of vaccine doses across the globe.
Therefore, deciding on an appropriate borrowing mix between external and domestic source is critical to reduce overall financing cost and slowing down accumulation of debt stock.
As the government meets the major share of its financing requirements from domestic sources, appropriate borrowing mix between bank and non-bank financing is critical to reduce domestic
debt servicing cost, and hence the overall financing cost.
The official document says the government has been trying to reduce the share of nonbank financing in its domestic portfolio towards relatively cheaper bank financing by implementing several reform measures in the National Saving scheme, postal saving scheme, and the postal banking system.
For instance, it says, NID-based national database is being used to sell NSCs to ensure that any individual cannot cross his maximum allowable limit of investment in NSCs and the source tax on interest income from NSCs was raised to 10 per cent from 5 per cent since fiscal 2019-20.
Besides, the postal savings scheme and the postal banking system have also been automated to improve efficiency in government financing.
Also read: Bangladesh to enjoy DFQF market access to Australia in post-LDC period
To widen the scope for domestic financing the government has been taking various reform measures to increase the depth of the domestic bond market, the document adds.
The government has introduced a Shariah-compliant bond called 'Sukuk' in fiscal 2020-21.
The fund raised by the Sukuk will be invested in a large infrastructure project titled "Safe Water Supply for the Whole Country".
The Shukuk could be a new frontier for financing large infrastructure projects by the government and thus, could reduce government's dependence on foreign finance which is not always easily accessible.
It could also ease pressure on the domestic market as the government might reduce its dependence on traditional financing such as bank borrowing or nonbank borrowing by issuing NSC.
PM rules out economic crisis in Bangladesh
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of a Sri Lanka-like crisis in Bangladesh, saying that the country’s economy is very strong.
“The base of Bangladesh's economy is very strong. We’re very careful about it,” she said in her valedictory speech in the 17th session of 11th Parliament.
Also read: JS thanks PM for making 'Joy Bangla' the national slogan
The prime minister said this, referring to the remarks of Deputy Opposition Leader Ghulam Muhammed Quader who suggested that Bangladesh needs to be cautious after the Sri Lankan economic crisis.
Hasina, also the Leader of the House, said Bangladesh still remains as the 31st largest economy in the world.
She dismissed the fear of Bangladesh falling in any debt trap, saying that the country has always been repaying loans in time after Awami League formed the government.
“Bangladesh is a country which has never become a defaulter in loan repayment and will not become so in future as well,” she said.
Talking about the essentials’ price-hike, the Prime Minister said the inflation rate has gone above 7.50 per cent in the entire Europe due to the fallout of Covid-19 pandemic and Ukraine war. “But the inflation is still less than 6 per cent in Bangladesh,” she said.
She said the prices of essentials increased with the rise of per capita income in the country. The price of every commodity rose in the world due to the Covid-19.
“The prices of essentials have gone up in all the countries, not only in our country,” said Hasina, mentioning that ship fare also enhanced along with the price-hike in the international market due to the blow of both Covid and war.
Citing Wednesday's prices of different essentials in the local market, the PM said the government is taking measures to control the prices of goods.
Also read:Padma Bridge to open to traffic end this year, PM informs Parliament
Sheikh Hasina, also the President of Bangladesh Awami League, defended the Article-70 of the Constitution, which doesn’t allow an MP to vote against his or her party in Parliament.
“There is a stability in politics as the Article-70 is there,” she said.
As per the Article 70, if an MP resigns from his or her party or votes against that party, the person would lose the membership of Parliament.
World Bank projects developing East Asia Pacific to grow 5 pct in 2022
The developing East Asia and Pacific countries is projected to grow by 5 percent in 2022 amid the resurgence of COVID-19 pandemic, tighter financial conditions and the Russia-Ukraine war, the World Bank said Monday.
"Shocks emanating from the war in Ukraine and the sanctions on Russia are disrupting the supply of commodities, increasing financial stress, and dampening global growth," said the World Bank's newly released East Asia and Pacific Economic Update.
Also Read: World Bank Recruitment 2022: Job opportunities at the World Bank, workplace Dhaka
"Just as the economies of East Asia and the Pacific were recovering from the pandemic-induced shock, the war in Ukraine is weighing on growth momentum," said World Bank Vice President for East Asia and Pacific Manuela V. Ferro. "The region's largely strong fundamentals and sound policies should help it weather these storms."
Surging U.S. inflation could provoke faster-than-anticipated financial tightening, perhaps timely in the United States but "too early" in many East Asia and Pacific countries where recovery is "incomplete," according to the report. The risk of capital outflows, which could put pressure on some countries' currencies, could induce "premature" financial tightening.
Overall economic growth in developing East Asia and Pacific countries is projected to slow to 5 percent in 2022, 0.4 of a percentage point less than expected in October, the World Bank noted, adding that if global conditions worsen and national policy responses are weak, growth in the region could slow to 4 percent.
Also Read: World Bank okays $358 million fund to improve road safety in Bangladesh
To mitigate the risks and grasp the opportunities, the World Bank urged governments to enhance efficiency of fiscal policy for recovery and growth, and strengthen macroprudential policies to mitigate risks from global financial tightening.
It also called on policymakers to reform trade-related policies in goods and, especially, in still-protected services sectors to take advantage of shifts in the global trade landscape, and encourage diffusion of technology.