Bangladesh Economy: News & Updates

[extra terrestrial]

Trade confidence rises sharply | Bangladesh gains 38 points on HSBC index

Trade confidence rises sharply
Bangladesh gains 38 points on HSBC index

Star Business Report

Bangladesh's trade confidence rose sharply, by 38 points in six months, which is the second highest among 23 countries globally.
The jump was due to growing demand for its garments from Western buyers and the recent initiatives aimed at making the country's apparel factories safer, according to a survey.
HSBC's latest Trade Confidence Index, which was published yesterday, shows that Bangladesh's score increased to 141 in the first half of 2014, from 103 in the second half of 2013.
Only Egypt is ahead of Bangladesh as the economic climate in the largest Arab country improved in recent times.
Bangladesh outpaced the UAE, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Vietnam, Ireland, Mexico, China, the UK, Brazil, Canada, Malaysia, Poland, the USA, Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong, Australia, France and Argentina.
"The authorities are introducing more safety regulations to the garments sector and this appears to have provided an additional boost to confidence," the banking giant said in a report.
The Trade Confidence Index is prepared by London-based TNS, the world leader in market research, global market information and business analysis, for 23 countries, and is the largest trade confidence survey globally.
The current survey comprises six-month views of 5,200 exporters, importers and traders from small and mid-market enterprises on trade volume, buyer and supplier risks, the need for trade finance, access to trade finance and the impact of foreign exchange on their business.
The fieldwork was conducted between May and July this year and gauged sentiment and expectations on trade activity and business growth in the next six months.

The survey report said shipments from Bangladesh rose 11.9 percent year-on-year in 2013 and went up at a similar pace in the first five months of 2014.
More than 70 percent of the survey respondents said the outlook for trade volumes will improve over the next six months, with almost 80 percent expecting the currency to have a favourable impact on business growth over this period.
About 40 percent of the respondents said that Europe, Bangladesh's biggest trading partner, offers the best opportunity for business growth over the next six months, while one-third point to Asia and 17 percent to North America.
More than a third of the respondents expect demand in key markets to be higher over the next six months, while more than 16 percent generally feel more confident about the coming months.
The US dollar is the currency of choice for more than 85 percent of the survey respondents. Nearly 80 percent see currency movements having a positive impact on trade over the next six months, while more than two thirds see trade agreements as favourable for international business.
But around a quarter of the respondents cited high costs of logistics, shipping and storage as potential constraints on business growth.
On the longer term outlook on Bangladesh, HSBC expects the country to grow rapidly over the remainder of the current decade, and investment, particularly in infrastructure, will continue to rise strongly to support this.
It said industrial machinery is the second largest import sector behind textiles and will continue out to 2030 with the sector contributing almost 20 percent to Bangladesh's import growth.
China, India, Korea and Indonesia will be Bangladesh's fastest growing import partners, taking advantage of geographical proximity, the survey report said. The US, Germany and the UK are Bangladesh's top export partners and this will remain unchanged out to 2030, thanks to strong demand from the West for garments.

 

[Bilal9]

Dhaka software start-up scene documentary:

 

[extra terrestrial]

ADB lifts economic growth forecast for Bangladesh

The Asian Development Bank has revised upwards its economic growth forecast for Bangladesh -- to 6.4 percent from 6.2 percent -- for the current fiscal year.

The latest projection is still much lower than the government's 7.3 percent target.

All major economic indicators of Bangladesh have been showing a sign of improvement for the past several months, according to ADB's update report launched yesterday at its Dhaka office.

The report has also projected a current account surplus and said inflation will remain within the target of the government.

“We are very positive on Bangladesh's growth prospect this year,” Mohammad Zahid Hossain, principal economist of ADB for Bangladesh, said at a press conference at their office.

Hossain presented the findings on the Asian Development Outlook Update 2014 at the briefing where ADB Country Director Kazuhiko Higuchi was present.

“Imports of capital machinery and raw materials are improving. After restructuring, export is also increasing,” Hossain said.
http://j.mp/Kaspersky-Lab-Bangladesh/
Yet, there are binding limitations in the economy, the report said.

Infrastructure constraints, such as inadequate supply of power and inability to mobilse resources, and political unrest could dampen investor confidence and economic activities, it said.

Bangladesh witnessed a slowdown in economic activities for more than a year centring the national elections held in January this year. Even after the elections, businesses were not getting their confidence back. Private sector credit growth went down to a 13-year low at 10.4 percent in February. But things started to turn around in the past several months and private credit growth rose to 12.3 percent in June.

“As economic reforms took hold, and despite political disruption prior to national elections, growth and exports beat projections,” the ADB report said.

The Manila-based development bank said industrial growth will improve to 9.2 percent this fiscal year from the previous year's 8.4 percent, due to higher exports and stronger domestic demand, supported by a rise in remittances.

The services sector is also estimated to grow 5.9 percent, slightly more than 5.8 percent in fiscal 2013-14.

The ADB report said continued policy support will boost agricultural growth to 3.5 percent from 3.3 percent a year ago.

The external current account is projected to show a larger surplus of 1.5 percent of gross domestic product in fiscal 2014-15, with higher growth in exports and remittances.

Export growth is expected to rise to 13 percent, up from 12 percent in the previous year.

“Improvements in wages, working conditions, labour rights and building and safety standards will enhance buyers' confidence in the Bangladesh garment industry and boost exports,” the report said.

Import is also projected to be higher at 15 percent in fiscal 2014-15, compared to 8.9 percent a year ago.

The inflow of remittances, which declined 1.6 percent last fiscal year, is projected to increase 7 percent in the current year.

The ADB also said average inflation will slow down to 6.5 percent from 7.4 percent a year ago, mainly due to easing supply constraints, a better crop outlook, large stock of food grains and a supportive monetary policy.

It said lower food prices on the international market and stable oil prices will contribute to a fall in the inflation rate.

The ADB report, however, detected some potential risks to these projections on the Bangladesh economy.

It said inability to mobilise domestic and foreign resources could affect the government's development spending. Costlier bank borrowing could fuel inflation and renewed political unrest could dampen investor confidence and economic activities, the report said.

“Bangladesh has higher growth potential, which is not possible to utilise without a jump in investment. Skills deficit is another major challenge for Bangladesh to grow at a faster rate,” Hossain said.

Investment has remained virtually stagnant between 25 percent and 26 percent of GDP over the past several years. Analysts said investment needs to be raised to at least 32 percent to achieve 7 percent or more economic growth.

 

[TopCat]

I think GDP growth rate will surpass 7% this year for sure.

 

[Bilal9]

Jamuna Future Park new images.

SkyscraperCity - View Single Post - Jamuna Future Park - Largest Shopping Mall in South Asia

 

[Bilal9]

Jamuna Future Park new images

SkyscraperCity - View Single Post - Jamuna Future Park - Largest Shopping Mall in South Asia

 

[Bilal9]

Bangladesh 'wildly adopting’ technology: Bill Gates -
bdnews24.com

SkyscraperCity - View Single Post - Dhaka Cityscapes - Part 6

 

[Bilal9]

Walton - that bizarre Bangladeshi brand is branching off into weirder and weirder items.

Behold the 'WalPad' 8 Primo version (8") w/Android Kitkat (mini iPad clone). And from the same product line (double door refrigerator)???

Other items such as Fuzzy Logic Rice cookers???

 

[kaykay]

BD economy according to IMF(October 2014):
186.5 Billion USD.
Report for Selected Countries and Subjects

 

[BDforever]

BD economy according to IMF(October 2014):
186.5 Billion USD.
Report for Selected Countries and Subjects

 

[extra terrestrial]

Bangladesh forex reserves again top $22 billion -
bdnews24.com

Foreign exchange reserves at Bangladesh Bank have again crossed $22 billion.

According to Bangladesh Bank, the reserves stood at $22.02 billion at the closing of Wednesday’s transactions.

The central bank’s Forex Reserves and Treasury Management Department General Manager Kazi Saidur Rahman said ‘positive trend’ of export earnings and increased flow of remittance ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha and Durga Puja fuelled the rise.

The reserves had reached record $22 billion on Aug 7 but went down after Bangladesh cleared Asian Clearing Union (ACU) import bills.

According to the central bank, remittance inflow during the first three months of the current fiscal year, beginning on July 1, registered 22 percent increase over the same period.

In July, Bangladeshis living abroad sent home $1.48 billion, the highest for any month.

On the other hand, exports in the 2013-14 fiscal year fetched Tk $30.18 billion, 12 percent higher than the previous FY’s figure.

 

[Bilal9]

Remarkable progress achieved in Bangladesh regarding workplace safety and worker security

 

[Bilal9]

Shipbuilding backward linkage industries being strengthened

 

[Zabaniyah]

Summit to highlight Bangladesh's success to foreign investors

SCB, City Bank to sponsor the event in Singapore

Star Business Report

Jim McCabe, CEO of Standard Chartered Bangladesh, speaks at a press conference yesterday to announce Bangladesh Investment Summit to be held in Singapore. Sohail RK Hussain, CEO of City Bank, is also seen. Photo: Star

A daylong summit to tell Bangladesh's success story and lure in foreign investors is set to take place early next month in Singapore, Asia's financial hub.

Dubbed the second Bangladesh Investment Summit in Asia, the forum, which is expected to be attended by nearly 300 Asia-based delegates, will be an important platform for businesses and policymakers to showcase Bangladesh as an exciting investment destination.

FinanceAsia and AsianInvestor, both published by Haymarket Financial Media Group, is organising the event at the Four Seasons Hotel Singapore on September 4.

Standard Chartered Bangladesh is the summit's headline sponsor and City Bank Ltd is the platinum sponsor.

At a press conference yesterday to announce the event, Jim McCabe, chief executive officer of SCB, said the country has demonstrated rapid progress since independence and has been “rightly” identified by Goldman Sachs as one of the next 11 emerging markets.

The summit will “unfold the interesting story of Bangladesh, its sustained growth and immense opportunities to potential investors and the international finance sector in general”, he said.

It will address some of the most pertinent issues for companies planning to invest in the country and for Bangladeshi companies looking to rise in Asia.

McCabe said this year's event will be “more balanced” as a wider selection of government representatives, rating agencies, asset managers, institutional investors, principals from private equity and hedge funds, high officials of the country's leading corporations, heads of research from Asia-based brokerage houses will be present.

Topics to be covered include: mapping economic growth, risks and the regulatory landscape; accessing Bangladesh's equity and debt capital markets; investment opportunities in public-private partnership projects and where the country feature in investment allocation strategy.

“Such events promote Bangladesh in the international business community. This is our chance to change the perception of the country by showcasing tremendous achievements of Bangladesh in recent times,” said Sohail RK Hussain, CEO of City Bank.

Gowher Rizvi, international affairs adviser to the prime minister, will present the keynote speech on “Bangladesh Beckons: The New Narrative”, while Farooq Sobhan, president of Bangladesh Enterprise Institute, will speak on the investment opportunities in Bangladesh.

There will be a session where top officials from banks, IT and garment industry will discuss a number of issues such as business landscape, potential and challenges, regulatory and bureaucratic support and hindrance moderated by McCabe.

Johannes Zutt, World Bank's country director for Bangladesh, and Kyle F Kelhofer, Bangladesh's country manager of International Finance Corporation, will also attend the summit.

BRAC EPL, LankaBangla, LR Global and Eastern Bank are silver sponsors and DFDL is the bronze sponsor of the summit.

The Daily Star, Channel i, Bloomberg, Mergermarket, Eurekahedge and Asia First are media partners for the event.

The inaugural edition of the summit took place in Singapore in 2012 and the following year, the venue was shifted to London to target the Europe-based investors. Following great interests from investors, the summit was moved back to Singapore this year.

Summit to highlight Bangladesh's success to foreign investors | SCB, City Bank to sponsor the event in Singapore

 

[tahsin]

Are most of the developments in this thread in place (at least in planned or starting phase) or are most simply dreamt up? I do think we need to build some really nice subarbs in the major cities, modelled on subarbs from major cities from across the world, like some you get in London, San Francisco, New York, Dallas, etc. Really nice leafy subarbs, that are highly liveable.