Kamal: Bangladesh GDP reaches $411bn

[N.Siddiqui]

The rate at which BD is going up is very suspicious. Its jumping from $1600 to 2000 and then 2500 in a matter of few months. Every other few months there is a claim by a minister in BD how big the GDP is now. The whole thing is fishy.

A common brand like mcdonalds wouldnt even come to BD. Most brands come to India/PK and completely avoid BD.

No need to work up and getting suspicious, a success of BD's brothers doesn't mean a failure of Pakistan, similarly any good news fom Pakistan does not mean it's a failure of BD.

This actually is a very Indian trait of demeaning other neighbors, Bangladesh was our erstwhile brother country, still it is. Much better to post positive news about Pakistan instead of looking for negatives from others.

BTW BD's city Dhaka looks very modern, many/some areas of it like Gulshan...and I actually like the architecture of midrises with fairface concrete and exposed cement, and with it the glass cladding. And their percentage is higher their in BD than say Karachi(the number of Office midrises not apts, shows the economic activity and biz.). Karachi has got some highrises though like the 62 story BT Icon, 50 story Chapal Skymark, some 40+40 story Dolmen twin towers. Dhaka and Karachi both are distinct and got its own charm.

 

[Khan_21]

No need to work up and getting suspicious, a success of BD's brothers doesn't mean a failure of Pakistan, similarly any good news fom Pakistan does not mean it's a failure of BD.

This actually is a very Indian trait of demeaning other neighbors, Bangladesh was our erstwhile brother country, still it is. Much better to post positive news about Pakistan instead of looking for negatives from others.

BTW BD's city Dhaka looks very modern, many/some areas of it like Gulshan...and I actually like the architecture of midrises with fairface concrete and exposed cement, and with it the glass cladding. And their percentage is higher their in BD than say Karachi(the number of Office midrises). Karachi has got some highrises though like the 62 story BT Icon, 50 story Chapal Skymark, some 40+40 story Dolmen twin towers. Dhaka and Karachi both are distinct and got its own charm.

Karachi has more 100-150 meter buildings and is 10 times in area but with almost the same population.

In terms of vibe & feel its more like Mumbai than Dhaka.

 

[N.Siddiqui]

Karachi has more 100-150 meter buildings and is 10 times in area but with almost the same population.

In terms of vibe & feel its more like Mumbai than Dhaka.

I mentioned about the highrises in Karachi. Karachi spread is more no doubt due to the residential areas full of big, medium to small bungalows, Dhaka didn't have this luxury of huge spaces, nor is Bangladesh. That has made them thrifty and prudent it seems. Pakistan people splurges a lot of money on bungalows and big cars. An office building expenditure is better than spending on a bungalow...better still on a factory, adds to the economy.

It is prevalent in BD too, the conspicuous extravagance, a third world thing, elite capture. BTW you don't see huge residences in Japan and S. Korea and you don't see slums as well, but you see huge office buildings and public places, and income disparity is not there, this is how Pakistan should follow. Bottom up approach than the trickling down from the rich to the poor, an Indian thing and policy.

BTW Karachi area is bigger with Gadap town taking a huge chunk of land is mostly inhabitated. You can check the map.

 

[leonblack08]

I mentioned about the highrises in Karachi. Karachi spread is more no doubt due to the residential areas full of big, medium to small bungalows, Dhaka didn't have this luxury of huge spaces, nor is Bangladesh. That has made them thrifty and prudent it seems. Pakistan people splurges a lot of money on bungalows and big cars. An office building expenditure is better than spending on a bungalow...better still on a factory.

It is prevalent in BD too, the conspicuous extravagance, a third world thing, elite capture. BTW you don't see huge residences in Japan and S. Korea and you don't see slums as well, and income disparity, this is how Pakistan should follow. Bottom up approach than the trickling down from the rich to the poor, an Indian thing and policy.

BTW Karachi area is bigger with Gadap town taking a huge chunk of land is mostly inhabitated. You can check the map.

You are correct. Bungalows and such are not as prevalent in Dhaka, apart from a few elite areas. It's mostly filled with residential apartment buildings.

Also Bangladeshi soil is not suitable for super tall skyscrapers. The soil composition is different than in Pakistan, and it is more expensive to build a skyscraper, as you need a lot more reinforcement to compensate for the soil. Hence we rarely see 30+ stories skyscrapers in Dhaka.

 

[RangeMaster]

Pakistan is working quietly and discreetly without the bluster and hubris...

BTW Pakistan PPP GDP is still higher than of BD's. Check the exports growth and remittances growth(both declined in BD), big rise in tax collection, huge rise in registration of new companies, private sector offtake loans seeing a huge increase, big investment in export oriented industry, agri sector reforms, all points to a better picture. SEZ's and Tech. zones.

Check the startup rise wrt to BD's.

Sudden rupee depreciation resulted in downfall of Pakistani economy. Over 35% decrease in 2 years. This was the moment Bangladesh crossed Pakistan. From $315 billion in 2018 to $265 billion in 2020, Pakistani GDP declined at an unprecedented rate.

But as of now Pakistan vs Bangladesh stand as follows...

GDP Nominal $411 vs $346 billion
GDP PPP $1.07 vs $1.47 trillion (after rebasing)

 

[Khan_21]

Sudden rupee depreciation resulted in downfall of Pakistani economy. Over 35% decrease in 2 years. This was the moment Bangladesh crossed Pakistan. From $315 billion in 2018 to $265 billion in 2020, Pakistani GDP declined at an unprecedented rate.

But as of now Pakistan vs Bangladesh stand as follows...

GDP Nominal $411 vs $346 billion
GDP PPP $1.07 vs $1.47 trillion (after rebasing)

I would take the BD figure with a grain of salt. Every month some minister in BD releases new GDP figures where the economy has grown by $50-100 Billion.

 

[UKBengali]

Pakistan is working quietly and discreetly without the bluster and hubris...

BTW Pakistan PPP GDP is still higher than of BD's. Check the exports growth and remittances growth(both declined in BD), big rise in tax collection, huge rise in registration of new companies, private sector offtake loans seeing a huge increase, big investment in export oriented industry, agri sector reforms, all points to a better picture. SEZ's and Tech. zones.

Check the startup rise wrt to BD's. Pakistan need to take a cue from BD for its HDI improvement measures...

Pakistan and its economy gets a lot of negative criticism fom Indian media, not just the Godi media and west too, that has actually helped, taking it as positive criticism won't let in the despondency and over confidence and waking up to the reality leads to working harder.

Nope, per capita GDP PPP which cannot be manipulated shows Pakistan and BD at a similar level now.

For 2021 BD is at 6,400 US dollars per capita PPP while Pakistan is at 6,000 and so BD has a slight lead now. This after being 40-50% behind just 10 years ago.

Now let us try to run these numbers 10-15 years into the future, with all major economic forecasters predicting 6% per capita growth for BD while Pakistan is at 3%, and you can see where the two countries will be in the 2030s.

BD economy is far more like the former East Asian "Tiger economies" than the other S Asian ones. It is afterall a unitary nation like them unlike multi-ethnic India and Pakistan.

Like I already said, BD has surpassed both India and Pakistan now and should be targeting richer Asian economies like Indonesia now as a benchmark.

 

[N.Siddiqui]

You are correct. Bungalows and such are not as prevalent in Dhaka, apart from a few elite areas. It's mostly filled with residential apartment buildings.

Also Bangladeshi soil is not suitable for super tall skyscrapers. The soil composition is different than in Pakistan, and it is more expensive to build a skyscraper, as you need a lot more reinforcement to compensate for the soil. Hence we rarely see 30+ stories skyscrapers in Dhaka.

Yes I knew about it. There are far too many rivers and their deltas with sub soil that is soft and the hard rocks needed for the foundations of highrises to stay are too deep down like could be more than 70-80 metres, that is prohibitive cost. The reason you mentioned about lack of highrises, also the roads at many places are narrow, so lesser highrises are actually good.

A few infra projects like the Dhaka Metro, new flyovers(already there are many) new airport terminal will give a new oultlook to Dhaka. Karachi city is going through some huge development projects too.

Pakistan: Imran Khan unveils historic Rs 1100 billion development package for rain-hit Karachi

Visits damaged city for first time after heavy monsoon downpour last month

gulfnews.com

For 2021 BD is at 6,400 US dollars per capita PPP while Pakistan is at 6,000 and so BD has a slight lead now. This after being 40-50% behind just 10 years ago.

This is the newer figure, after the rebasing of Pak and BD economy two days ago.

GDP Nominal $411 vs $346 billion
GDP PPP $1.07 vs $1.47 trillion (after rebasing)

Per capita is not updated in wikipedia and other sites.

 

[UKBengali]

Yes I knew about it. There are far too many rivers and their deltas with sub soil taht is soft and the hard rocks needed for the foundations of highrises to stay are too deep down like could be more than 70-80 metres, that is prohibitive cost. The reason you mentioned about lack of highrises, also the roads at many places are narrow, so lesser highrises are actually good.

A few infra projects like the Dhaka Metro, new flyovers(already there are many) new airport terminal will give a new oultlook for Dhaka. Karachi city is going through some huge development projects too.

Pakistan: Imran Khan unveils historic Rs 1100 billion development package for rain-hit Karachi

Visits damaged city for first time after heavy monsoon downpour last month

gulfnews.com

This is the newer figure, after the rebasing of Pak and BD economy two days ago.

GDP Nominal $411 vs $346 billion
GDP PPP $1.07 vs $1.47 trillion (after rebasing)

Per capita is not updated in wikipedia and other sites.

Does it change much if Pakistan is still slightly ahead rather than the other way round?

Both countries are similar at GDP per capita PPP level. This after BD was behind by around 40% just 10 years ago.

 

[N.Siddiqui]

BD economy is far more like the former East Asian "Tiger economies" than the other S Asian ones. It is afterall a unitary nation like them unlike multi-ethnic India and Pakistan.

I hope what you have written is true...

excerpt:
two million young jobseekers entering the labor market each year for the next decade, and climate change posing formidable risks (it is ranked as the 7th most vulnerable country), Bangladesh faces severe challenges. It enjoys growth momentum, but its fortunes are much too closely tied to a single, low-tech industry and to overseas remittances. The failure to use garments as a springboard to diversify into more complex products, as Korea did; to nurture world class firms with brand recognition, as several East Asian economies have done; to improve the business environment and governance; and to raise factor productivity, which determines whether a country moves steadily up the income ladder, warn of troubles ahead.

Second, the experience of Korea and other East Asian economies demonstrated the need for early diversification into higher-value manufacturers. All these countries began their ascent up the income ladder by producing light manufactures but then quickly branched out into complex products. In the Hausman-Hidalgo-Klinger terminology, these “monkeys” moved from one end of the forest to the other in one big leap. That sort of structural transformation now looks forbiddingly difficult for an LDC, even Bangladesh. There are technological barriers to entry, high-value GVCs are harder to integrate with for newcomers, manufacturing is automating and becoming servitized, and the share of manufacturing in GDP and its contribution to growth is diminishing. As we can see from the Bangladeshi case, the Korea/Taiwan-type manufacturing and export-led growth stories are not being replicated—not by Bangladesh, or emerging markets such as India, Brazil, and Mexico.

Third, Vietnam, the only country that appears to be following the East Asian playbook, highlights the importance of foreign direct investment (FDI) in firmly placing a country on the path to rapid and sustainable growth. It would seem highly desirable for countries that are ambitious and entrepreneurial to pull out the stops—fiscal and otherwise—to attract FDI that could accelerate the process of diversification. The Singapores and Irelands of the world would never have made it without a high volume of FDI.

 

[American Pakistani]

No we absolutely 100% NEED democracy
But parliamentary system is trash, we need a change in the system
Not ending of democracy

And I agree with macho culture bs though

I don't wanna divert the thread into off topic, but just stick to my opinion that Pakistan need a semi fake democracy which is one progressive party with strong military links in charge of country coming to power under semi fake elections - something similar to Bangladesh (no disrespect), so I'll respectfully disagree with you.

What invasion you are talking about here? You have been completely kicked out of our country by our bravado. It was India that saved the lives of your 93,000 troops by taking them POWs and also your prestige by doing so.

Pakistani generals wanted Indian intervention at the last moment to save their faces when our Mukti groups were winning in all the sectors. This is why you attacked first from the western sector. Please read somewhere to know which country started airforce attacks first.

You are right about what India thinks. But India enjoys Pakistan's maco culture because it will cause Pakistan to waste money on the military, will neglect development, and destroy its economy.

But you guys just do not try to understand this small thing.

Kindly stop with that propaganda that is taught to you by many of you politicians and their Indian masters. No such thing as 93k soldiers. It was 34k soldiers with rest being political workers, govt officers, clerks, business owners, etc.

 

[Khan_21]

Does it change much if Pakistan is still slightly ahead rather than the other way round?

Both countries are similar at GDP per capita PPP level. This after BD was behind by around 40% just 10 years ago.

Deep down you know your ministers are fudging data. Numerous well known websites/research has pointed it out.

You will overtake US in a year the way your minister keep changing data every month.

 

[RangeMaster]

I think Dhaka is more elegant in terms of mid rise architecture. 10-20 floor Buildings especially in Gulshan area are beautiful and glassy. On the other hand Karachi is more towards highrises and skyscrapers mostly for office use. Apartment living is still limited to Karachi with much less prevalence in Lahore and Islamabad.

Dhaka can't expand further, therefore more dense. While Karachi keeps expanding towards north i.e Bahria and DHA. And Pakistanis don't like apartments therefore housing societies are sprawling across major cities. Like Lahore has some 200+ housing societies. Though worst for agriculture (as eating up fertile farmland) these societies keep local businesses active and drive GDP with cement and steel consumption.

 

[SD 10]

The poster you replied has already been told many times about "accumulated wealth" but just finds it too painful to accept BD has surpassed Pakistan in nominal per capita and has now veen matched it in per capita PPP.

I would leave them be as in 15-20 years down the line even they would be too embarrassed to try to compare the two countries as any equivalence.

While I wish Pakistan well, it needs 10-15 years of sustained social and economic reforms before it gets to the growth stage that BD is at now.

Look man, Every Pakistani that i know of admits Bangladesh is doing much better economically than us , there is no ego here... but there is also different circumstances and different regions for both of our countries. There are many things that we have to look for despite our best efforts to avoid them , ultimately they are there and we have to deal with them for survival's sake.

 

[UKBengali]

Deep down you know your ministers are fudging data. Numerous well known websites/research has pointed it out.

You will overtake US in a year the way your minister keep changing data every month.

You are aware that GDP per capita PPP cannot be fudged?

Also BD economy exported 25 billion US dollars in the last half of 2021. Again you cannot make that up as it can be crossed checked with the imports of the countries that BD exports to.

Anyway I am hopeful that Pakistan can turn the corner as Imran Khan seems a decent, smart and honest guy.

With him and China, Pakistan can do well but you need to still make major social and economic changes as your population is already 220 million that even massive Chinese investments, trade routes and market by themselves cannot make Pakistani economy boom by itself.