Bangladesh economy may rebound robustly in the current fiscal year (FY21) as the gross domestic product (GDP) is likely to post 7.20 per cent growth.
Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2021, prepared and released by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), made the projection.
The flagship report of ESCAP, released on Tuesday, however, mentioned that the ambitious projection is provisional and linked with the pandemic related development as of March 9, 2021.
In the past fiscal year (FY20), Bangladesh GDP recorded 5.20 per cent growth.
“Bangladesh benefited from its robust economic fundamentals and prudent fiscal management prior to the pandemic as well as a countercyclical surge in remittance inflows,” said the ESCAP report.
It also mentioned that the least developed countries (LDCs) in the region as a whole expanded by 3.0 per cent in 2020.
“Three main factors contributed to this positive growth,” it explained. “The 5.2 per cent economic growth in the fiscal year 2019-20 in Bangladesh, the group’s largest economy; a larger rural sector, which suffered less adverse impacts from the pandemic; and weaker trade linkages with other countries, which partly insulated them from the COVID-19 shock.”
ESCAP also projected that inflation would increase moderately in Bangladesh and stood at 5.90 per cent by the end of the year which was 5.60 per cent in the last fiscal year.
According to ESCAP projection, India may register 7.0 per cent growth in the current fiscal year while the rate may be only 1.50 per cent for Pakistan.
asjadulk@gmail.com