Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) President Rizwan Rahman has expressed his hope that the economy of Bangladesh will rebound in 2021 propelled by a v-shaped recovery.
A v-shaped recovery is characterised by a quick and sustained recovery in measures of economic performance after a sharp economic decline.
DCCI President Rizwan Rahman said despite COVID-19 stress, Bangladesh has registered remarkable 5.47 per cent GDP growth in FY2021 respectively backed by strong economic fundamentals, international trade base, resilience absorbing economic shock and became the 3rd largest growth performing economy in 2020 as per the International Monetary Fund (IMF), reports BSS.
“Moreover, Bangladesh’s per capita income is estimated to increase to US$ 2,227 in FY2020-21 marking 9 per cent growth. While the global trade declined by 5.3 per cent, (in 2020) Bangladesh made 15.2 per cent growth in export trade. Our growth could have been larger if the global supply chain system remained uninterrupted,” he added.
Following this growth momentum, Rizwan expected that Bangladesh’s economy will rebound in 2021 propelled by a v-shaped recovery.
He said the consistent economic performance enabled Bangladesh to meet the eligibility of the United Nations Committee for Development Policy (CDP) to graduate into a developing country by 2026.
“Robust economic progress will steer Bangladesh to become a developed country by 2041,” he opined.
Witnessing the unprecedented growth of Bangladesh, he informed that leading multinational corporations (MNCs) -like Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, UBS- are highly ambitious of Bangladesh.
“HSBC projects Bangladesh 26th largest economy by 2030, PWC projects 28th largest and 23rd largest economy by 2050,” he mentioned.
Rizwan Rahman, however, said that the fully operational nine Export Processing Zones (EPZs), plan for 100 Economic Zones (EZ), One-Stop Service, tax holiday facility up to 33 sectors, competitive labour force, demographic dividend, political stability, outstanding return, growing infrastructure development, technological advancement and competitive investment incentives have been considered as ‘growth enablers’ for Bangladesh, branding Bangladesh as a favourite destination for trade and investment regionally.
The private investment to GDP ratio in Bangladesh reached 23.63 per cent whereas the overall investment to GDP ratio reached 31.75 per cent, he informed.
He said the private investment to GDP ratio is projected to be 40 per cent in the next decade, 32 per cent with the 8th five-year plan as well as higher trade growth around $100 billion targeted in the 8th Five Year plan.
“Diversified manufacturing and service sectors especially Readymade Garments (RMG) and textiles, leather goods, pharmaceuticals, light engineering, plastic products, agro and food processing, IT, electronics, 4IR technology and other non–traditional and emerging manufacturing sectors offer rewarding and competitive investment leverage for foreign investors and traders,” he said.
Rizwan mentioned that the confidence of the global investors in Bangladesh has increased as some bold and strategic reforms are consistently being taken considering the changing geo-economic dynamics and private sector needs.
EZ is a milestone in industrial ecosystem development that will act as an economic impetus for the country attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), facilitating jobs creation, promoting export diversification and spilling positive impacts on local industry.
“So far, 93 EZ sites were identified which are in progress. BEZA has already received investment commitments from the world’s leading companies, like Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal, Honda Motor Corporation, of Japan, Procter and Gamble (P&G) invested in EZs. Despite pandemic stress, FDI in Bangladesh has reached $2.37 billion in 2020 amidst of global FDI downturn. These endeavours caused a paradigm shift in the economic atmosphere of Bangladesh upholding the inclusive development spirit of the Father of the Nation,” he added.
To continue economic momentum towards the trajectory by 2041, he said, game-changing avenues of the economy ranging from substantial infrastructure, industrial growth, infrastructure development, digitalisation, market concentration and blended and sizable financing are essential.
"International trade of country accounts for around 34 per cent to GDP performing indispensable roles to steer our relentless socioeconomic development spree," he added.
