Mamun Rashid

The Bangladesh Investment Development Authority chairman recently said that foreign direct investment has increased significantly, and he hinted that the return of Tarique Rahman could strengthen investor confidence.

The major causes of the multifaceted crises facing the country in the recent past have largely been the shortage of foreign currency and the continuous depletion of foreign exchange reserves.

Bangladesh’s economy showed signs of consolidation in 2025. Market liquidity, especially foreign currency liquidity, improved significantly, driven by a rise in wage earners’ remittances, a moderate increase in exports, and higher foreign aid disbursement. Inflation, however, continued to remain stubbornly high.

Fear seeps into markets, schools, offices, and homes.

My own act of resistance was small. It came in the form of a tiny pebble thrown at a military jeep passing through our town.

For more than forty years, Bangladesh has carried a remarkable story of economic transformation. A country rooted in agriculture built one of the world’s most influential apparel industries through grit, discipline and a willingness to learn. The label “Made in Bangladesh” travelled across continents because workers and entrepreneurs believed they could do something bigger than their circumstances. That belief helped reshape the national economy and identity.

Bangladesh has lost one of its most enduring builders. M Matiul Islam, the country’s first finance secretary and a pioneering figure in the nation’s economic architecture, passed away on November 20 at the age of 95.

Though I spent my banking life with foreign banks, I was mostly half-hearted about knowing the courtroom performance of local lawyers. Many were seen arriving without having done enough homework before defending their clients.