Sadiq Ahmed

As the World Bank’s sector director for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM), I worked very closely on the reform programme in Bangladesh led by former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia in 2001-06.

The slide in GDP growth is a complex interaction of a whole host of factors.

Some banks are simply non-viable and suffer from inherent governance problems.

Empirical evidence globally suggests that foreign direct investment (FDI), when used strategically and combined with supportive policies, can facilitate economic growth. Recent examples of countries that have prospered from a strong FDI role include Korea, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Although the reforms have just started, some positive results are already visible.

Since FY2022, actual export earnings emerging from the banking sector data were significantly lower than the figures reported by the EPB.

The high incidence of corruption, some of which have erupted openly in the public domain.

Bangladesh’s macroeconomic imbalances have emerged from inflationary pressure; the balance of payments pressure; and fiscal pressure