Sohel Parvez

From early pilot schemes in Feni and Kutubdia to Sirajganj initiatives, Bangladesh’s wind power is maturing

The United States has become Bangladesh’s top soybean supplier, as private importers increased purchases under a reciprocal trade deal and US prices eased earlier in the year when Chinese demand briefly slowed.

When the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, the first signs of trouble in Bangladesh were felt at airports. Flights to several Middle Eastern destinations were suspended, leaving migrant workers stranded and creating chaos at Dhaka airport.

In a bid to secure supply, the government has confirmed the purchase of seven LNG cargoes from the spot market since the beginning of the US-Israel war on Iran

Credit growth to the private sector has been staying around 6 percent as businesses continue to be shy about taking on fresh projects amid economic uncertainty.

In January, banks’ credit to the private sector grew by 6.03 percent, the lowest in at least five years

bKash alone handled Tk 20,000 crore in remittances last year. While the growth was substantial, the amount of remittance sent using MFS was only 5 percent of the total.

Bangladesh’s private investment fell for the third consecutive year, reaching 22.03 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the fiscal year 2024-25, the lowest level in 11 years, amid a weak investment climate and macroeconomic stress.