Business Desk :
The country’s economic growth rate for the current fiscal year is forecast to remain subdued at 1.6 per cent, even though the global economy may expand by 4.0 pc in 2021.
For economies like Bangladesh, which depend on overseas markets for manufacturing exports, the recovery will be modest, according to the World Bank’s 2021 Global Economic Prospect.
The report also said Bangladesh’s exports, especially apparels, will remain weak in the year under review.
The bank’s report said there is less certainty over the robust growth of remittances due to the weak recovery in the GulF Cooperation Council countries.
The government has set a GDP growth target of 8.2 per cent for the current fiscal year, although public spending has remained poor in the first four months of the fiscal year.
On the other hand, the South Asia region is projected to grow by 3.3 per cent in 2021.
In India, growth is expected to contract at 9.6 per cent in 2021 fiscal year before going up to 5.4 per cent in the fiscal year 2022.
In Bhutan, the growth may be contracted to 0.7 per cent,
Pakistan and Nepal may expand at 0.5 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively in fiscal year 2021.
However, the GEP report said Bangladesh’s economy had expanded 2.0 per cent in the 2020 fiscal year, although government statistics said it hit 5.25 per cent.
