Bangladesh’s growth in 2017 will be 6.8 percent, the World Bank has said in a report.
The global lender, in its report Global Economic Prospect released Sunday, attributed the decline in growth to sliding remittance and shrink in internal demand and industrial production.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith has projected for a growth of 7.4 percent for the fiscal 2017-18 in the budget he proposed. However, he himself said it was an ambitious budget.
Last year, the growth target of overcoming the “6 percent growth trap” was overcome as Muhith managed to drive the country beyond the 7 percent growth rate despite concerns.
In the report, Bangladesh’s growth has been credited to “solid agricultural activity and robust services this year, despite ongoing security concerns.”
Globally, World Bank forecasts the economic growth to strengthen to 2.7 percent in 2017, supported by a pickup in manufacturing and trade, rising confidence, benign financing conditions, and stabilising commodity prices.
In East Asia and Pacific region, growth is projected to ease to 6.2 percent in 2017 and to 6.1 percent in 2018, the report forecasts.
“For too long, we’ve seen low growth hold back progress in the fight against poverty, so it is encouraging to see signs that the global economy is gaining firmer footing,” World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said.
“With a fragile but real recovery now underway, countries should seize this moment to undertake institutional and market reforms that can attract private investment to help sustain growth in the long-term,” he said.
Source: The Daily Star
