Economy

The IMF Monday again sharply lowered its Middle East and North Africa economic forecast, to its lowest level in 50 years, over the "twin shock" of the coronavirus pandemic and low oil prices. The region's economy will contract by 5.7 percent this year, and shrink by as...

The economic review, a popular budget publication, will now be published sometime in September next. The publication usually covers data relating to the country's economic activities. The finance division which compiles data has failed to publish timely this year following a long holiday from March 26 last...

The coronavirus pandemic triggered a decline in card spending by nearly 50 per cent in April, in an indication of a massive fall in demand in Bangladesh as people went for belt-tightening amid income collapses. Transactions through debit cards stood at Tk 8,336 crore in April, the...

With the first detection of Covid-19 in the country in March and infections still showing a rising trend, economic activities have remained subdued for several months.  This has resulted in a loss in income and employment for millions of people, especially those engaged in...

Bangladesh's medicine exports recorded 4.49 percent growth in the 2019-20 fiscal year amid coronavirus while export of other products witnessed downturns. Industry people said Bangladeshi drugs for Covid-19 treatment have created a substantial demand in the international market, and the pharma sector will see a handsome growth...

Electricity bill shocks are now spilling over to prepaid meter users as well even though it was a concern for postpaid meter users only for the last few months amid Covid-19. Many prepaid meter users of Dhaka city have come up with complaints of ghost electricity bills...

The government can finance its large development projects from foreign exchange reserves instead of borrowing from the country's banking sector, a think-tank suggested on Saturday. Since foreign exchange reserves are currently in a better position due to increase in remittances and reduction in imports, the government can...

Before the Covid-19 pandemic people migrated from villages to cities to find work. However, when the pandemic hit many of these people, including expatriate workers in the Middle East, became jobless and returned to their villages. Creating employment opportunities for these people in rural areas will be...

Three specialised banks and the Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) are ready with separate action plans aimed at distributing loans toward creating employment for youths and the rural poor and to rehabilitate returnee expatriates hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. They will finalise the draft plans at...

Chartered Accountants (CAs) can play a vital role in economic recovery by taking particular care in their conduct and judgments as fair information, accountability, and transparent public finance are important to develop a strong and resilient economy in the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, said experts at...