According to the Finance Minister's statement in parliament, the government has already paid more than 80,000 crore taka and will have to pay another 100,000 crore taka in the future to maintain the Sammilito Islami Bank under the Bank Resolution Ordinance.
Not only is the government expected to manage the current account deficit, but it is also expected to service the debt obligations it has inherited and pay for its electoral commitments, and yet somehow manage to bring inflation down.
Iran and the UAE are bound by historic trade and migration networks and, more recently, by Dubai's role as a key hub for Iran to the global economy. Iranian missiles have shattered those ties.
This second article in a three-part series argues that bad loans, political patronage, and cosmetic accounting turned Bangladesh’s banks into a public crisis.
The BNP government has now inherited the institutional resistance it generated and will need to find a way to manouvre around it. Bangladesh will find it extremely hard to finance its development ambitions unless it significantly improves its tax collection systems and addresses the political economy of doing so.
It is common to find opportunities from data intelligence to apply surcharges, taxes or strategic partnership or code sharing with other airlines or budget airlines for win-win operations.
A trillion-dollar economy requires a financial system that can recognize risk, tolerate risk, and allocate capital with intelligence.
The integration of solar panels into agricultural land offers a practical pathway toward achieving energy independence, environmental sustainability, and resilient food systems in Bangladesh.
Policy predictability must become a cornerstone of economic management. Investors must be assured that agreements will be honoured and that regulatory frameworks will not shift unpredictably. At the same time, bureaucratic processes must be simplified and digitized to reduce delays and discretion.
Bangladesh now needs a clear economic roadmap and renewed emphasis on economic and energy diplomacy.
Reviving Saarc is a Sisyphean task, but it is one Bangladesh is uniquely positioned to undertake. In a world of hardening blocs, South Asia cannot afford to be the only region without a voice.
The country has already demonstrated remarkable resilience and creativity in its economic journey -- from garments to remittances to microfinance. The next chapter will require an equally bold shift in how capital is allocated.
While the duration of the conflict and the peak of oil prices remain unpredictable, there is a silver lining. Analysts note that the BDT is not as significantly overvalued today as it was in 2022. Consequently, any potential "crash" or magnitude of depreciation is expected to be much lower than the volatility witnessed two years ago.
Israel’s budget deficit has tripled. Government spending has risen by 40%, while foreign investment has dropped by 60%. The economy is shrinking, and national income is falling. To cover its costs, the country is on its way to falling into a debt trap.
Import cost is ultimately a function of trust. When global banks and suppliers trust that payments will be made on time and that policies will remain predictable, they offer better terms. Conversely, when uncertainty prevails, they demand confirmation, higher spreads, and tighter conditions.
The constraint has never been a lack of opportunity. It has been risk, real and perceived. That is where development institutions can play a catalyzing role: Financing infrastructure, supporting regulatory reform and reducing risk.
