Reserves on rise despite fuel, fertiliser shock
9 HOUR(s)
When war in the Middle East sent fuel prices climbing, Bangladesh looked like an obvious casualty. An import-dependent economy with a thin reserve cushion and a recent history of dollar shortages had every reason to buckle. It has not.
9 HOUR(s)
Energy: Govt okays 18 LNG cargoes from Total Energies
10 September 2026
After approving a long-term deal to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from a US-based firm, the government yesterday decided to import at least 18 LNG cargoes from France’s TotalEnergies over the next nine months under a direct purchase arrangement.
10 September 2026
Another metro getting on track
7 September 2026
The MRT-5 southern route is finally getting a move on, with the project set to be placed before the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) next week for approval.
7 September 2026
Where access to freshwater is a daily struggle
5 September 2026
Sharmin Begum, who lives in Barguna’s Patharghata upazila, may have done little to contribute to global warming, but she is suffering severely from its adverse impacts.
5 September 2026
LNG bill to triple as war drags on
4 September 2026
The escalating conflict in the Middle East threatens to nearly triple Bangladesh’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) subsidy bill to Tk 40,000 crore ($3.3 billion) this fiscal year, forcing the government to turn to multilateral lenders for additional assistance.
4 September 2026
Bangladesh paying near-peak prices for LNG
3 September 2026
Bangladesh is paying its highest spot price for liquefied natural gas (LNG) since the onset of the US-Israeli attacks on Iran, approving a cargo at over $28 per unit as geopolitical supply shocks and domestic infrastructure failures converge to create a severe energy crisis.
3 September 2026
National pay scale: Hurrah for government employees
1 September 2026
The government yesterday approved the largest pay hike for civil service since independence, doubling the basic salary of top officials and raising the lowest pay by a record 142 percent.
1 September 2026
Fertiliser shock raises poverty risk
31 August 2026
US war on Iran could cause a 30% price hike this year
31 August 2026
ADB, partners to give $2b by June
Bangladesh is poised to get about $2 billion in budget support this fiscal year in a co-funding initiative led by the Asian Development Bank, in a development that would ease the continued pressure on the foreign currency reserves.
24 March 2023
PM to visit US in April on WB president’s invite
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to travel to Washington DC towards the end of next month to celebrate 50 years of partnership between Bangladesh and the World Bank.
22 March 2023
Development spending lowest in 12 years
Development spending in Bangladesh stood at 32.10 per cent in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, the slowest pace of implementation during the rule of the Awami League, official figures showed.
22 March 2023
Rooppur Nuke Power Plant: Launching not before 2025
The Rooppur nuclear power plant is likely to be delayed further if the recent revision of one of the associated projects is any indication.
22 March 2023
5 projects to seek extra Tk 1,119cr
Although the government discourages implementing agencies of development projects in Bangladesh from seeking time and cost revisions, several proposals in this regard are placed at each meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec).
21 March 2023
FY24 Budget: Focus on inflation, macro stability
Economists yesterday stressed on addressing the persistently high inflation, macroeconomic stability and low revenue base in the pre-budget session for the upcoming fiscal year with the finance minister.
20 March 2023
Budget FY 23-24: IMF conditions, inflation, polls 3 key issues
Three issues would be dictating the upcoming fiscal year’s budget, the last of the Awami League government’s present five-year term: the International Monetary Fund’s conditions, the persistently high inflation and next year’s national election.
19 March 2023
Govt’s interest expenses jump over 22%
The government’s expenses on interest payments rose more than 22 per cent to Tk 40,792 crore in the first six months of the current fiscal year owing largely to higher expenditures on treasury bills, official figures showed.
16 March 2023
Rooppur Project: Russia proposes payment in rouble
Russia has proposed a direct payment system bypassing the global standard SWIFT to settle the dues for Rooppur nuclear power plant as the Soviet nation looks to navigate the sanctions from the West following the Ukraine war.
16 March 2023
Govt rolls back almost all austerity measures
The government yesterday rolled back most of the austerity measures it imposed at the beginning of the fiscal year to better weather the economic upheaval although statistics indicate there has hardly been any improvement on the front.
14 March 2023
Govt to form authority on public procurement
The government has prepared a draft law for ensuring transparency and accountability in public sector purchases while also improving efficiency in the sector.
13 March 2023
Transmitting Adani’s power to get costlier
The overall cost for transmitting electricity from the Adani power plant in Godda, Jharkhand is set to increase further as two projects meant for that end are eyeing cost and time revisions.
12 March 2023
Fast-track projects see better implementation
Implementation of eight fast-track projects under the Annual Development Programme (ADP) was at a good pace in the first seven months of the current fiscal year of 2022-23 while that of other projects was slower.
9 March 2023
Dollar crisis not ebbing despite ‘best efforts’
Bangladesh’s dollar crisis is just not subsiding even though imports have dropped off and both exports and remittance are staging a rally.
7 March 2023
$500m at best from WB this fiscal
The government can expect budget support of $500 million at best from the World Bank this fiscal year after it failed to implement key reforms that would have unlocked the entire $1 billion it was seeking.
5 March 2023
Dhaka, Delhi discussing de-dollarisation
Bangladesh and India are in talks about doing away with the dollar as the official currency for payments between the two countries -- a development that would bring down the cost of trade as well as the conversion rate losses for businesses and ordinary people.
3 March 2023
No more austerity
The government has officially abandoned the austerity stance it took on at the beginning of the fiscal year as it deems the economy is nearing good health.
2 March 2023
Moody’s sounds alarm bells on banking sector
Major global rating agency Moody’s yesterday downgraded its outlook of Bangladesh’s banking system from stable to negative -- a crushing development that is set to make foreign transactions trickier and costlier for businesses and banks.
2 March 2023
ADP execution rate in Jul-Jan lowest in 3 years
The first seven months of the current fiscal year of 2022-23 saw the lowest implementation rate of the annual development programme (ADP) in the last three years, with only 28.16 per cent of the total outlay being spent till January.
28 February 2023
Health, edn to get chop in ADP
Health and education are set to get the biggest chop in the revised development budget for this fiscal year, when the International Monetary Fund has stipulated more spending in the two sectors as part of its $4.7 billion loan programme.
28 February 2023