CPD says clean energy remained sidelined for years

New Zealand will continue duty-free and preferential market access for Bangladeshi goods after the country graduates from the least developed country (LDC) category, David Pine, New Zealand’s non-resident high commissioner in Dhaka, said yesterday.

Move is part of wider trade tax reform as Bangladesh prepares for LDC graduation

UAE’s DP World, Saudi RSGT and two local entities enter competition

Bangladesh exported $99.73 million worth of goods to the Pacific island in the last fiscal year 2024-25, with around 90 percent accounting for garment items

European planemaker pitches A350 and A321neo jets weeks after Biman’s $3.7 billion agreement with Boeing

Out of $3.75 billion, Dhaka received $1.85 billion, Ctg ranked second with $1.16 billion

Eight projects have been identified for repurposing, and officials expect funds by June once respective ministries complete technical procedures and send proposals to the WB

Nineteen years ago, BNP finance minister M Saifur Rahman placed a national budget of Tk 69,740 crore for fiscal year 2006-07. Three governments have since come and gone, and BNP has now returned to power through a national election.

The country is not short of money for development projects. Instead, it is suffering from weak project planning, poor coordination and a culture that values expenditure over outcomes, according to AK Enamul Haque, director general (DG) of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS).

In an interview, Sayema Haque Bidisha, a professor at the economics department and also a former pro-vice-chancellor of Dhaka University,

Ahead of the fiscal year 2026-27 (FY27) national budget, the government faces mounting fiscal pressure amid high inflation and low investment at a time when the global geopolitical situation remains volatile, said Prof Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

Bangladesh’s next national budget should focus on strengthening economic resilience rather than increasing spending, said Zahid Hussain, former lead economist at the World Bank’s Dhaka office.

Climate budgeting in Bangladesh must become more knowledge-based and technically stronger to help the country access global climate financing more effectively, said Sharmind Neelormi, professor in the Department of Economics at Jahangirnagar University.

The government’s ambition to build a trillion-dollar economy by 2034 will remain out of reach without urgent reforms in banking, taxation, and business costs, as the country’s current economic structure is too weak to sustain the level of growth required, a leading economist said.

Bangladesh offers a competitive cost structure that enables Chinese firms to maintain global price dominance while relocating production, said Mohammad A Hafiz, vice president of the Bangladesh China Club Limited.

Bangladesh plans to position itself among the world’s top 20 countries in telecom and technology services within the next five years through a holistic digital economy strategy focused on connectivity, affordable access, startup growth, electronics manufacturing and skilled human resources.

The economic and planning adviser to the prime minister attends a pre-budget shadow parliament

The leading chamber launched Economic Position Index (EPI)

The following is a recap of those major stories as covered by Star Business