Economy
No area of economy has negative growth: Finance Minister
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has said that there is no sector of the economy that has negative growth.
He made the claim while briefing reporters on the outcomes of the two consecutive meetings of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs and the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase.
He presided over the two meetings held virtually on Thursday.
“You can easily find a calculation of the economy. There is no inflation while our exchange rates remain stable. When globally remittance was facing tough times, our (inward) remittance achieved 15 per cent growth”, he said defending his claim.
Also read: Bangladesh’s economy to grow by 6.4% in 2021-22 FY: WB
He also said that the country’s revenue generation obtained 30 percent growth while the import and IT sector witnessed growth too.
Kamal said though remittance is not considered while calculating the GDP growth, it comes to the per capita income’s calculation.
“These are the areas of the economy...If there is any negative growth, it will be reflected into the economy”, he said.
Referring to his budget speech, the finance minister said his prediction in the previous fiscal year 2020-21 proved correct in the economic growth. The predictions were close to the World Bank’s projections.
He said it was possible because of the people's participation and efficient leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Also read: Govt favours circular economy for sustainable growth: Minister
“Our expansionary monetary policy has played a role in this regard. We followed this policy when many countries in the world didn’t dare to take this path”, he said adding, these were reasons for the economic growth.
He said that whatever the way you calculate the economic growth, finally you find the same result. “We have given the clarifications.”
Kamal said somebody may say that it was not a correct calculation, but you can yourself see our achievements.
“Nobody can show this achievement anywhere”, he said.
Bangladesh's economy doing better to recover from Covid-19 shocks: WB Vice President
The World Bank’s Vice President for South Asia Hartwig Schafer has praised Bangladesh's recent success in recovering the economy from the adverse impact of Covid-19.
He said Bangladesh's economy is doing better than many other countries and the economy has turned around by tackling cowardice.
At the World Bank-IMF annual meeting 2021, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal requested to adopt a flagship project for Dhaka City aimed at facilitating communication as well as a more aesthetic city.
Read: WB delays decision to fund road safety project: Obaidul Quader
Responding to that he said good news regarding the proposal will be available soon as the World Bank sees it positively.
Kamal said that due to giving loans against the project as per the conventional rules, it is often seen that the projects are not ready and it takes a lot of time to prepare them slowing the pace. .
To overcome this slow pace, Kamal requested the World Bank to provide project loans in the form of budget support, then the government would be able to release funds for those projects which are ready on priority basis and the pace of projects would be accelerated.
A bilateral meeting between Kamal and Schaefer was held at a hotel in the capital on Sunday.
Senior Secretaries of the Internal Resources Department Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem, Finance Division Abdur Raouf Talukder, Secretaries of Economic Relations Department Fatema Yasmin and Financial Institutions Department Sheikh Md. Salim Ullah, participated in the discussion as members of the Bangladesh delegation.
On the other hand, on behalf of the World Bank, Mercy Miyang Tembon, Country Director of the World Bank in Bangladesh; Zoubida Kherous Allaoua, Regional Director (South Asia) of the World Bank, Cecile Fruman, South Asia Regional Integration and Cooperation Officer participated in the meeting.
The finance minister narrated Bangldesh’s economic achievements in recent years.
"Our export earnings are growing at more than 24 per cent, foreign exchange reserves $45-46 billion; debt-to-GDP ratio is still below 40 per cent; inflation in Bangladesh is like all other countries in the world, has risen but is still below 6 per cent; The growth in revenue collection is about 17 per cent; Non-performing loans fell to 8.1 per cent; debt has increased by 9.5 per cent in the first quarter of the current financial year and interest rate on bank loans has come down to 7.3 percent,” Kamal said.
Read: WB lauds Bangladesh's economic growth despite downturn
He also urged the World Bank for quick release of $500 million to keep operative the labour market as well as social sector, as assistance program under the programmatic recovery and resilience development policy credit (DPC).
Schafer recommended that the project be more dynamic in each area of design, processing, approval and implementation.
To this end, he proposed to the Economic Relations Department, the Ministry / Department implementing the project and the World Bank to take initiative for timely implementation of the project.
He emphasized the need to expedite the implementation of the ongoing Recovery and Resilience DPC, Climate Change-related Policy Actions and the adoption and implementation of new projects in the field of Regional Integration and Cooperation.
Bangladesh should make domestic plan to face post-graduation challenges: Speakers
Bangladesh should adopt a plan to prepare the country’s stakeholders to face and overcome the challenges that will emerge after its graduation to a developing economy in 2026, a discussion was told on Tuesday.
Speakers at the meeting called for starting intense negotiation with the country’s big trade partners like EU, USA, China and India as well as with global organizations to continue with the existing trade facilities for a few more years.
Read: WTO Ministerial: Bangladesh’s focus should be on transition period extension
The Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) organised the workshop at its office ahead of ‘12th WTO ministerial conference’, scheduled to be held from November 30 to December 3, in Geneva in Switzerland.
Commerce secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh, Additional secretary of the ministry and director general of WTO Cell Md Hafizur Rahman and former member of Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission participated in the workshop explaining different rules of WTO, facility and policy of international trade.
Read: WTO rules to help Bangladesh more after graduation: Hasina
ERF president Sharmin Rinvy presided over the function while SM Rashidul Islam, secretary of the organisation moderated the program.
Replying to a question Tapan said that Bangladesh’s exports to the USA, EU nations and India have increased even during the pandemic thanks to government’s policy of supporting businesses, production and export.
Blue Economy in Bangladesh: Prospects and Challenges
Bangladesh is a country with great potential in the field of blue economy, which stands for the sustainable use of marine resources. The prospect of this sector lies not only in Bangladesh's geographic proximity to water bodies but also in its abundant seafood and fishery products which provide plenty of opportunities for export. This article will discuss how Bangladesh can leverage its natural resource endowment by building up an efficient blue economy that creates jobs, generates revenue, and supports poverty alleviation.
What is the Blue Economy?
The blue economy is a term used to describe the sustainable use of marine resources. It covers economic activities such as fishing, aquaculture, and tourism that depend on healthy oceans and seas but also includes new industries like biotechnology and maritime transport. The blue economy concept was introduced by Gunter Pauli in 1994.
However, according to the World Bank, the modern definition of Blue Economy indicates the use of all the resources of the oceans and the resources at their bottom for sustainable development. The word "economy" here refers not only to business but also maritime issues such as conservation and sustainable use of marine living resources.
Read Bangladesh, Kenya explore cooperation in blue economy
Prospects of Blue Economy in Bangladesh
In 2014, we conquered the sea from Myanmar. As a result, our maritime boundary has increased to 1.4 times that of another part of the whole of Bangladesh. The present sea area of Bangladesh is 2,07,000 square kilometers. Since our sea area has increased significantly, it is time to use the ocean resources for the advancement of Bangladesh. However, the Bangladesh government has already taken steps to use the resources.
Nevertheless, our government does not want to rely too much on foreign aid. Hence, the government wants to move forward through self-reliance. A university named "Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Maritime University Bangladesh was established in 2013 with the aim to build skills related to blue Economics and its development. The oceanography department has been introduced in different universities, including Dhaka University. In this way, we hope that one-day skilled manpower will be formed in our country. So, what are the prospects of a blue economy in Bangladesh? Let's find them out.
Read Focus on blue economy: PM to IORA states
Bangladesh has adopted Delta Plan-2100 in 2020, in which the maritime economy has been given priority. The plan adopts five strategies to harness the potential of the blue economy, one of which is the speedy completion of a multidimensional survey of marine resources. Through this, the government has taken up the first and foremost task of utilizing the maritime economy.
Prospect in Economy
If activities are carried out in at least four areas in the territory that Bangladesh has acquired as a result of the conquest of the sea, it is possible to earn about 2.5 trillion US dollars every year by 2030. The four sectors are oil and gas extraction, fisheries extraction, port expansion, and tourism. 145 crore people live on the shores of Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, and Thailand, where Bangladesh is in the center. As a result, there are good opportunities to enrich the economy of Bangladesh due to the huge economic potential here.
Fisheries and Aquaculture
At present, Bangladeshi trawlers catch fish within 35-40 nautical miles from the coast. But our economic zone is 200 nautical miles. There is a special opportunity to strengthen the country's maritime economy by working in a wider range. According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Bangladesh is the first of the four countries among Thailand, India, and China in the world to achieve huge success in fisheries by 2022. Then Thailand, India, and China. Fish production has increased by 53% in the last 10 years. And fish exports have increased by more than 20%. Hence, proper utilization of the marine area will surely increase the fish industry.
Read Madagascar keen to work with Bangladesh on blue economy, ICT
Apart from fishery resources, the Bay of Bengal is also rich in marine animals, marine weeds, and shrubs. There is a huge number of marine weeds in the Bay of Bengal. These weeds can be processed to make medicines for various diseases. Spirulina is the most valuable of these weeds. People eat them as food in China, Japan, and different countries of Europe. So, there is a huge prospect in exporting these stuff.
Natural Resources and Energy
The amount of Bangladesh's natural resources above the water and under the water are the same. Moreover, The mineral resources at the bottom of the Bay of Bengal are thought to be unmatched by any other sea or bay in the world. The mineral resources at the bottom of this sea include about 17 types of mineral sand. Most of these are zircon, rutile, sillimanite, ilmenite, magnetite, garnet, kyanite, monazite, lycoxine, etc. All of these substances are valuable, but monazite is thought to be a treasure. This radioactive material is used to make atomic bombs and to generate energy in nuclear reactors.
'Rohingya crisis an impediment to economic integration of South, SE Asian economies'
Describing the Rohingya crisis as a "big challenge" for the region, Bangladesh's envoy in the US has listed it as an obstacle in the greater integration of South and Southeast Asian economies.
"(However), Bangladesh welcomes any regional initiatives that support the country's development aspirations and bring greater good for the region and beyond," Ambassador M Shahidul Islam said at a webinar on Thursday.
"Bangladesh maintains friendly relations with all countries of the world, including its neighbours, and believes in resolving any bilateral issues through dialogues and negotiations," he added.
Also read: Speakers call for mounting int'l pressure on Myanmar to resolve Rohingya crisis
The webinar titled 'Bangladeshi perspectives on regional economic cooperation' was organised by leading US think-tank Atlantic Council on Thursday in partnership with the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC.
During a Q&A session post-discussions, Ambassador Shahidul responded to questions from the moderator and the audience about Bangladesh perspectives on QUAD, RCEP, free-trade zone among the Asian countries, sharing of Teesta water, and killings at the Bangladesh-India border, among others.
Senior advisor of Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center and former US Ambassador to Fiji Osman Siddique, moderated the event.
Ambassador Shahidul also highlighted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s vision for transforming the country into a connectivity hub in South Asia "to foster economic cooperation and people to people contact in the region".
He also highlighted Bangladesh’s proactive role to support cooperation among the regional countries in areas such as power and energy, Covid-19 collaboration, and climate change.
Also read: Indonesia to send strong message to Myanmar over Rohingya crisis, says its FM
The Ambassador also shared his thoughts about the possible role and relevance of the US to promote economic integration of South Asia.
Speakers the webinar praised the impressive economic growth that Bangladesh has registered in recent years despite various challenges, including the pandemic and the Rohingya crisis
Osman, on his part, highlighted the tremendous socio-economic development that Bangladesh has achieved since her independence by comparing some of the economic indicators between the past and the present.
Steps taken for smooth transition into new economic environment: Munshi
The government has taken proactive steps to prepare the country for the graduation from LDC and smooth transition into a new economic environment, said Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Sunday.
He said Bangladesh has made impressive socio-economic progress and urged all to overcome the upcoming trade-related challenges meeting the demand for skilled trade professionals.
Tipu Munshi came with the remarks while addressing an MoU signing ceremony between Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institution (BFTI) and BRAC University for Conducting Postgraduate Diploma (PGD) on International Trade in the capital.
Also read: Bangladesh needs concerted efforts to avail new GSP plus in EU: Tipu Munshi
The minister said he believes that collaboration between BFTI and BRAC University would ensure quality education and contribute to building skilled manpower in the area of international trade and business in Bangladesh.
Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh hoped that BFTI would play its role as a centre of excellence on trade and commerce.
He said the proposed BFTI’s Postgraduate diploma (PGD) will provide trade professionals with practical efficiency of international trade and business.
Also read: Economy faces challeges of revenue shortfall and defaulting bank loans: Document
Dr Md Jafar Uddin, former commerce secretary and now CEO of BFTI, Dr Vincent Chang, Vice-Chancellor, BRAC University, Tamara Hasan Abed, Chairperson, Board of Trustees of the university, AHM Ahsan, Vice-Chairman, Export Promotion Bureau, additional secretaries of commerce ministry Maleka Khairunnesa (Admin Wing), Md Hafizur Rahman, (Export Wing), Md Hafizur Rahman (WTO Cell), Md Monsur Alam, (Administration Wing), Bablu Kumar Saha, Director General of Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection, Sheikh Shoebul Alam, Registrar of Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms and Brigadier General Md Ariful Hassan, Chairman, TCB, among others, joined the event.
G20 leaders to tackle energy prices, other economic woes
Leaders of the Group of 20 countries gathering for their first in-person summit since the pandemic took hold will confront a global recovery hampered by a series of stumbling blocks: an energy crunch spurring higher fuel and utility prices, new COVID-19 outbreaks and logjams in the supply chains that keep the economy humming and goods headed to consumers.
The summit will allow leaders representing 80% of the global economy to talk — and apply peer pressure — on all those issues. Analysts question how much progress they can make to ease the burden right away on people facing rising prices on everything from food and furniture to higher heating bills heading into winter.
Health and financial officials are sitting down in Rome on Friday before presidents and prime ministers gather for the G-20 Saturday and Sunday, but the leaders of major economic players China and Russia won’t be there in person. That may not bode well for cooperation, especially on energy issues as climate change takes center stage just before the U.N. Climate Change Conference begins Sunday in Glasgow, Scotland.
Here’s a look at some of the economic issues facing G-20 leaders:
THE PANDEMIC RECOVERY
The International Monetary Fund says the top priority for the economic recovery is simple: speed up the vaccination of the world population. Yet big headlines on vaccine cooperation may not be forthcoming at the Rome summit.
The G-20 countries have supported vaccine-sharing through the U.N.-backed COVAX program, which has failed to alleviate dire shortages in poor countries. Donated doses are coming in at a fraction of what is needed, and developed countries are focused on booster shots for their own populations.
Negotiations before the summit have not focused on a large number of vaccines that could be made available, though countries talked about strengthening health systems.
Meanwhile, rising consumer prices and government stimulus programs to help economies bounce back from the pandemic may be discussed, but central banks tend to deal with higher prices and stimulus spending is decided at the national level.
Read: No pathway to reach the Paris Agreement’s 1.5˚C goal without the G20: UN chief
GLOBAL TAXES
One major economic deal is already done: The G-20 will likely be a celebration of an agreement on a global minimum corporate tax, aimed at preventing multinational companies from stashing profits in countries where they pay little or no taxes.
All G-20 governments signed on to the deal negotiated among more than 130 countries, and it now faces an ambitious timeline to get approved and enacted through 2023.
U.S. President Joe Biden has tied his domestic agenda to it — creating a global minimum tax can allow the United States to charge higher taxes without the risk of companies shifting their profits to tax havens. U.S. adoption is key because so many multinational companies are headquartered there.
The agreement also helps remove trade tensions between the U.S. and Europe. It allows nations including France, Italy and Spain to back off digital services taxes that targeted U.S. tech companies Google, Facebook and Amazon.
Biden goes to the G-20 with his tax and economic agenda still subject to congressional negotiations. That means he will be unable to show that the U.S. is leading on global corporate taxes, though his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said G-20 leaders understand the nature of congressional talks.
“They’ll say, ‘Is President Biden on track to deliver on what he said he’s going to deliver?’ And we believe one way or the other, he will be on track to do that,” Sullivan said.
HIGH ENERGY PRICES
The summit offers an opportunity for dialogue on high oil and gas prices because it includes delegations from major energy producers Saudi Arabia and Russia, major consumers in Europe and China, and the U.S., which is both.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin plan to participate remotely.
“Perhaps the most important thing the G20 could do is to tell those among them that are major energy suppliers that they should think about their future,” said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank.
If energy prices are too high in the developed world, it will only speed up the move away from fossil fuels, “which is ultimately, in the long run, bad for the suppliers,” he said.
The White House says Biden intends to engage with other key leaders about energy prices, with oil recently hitting a seven-year high in the U.S. at over $84 per barrel and the international Brent crude benchmark reaching a three-year peak at over $86.
“We are definitely in an energy crisis, there is no other way to put it,” said Claudio Galimberti, senior vice president of analysis at Rystad Energy and an expert in oil market demand.
But he said it’s unlikely the G-20 “can take any decision that has immediate impact.”
So far, Saudi-led OPEC and allies including Russia, dubbed OPEC+, have ignored Biden’s pleas to increase production faster than its pace of 400,000 barrels per day each month into next year.
In one bright spot, Russian President Vladimir Putin told state-controlled company Gazprom to pump more gas into storage facilities in Europe, where prices have quintupled this year and fears have spread about winter shortages.
But producing nations “are in a powerful position,” Galimberti said. “There is no one who can put pressure on OPEC+.”
Read:G20 leadership vital in defense against COVID-19: UN chief
SUPPLY CHAINS
Biden will press for countries to share more information about troubles with supply chains that have slowed growth in the developed world. Port and factory closures, shortages of shipping containers and rising demand have contributed to backlogs at ports and delays for deliveries of everything from bicycles to computer chips used in smartphones and cars.
Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, said the president would push for more transparency about identifying logjams with other governments: “How do we know, at every level, where there may be bottlenecks or breaks in the supply chain so that we can quickly respond to them?”
Trade expert Chad P. Bown, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, agreed that sharing information can be helpful but said “there’s very little anyone can do” now about the backups over a lack of shipping containers.
Longer term, leaders can discuss efforts to diversify supply of key goods such as masks, other medical protective equipment and semiconductors.
“There is a call to diversify some production of semiconductors geographically” away from Asia, Bown said.
The U.S. and the European Union are talking about finding ways to incentivize chip production at home without starting a subsidy war — for instance, by agreeing on which sectors of the semiconductor industry each side would seek to attract.
India's Modi unveils $1.3tn infrastructure plan 'for next 25 years'
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched an ambitious 100 trillion rupee ($1.3 trillion) plan for integrated infrastructure development aimed at creating employment for hundreds of thousands of people and strengthening the economy, reports Nikkei Asia.
"With the resolve of a self-reliant India, the foundation of India for the next 25 years is being laid," Modi said, adding that the plan will promote next-generation infrastructure and improve transport connections.
Read: Covid vaccine: India's Covaxin gets emergency use approval for kids aged 2-18
The plan, called PM Gati Shakti, "will give impetus to the 21st-century India," he said. "PM" stands for "prime minister," while "Gati Shakti" is a Hindi expression meaning "the power of speed."
An official statement issued ahead of the launch said the project will provide integrated connectivity for the movement of people, goods and services from one mode of transport to another. It also aims to create "last-mile" infrastructure and reduce travel time for people.
The prime minister did not specify how the government plans to raise the 100 trillion rupees needed for the project.
Each government department will be able to monitor others' activities under the plan, providing critical data, while planning and executing projects in a comprehensive manner, the government said. The scheme "will help in synchronizing the activities of each department, as well as of different layers of governance, in a holistic manner by ensuring coordination of work between them," the statement said.
Read:India's Everest Organics starts making ingredient for Merck's COVID-19 pill
Modi had earlier spoken about the plan in his Independence Day address on Aug. 15.
"This scheme of more than 100 trillion rupees will result in new employment opportunities for hundreds of thousands of youths," Modi said at the time. "Gati Shakti will also go a long way in making our local manufacturers globally competitive, and this will also develop new possibilities for the creation of future economic zones," he said.
50 years of Bangladesh: FICCI to unveil 3 growth drivers on FDI
The Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is going to have an event on November 21 to commemorate the 50 years of Bangladesh’s Independence with a roadmap for FDI and facilitating the economic progress of Bangladesh with three growth drivers.
A research report titled “3 Growth Drivers of Bangladesh: Accelerating Investment Opportunities in Agribusiness, Digital Economy and Green Finance” will be unveiled at the event.
Planning Minister MA Mannan will be present at the programme as the chief guest, while Salman F Rahman, Private Industry and Investment Adviser to Prime Minister will join it as special guest.
Read: Growth target achievable if GDP-Investment ratio increases: FICCI
Shwapna Bhowmick, EC Member of FICCI and Country Manager of Marks and Spencer will chair the event.
Small islands caught between tourism economy, climate change
Come visit the Maldives, its president entreated the world at this year’s United Nations General Assembly, moments before switching to an impassioned plea for help combating climate change. The adjacent appeals illustrated a central dilemma for many small island developing states: their livelihoods, or their lives?
The United Nations recognizes 38 member states, scattered across the world’s waters, as small island developing states grouped together because they face “unique social, economic and environmental challenges.”
This bloc is particularly vulnerable to climate change. This bloc is also particularly dependent on tourism — a significant driver of climate change, accountable for 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions alone, according to sustainable tourism expert Stefan Gössling — and an industry devastated by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The predicament these islands find themselves in is essentially recursive: Attract tourism for economic survival, which in turn contributes to climate change, which in turn bleaches the colorful reefs and destroys the pristine beaches that attract tourists. As is, by the end of the century, these low-lying islands could drown entirely.
“The difference between 1.5 degrees and 2 degrees is a death sentence for the Maldives,” President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih told the U.N. General Assembly last week.
READ: China, US unveil separate big steps to fight climate change
The annual summit is an opportunity for each of the international body’s 193 members to step into the spotlight on the world stage. But the Maldives — perhaps best known globally as an Indian Ocean playground for moneyed honeymooners and Bollywood celebrities — had a particularly high-profile platform this year. Its foreign minister is serving as the General Assembly’s president and Solih was speaking third overall — just after U.S. President Joe Biden.
But the climate change appeals are nothing new, made year after year as these islands are pummeled by storms and the seas rise like a “slow-moving killer,” as Colgate University’s April Baptiste puts it.
Baptiste, a professor of environmental studies as well as Africana and Latin American studies, researches environmental justice in the Caribbean region. She says the island states’ appeals had gone ignored for years because they were essentially seen as “dispensable.” With little land, political power and financial capital, it was easy to overlook their plight. These are also islands with a history of exploitation that dates back centuries and states whose full-time residents — not tourists — are primarily Black and brown.
“You have that layer of race, racism, marginality to take into consideration,” she said. “I absolutely believe that’s at the heart of the conversation as to why small island developing states are not taken seriously.”
People and governments have taken matters into their own hands over recent years.
READ: Vaccine equity, Rohingya, climate change on top of Hasina’s UNGA agenda
One man from the island nation of Kiribati sought refugee status in New Zealand on the basis that climate change posed an existential threat to his homeland, though he was eventually deported. This past week, Vanuatu announced it would seek to bring climate change before the International Court of Justice. Although largely symbolic — any ruling would not be legally binding — the move, as intended by the government, seeks to clarify international law.