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Roundup: ADB projects Bangladeshi GDP growth at 6.7 pct in 2015-16 fiscal

Xinhua, September 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has predicted that Bangladesh's gross domestic product (GDP) is to grow 6.7 percent in the current 2015-16 fiscal year (July 2015 - June 2016).

"For 2015-16 fiscal year, growth is edged up to 6.7 percent, the inflation projection is restrained, and the current account is now seen to remain a small deficit," the Manila-based bank said in its Asian Development Outlook Update (ADOU) 2015, which was released here Tuesday.

It said Bangladeshi GDP in the last 2014-15 fiscal year (July 2014 - June 2015) is provisionally estimated at 6.5 percent which is higher than the 6.1 percent recorded in 2013-14 fiscal year ( July 2013 - June 2014).

Despite political protests early in 2015 that adversely affected transport services, exports, and private investment, growth held up well because of brisk domestic demand, boosted by higher workers remittances, private sector wages and public investment, it added.

"Continued efforts for resource mobilization, structural reforms and infrastructure upgradation will support higher growth, " said Mohammed Parvez Imdad, principal country specialist of the ADB, who presented the findings on the ADOU 2015, at the ADB's Dhaka office in a press briefing on Tuesday.

According to ADOU, developing Asia's growth downgraded to 5.8 percent this year and 6.0 percent in 2016.

It said inflation pressures further eased partly due to lower global commodity prices.

Meanwhile, Imdad said, inflation in Bangladesh is expected to decline to 6.2 percent in 2015-16 fiscal year from 6.4 percent in the previous year.

"With the 6.5 percent growth in 2014-15 fiscal year and expected 6.7 percent growth in 2015-16 fiscal year Bangladeshi economy in on a higher growth trajectory," ADB Country Director for Bangladesh Kazuhiko Higuchi said.

He said Bangladeshi economy demonstrated commendable resilience over the past decade, growing at an average of 6.2 percent a year.

During the past five years , he said, it was 6.3 percent average.

He also expressed the hope that both exports and remittances -- the two main growth drivers -- are expected to perform better than in the last fiscal year.

The Bangladeshi government in June this year unveiled a record 3-trillion-taka (about 37.83 billion U.S. dollars) proposed national budget, targeting an economic growth of 7 percent for the current 2015-16 fiscal year.

In his budget speech, Bangladeshi Finance Minister AMA Muhith said, despite favorable macroeconomic situation and enhanced public investment, slow pace of private investment is largely responsible for hindering expected high growth.

"We have taken up a range of steps in power, energy and communication sectors along with development of ports and economic zones to overcome this obstacle. These initiatives will sustain the economic momentum by accelerating aggregate demand."

About a week after the Bangladeshi government unveiled its national budget, the World Bank said that achieving a 7-percent economic growth target in 2015-16 fiscal year will be challenging for Bangladesh, but not an impossible task. Endi