Bangladesh economy showed its mettle in 2009 when it passed one of the toughest tests triggered by the global financial meltdown, which significantly impacted performances in the major Asian nations and most of the developed countries, officials said Thursday.

They said almost all the major sectors including exports, imports, remittance and the stock market of the South Asian country have performed well in 2009 despite the shocks of global recession.

The country's central bank Thursday said Bangladesh attained a 5.9 percent GDP (gross domestic product) growth in the first half of the current fiscal year 2009-10 (July 2009-June 2010), leaving six more months to achieve the 6 percent target.

"Our GDP target growth will be achieved by the end of the fiscal year as all the key indicators of the economy are showing positive trend," Bangladesh Bank (BB) governor Atiur Rahman told reporters Thursday.

Briefing journalists on the economy in the outgoing 2009 Thursday, he said this year began with fear of global recession shocks but the Bangladesh Awami League-led newly elected government after coming into power in January this year set right kind of directions to safeguard the country's economy from the shocks of recession.

As a result of the time befitting measures, the governor said growth in the country's two major sectors -- export and agriculture-- was satisfactory in the outgoing year 2009. Bangladesh's export earning grew at a rate of 10 percent in 2009 and agriculture by 4.8 percent, he added.

The BB governor said imports including capital machinery are also on rise, indicating that the domestic business and investments are gaining momentum.

The central bank data showed Bangladedsh's capital machinery import surged by 24 percent in July-November of this fiscal year while imports of consumer goods in the same period rose by 44 percent year on year.

Rate of inflation, a major concern of the country, was at 5.1 percent in October, the BB governor said and expressed the hope that it would not go beyond this fiscal year's target of 6.5 percent.

An economist on condition of anonymity said political stability, which is very rare in the South Asian, also contributed to achieve steady economic growth in 2009.

Bangladesh maintained a steady growth in 2009 despite global financial turmoil but growing power and energy shortages and poor infrastructure remained as a major hurdle to the country's industrial activities, Annisul Huq, President of Bangladesh's apex trade body, was quoted as saying in a report of leading English newspaper The Financial Express Thursday

The BB governor, however, differed from the arguments that the inadequate energy supply would hinder the employment and eventually the poverty reduction initiatives.

Production of electricity in the public sector in Bangladesh in 2009 stood reportedly at about 4,300 MW per day against the daily demand for about 7,000 MW.

The BB governor also referred to the highest ever foreign exchange reserves, remittances despite huge fall in overseas jobs, stable exchange rates, adequate liquidity in the banking sector and increasing revenue earnings.

Bangladesh's foreign exchange reserves hit a record high of US$10. 36 billion at the end of the last month from US$9.54 billion at the end of October.

The BB data showed in July-November, the first five months of Bangladesh's financial year 2009-10 (from July 2009 to June 2010), remittances totaled US$4.67 billion, registering a 24.40 percent growth over the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

It showed domestic investment increased by 15 percent during January-October this year despite the foreign direct investment registered fall to some extent.

Listing future challenges of the economy, Atiur said the impact of climate change would remain the main challenge to the development of the country as the number of man-made disasters are on rise in the recent years.

Bangladesh suffered a big blow due to cyclone Aila in May, 2009, which was the biggest natural calamity in the country after a powerful cyclone Sidr that battered its southwestern coastal belt on November 15, 2007 and claimed lives of over 4,000 people.

(Xinhua News Agency January 1, 2010)