Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday said Bangladesh’s economy has made significant strides over the past year, with inflation in June dropping to 8.48%, the lowest in the past 35 months.
Speaking at an event marking the July Uprising Day, Yunus highlighted the interim government’s efforts since taking office amid what he described as an economy devastated by “16 years of destruction and plunder.”
“When our interim government took responsibility, no one thought the shattered economy could be restarted so easily,” he said, adding that: “But in just one year, we have come so far — it was beyond imagination. The economy has turned around. Now it is time to move forward rapidly.”
He said the biggest challenge was controlling inflation, which had surged to nearly 14% due to a fragile economy and widespread flooding.
He added: “Now it has come down to half. We hope that by December, it will come down to 6 percent.”
The floods in the southern and northern regions caused extensive crop damage, raising fears of rising commodity prices.
However, the chief adviser credited prompt action by relevant agencies and effective market monitoring including curbing the influence of middlemen for stabilizing the situation.
"Especially from this year’s Ramadan until now, the market situation has remained stable,” he noted.
The chief adviser also pointed to improving macroeconomic indicators.
Due to growing confidence in the interim government, the currency market has stabilized, he said.
“In the last fiscal year, a record $3.33 billion in remittances came through banking channels, while export income rose by around 9%.”
As a result, the taka has strengthened against the US Dollar.
"After many years, the value of the taka is increasing. In the past 11 months, we repaid $4 billion in principal and interest, the highest ever and still foreign exchange reserves are rising.”
He added foreign investment has also doubled
“In the first three months of this year, foreign investment reached Tk10,500 crore. Counting from October, FDI totalled Tk16,500 crore — twice that of the final six months under the previous government.”
On job creation, the chief adviser announced that Hong Kong-based industrial group Handa is set to invest $250 million in the textile and RMG sectors — the largest single Chinese investment in these sectors to date — creating employment for 25,000 people.
He said: "We firmly believe Handa’s investment will encourage more Chinese companies to invest in Bangladesh.”
Addressing illicit financial outflows, Yunus said massive sums were laundered over the past 16 years.
He further said: “We’ve hired a reputed international legal firm to recover this money, and some assets have already been seized abroad. We expect further results soon.”
He concluded by stressing the need for a shift in economic thinking.
“The rivers and the vast sea of this country are our valuable resources. We want to utilize them and build a ‘water-based economy’ to strengthen the nation's foundation.”