Business Report:
Bangladesh’s business climate witnessed a modest improvement in the fiscal year 2024-25 compared to the previous year, but significant challenges remain, finds a comprehensive survey of a wide range of businesses across the country Bangladesh Business Climate Index (BBX).
The overall BBX score for FY2024-25 stands at 59.69, indicating that the country’s business climate remains challenging.
Although the score has slightly increased from 58.75 in FY2023-24, the marginal rise of 0.94 points has not translated into a meaningful improvement in the operating environment.
The findings are based on a survey of 650 business institutions across the country and were unveiled at the MCCI office in Gulshan, Dhaka, on Thursday.
The survey covered 12 key sectors – retail and wholesale trade, transport, construction, electronics and light engineering, leather and tannery, agriculture and forestry, real estate, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, ready-made garments, textiles, and financial intermediation.
This is the fourth edition of the BBX survey, jointly conducted by the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) and Policy Exchange Bangladesh (PEB), a private policy research organisation.
The findings were unveiled on Thursday, while the full report is scheduled to be released officially in the evening.
According to the report, political instability, geopolitical uncertainty, rising production costs, investment uncertainty, high inflationary pressures, increased bank lending rates, and exchange rate volatility are among the major factors contributing to the challenging business environment in Bangladesh.
A year ago, in third edition of the report, Bangladesh’s business climate was worsened to its weakest level since 2021 where BBX fell to 58.75 in the fiscal 2023-24 from last year’s 61.95, while the survey’s first year found the index at 61.01 in FY22.
Of the 11 major pillars considered to build a business climate, only access to land, trade facilitation, and technology adoption saw some improvement, a year ago.
