WB cuts Bangladesh’s growth outlook to 4pc for FY25

Business Desk :

World Bank has cut its growth outlook for Bangladesh, forecasting the economy to expand by 4% in the current fiscal 2024-25, down from its April projection of 5.7%.
This major cut in growth comes citing significant uncertainties around the political and economic outlook following the recent political turmoil.
The report titled “South Asia Development Update (October 2024)” released on Thursday, states “In Bangladesh, output growth is expected to slow from 5.2% in FY2023/24 to within the range of 3.2-5.2% (with a mid-point of 4.0%) in FY2024/25.”
The report further said, “The wide range of the growth projection reflects the lack of available or reliable data in recent months, and significant uncertainties around the political and economic outlook following the recent political turmoil.”
“In the short term, political uncertainties are expected to keep investment and industrial growth subdued. Recent floods are expected to set back agricultural production modestly,” highlights the report.
The report also forecasts that, “In the medium to long term, growth is expected to pick up gradually, benefiting from critical reforms in the financial sector, increased domestic resource mobilization, improved business climate, and increased trade.”
Meanwhile, the World Bank raised its growth forecast for South Asia to 6.4% in 2024 from an earlier estimate of 6.0%, citing the strength of domestic demand in India and quicker recoveries in crisis-hit countries such as Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
“You have an emerging class of consumers in India that’s driving the economy forward, you have recoveries from crises in Sri Lanka and in Pakistan, you also have a tourism-led recovery in Nepal and Bhutan,” Martin Raiser, World Bank Vice President for South Asia, told Reuters.