Staff Reporter :
There are challenges in the country’s economy, but it would take time to address it. The government’s first priority is to control the essentials commodities during the holy month of Ramadan, which is likely begin on March 10 this year.
The newly-appointed Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali came up with the remark while talking to reporters at the secretariat on Sunday.
“We all know about the challenges of economy and now we have to be solved them. It is not possible to solve all crises overnight.
The finance ministry alone cannot control the price hike of commodities and will need to work in coordination with the commerce ministry to bring them down,” he said during his first day in office.
“Bangladeshi currency losing its value as two challenges and work will be done to prevent money laundering.
The value of the Taka has fallen. We have to work on that too. Let us see what we can do,” the Finance Minister said.
Earlier, Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali stepped into his office with pressing economic and financial challenges demanding immediate attention.
To bring the new finance minister up to speed, a joint briefing was prepared by the ministry’s four divisions – Finance, Financial Institutions, Internal Resources, and Economic Relations.
Despite Bangladesh’s economic growth over the past 15 years, the new minister faces significant challenges ahead.
These include tackling money laundering, recovering huge non-performing loans, enhancing revenue generation, and ensuring transparency in project expenditures.
Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali already informed the finance division officials that he plans to be at the office early in the day.
Utilising information and feedback, the minister intends to formulate necessary plans to steer the economy back on track.
The Finance Division’s briefing for the minister will highlight the challenges hindering control over inflation, declining foreign exchange reserves, and maintaining exchange rate stability.
An official from the macroeconomic department of the Finance Division said that Finance Division Secretary Md Khairuzzaman Mozumder will provide the minister with a comprehensive briefing on the apparent challenges and weaknesses of the economy and the context in which the current situation has unfolded.
“The finance division will brief the minister on its strategies to tame inflation, and provide information regarding the factors contributing to the budget deficit, as well as updates on the exchange rate and foreign currency,” said the official.
The Financial Institutions Division will present the initiatives to amend various laws in banking reform and the current trend of default loans.
The banking secretary will brief the new minister on the time-bound action plan signed by the Bangladesh Bank with the banks to bring down the non-performing loans of the state-owned banks under 10% by 2026.
