Business activities in the country would take time to become normal as the interim government has just assumed office, following a student-led mass upsurge that toppled the previous Awami League government.
Bangladesh witnessed massive mayhem over the last few weeks amid students' anti-discrimination movement that dealt a blow to people's normal life and business, observes a prominent trade body, foreseeing that it would take time to get normal.
The Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka (MCCI, Dhaka) on Tuesday made the observation in its latest report on review of the economy for the last quarter (April-June) of FY 2023-24, and pointed out the challenges ahead.
It said the unrest started getting a pace at a time when the economy has been showing signs of improvement with the increase in foreign exchange reserves and remittances in June 2024.
The economic revival hinges on addressing critical challenges of logistics, banking services, and industrial security.
It also said that less than expected volume of foreign exchange reserves, poor collection of revenue, depreciation of local currency Taka against US dollar, and stubbornly higher inflation are matters of concern.
The MCCI emphasised the need for further government actions, particularly in ensuring uninterrupted electricity and gas supply to maintain economic activities.
The chamber has also made projections on some selected economic indicators for the first quarter (July-September) of the current fiscal year (FY 2024-25).
It said the imports would increase in the next couple of months - August imports may rise to US$5.5 billion and September to $5.8 billion. The remittance may also boost - it may stand at $2.18 billion in August and at $2.29 billion in September.
Foreign exchange reserves (gross) may rise to $26.85 billion at the end of August and to $27.95 billion in September.
The MCCI said the rate of inflation may start declining from the next month (August) when it may drop to 10.8 per cent and to 9.65 per cent in September.
Export figures are not projected in the review because the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) has suspended publishing data from June last due to data mismatch.
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