High officials of the central bank have contradicted a report published in The Economist's latest issue titled 'A battered economy takes another hit' and said the report is not based on fact.
The report said that the global meltdown would severely hit the country, and remittance and export earnings would fall sharply in the coming months.
"Remittance increased by 30 per cent in July-January period, export and import increased by about 20 per cent in the first six months of the current fiscal," said a high official of the central bank.
The meltdown started in September last and the developed world has already felt the bite of the crisis but Bangladesh has shown its resilience and the economy is expected to grow at a rate of over 6.0 per cent, he said.
"The Economist's report said the banking system in Bangladesh is among the weakest in Asia. If that is the case, what they will say about the banking system of the US and the UK, where the financial institutions are virtually bankrupt and begging mercy of the governments for bailout package," said another official of Bangladesh Bank (BB).
Bangladesh exports readymade garments for low-end markets and the demand for them does not vary with respect to price and income, he explained.
The country has huge orders up to May and the export earnings from the sector is not likely to face dramatic decline, he said.
About the import payment, he said petroleum and commodity prices are declining fast in the international market and it would help the country maintain a positive balance of payment, he added.
In February, an IMF team visited the country and said Bangladesh was largely protected from the first round of global crisis as its capital account dependence was limited.
Anoop Singh, director of the Asia and Pacific Department of the IMF, said many countries in Asia suffered export loss in December by as high as 40 per cent and in this context Bangladesh performed relatively well.
"The developed countries are facing the biggest financial problems in the post-War period and Bangladesh is facing the impact in a limited scale," he said.
The country has some advantage like cheap labour and RMG exporters have orders up to April. There would not be any sudden impact on the economy due to lower demand in the industrialised countries, he added.
The domestic economy has retained momentum from a favourable agriculture performance and RMG order is holding up and remittance flow is also increasing, Anoop said.
