Nothing to be worried about economy: Atiur

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Bangladesh Bank governor Dr Atiur Rahman said Thursday there is nothing to be worried about the overall economic condition of the country. "There's no crisis in the economy and nothing to be worried about. The economy is now in a stronger position," Atiur told UNB over phone. About the government's bank borrowing, the central bank governor said there is no reason to be worried about it either. The central bank chief came up with the observation in the wake of concern voiced by different quarters over the current state of the national economy. According to BB sources, the government borrowed Tk 81.3058 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal, which is higher than the same period of the last fiscal. A senior official of the central bank said it is less than half of the targeted loan of the current fiscal (Tk 190 billion). "So, there' s nothing to be worried." The official, who preferred not to be quoted, said this is not correct that the increased government borrowing from the banking sector by the government is contributing to the inflation. "A major part of the public sector expenditure, being used as subsidy, helps ease the inflation." A central bank analysis report says it is not visible in the country that the public sector borrowing from the banking sector has been hampering credit flow to the private sector. The government has kept Tk 236 billion in deposit from the public sector's credit balance of Tk 792.67 billion, which is being used by banks in providing loans to private and public sectors. The central bank thinks that the core inflation will remain stable following its strong monitoring on market liquidity. It observes that the pressure of paying import bills mounts pressure on exchange rate but it will not exceed the tolerable level. BSS adds: Atiur's optimistic comments were strongly supplemented by the latest data of major economic indicators, available from the central bank. The data covering government borrowing, exchange rate, money and credit supply, inflation, remittance, export, reserves and balance of payment (BoP), effectively defuses the speculative concern about the economy.