GDP count on quarterly basis, bank interest rates to be published daily

Data on country's gross domestic product (GDP) growth will be produced and disseminated quarterly instead of the annual basis while interest rates on both deposits and lending will be published daily instead of monthly by maintaining global standards.
With this end in view, Bangladesh has started preparation for upgrading its position as a Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) country from the existing General Data Dissemination System (GDDS).
Government authorities believe this upgrading would improve the quality of data in line with the international standards.
"Such type of upgradation will help the policymakers take proper decisions on their respective areas," a senior official, familiar with the process, told the FE Wednesday.
He also said different agencies have started preparations to upgrade Bangladesh to SDDS status by 2016.
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission is scheduled to visit the country on June 28-July 09 this year for the assessment of data for this upgrade, which also may help in averting controversies over important economic data.
Besides, an initiative has been taken to form an SDDS steering committee to assist implementing agencies in working in unison to produce the best data output.
Bangladesh Bank (BB), the ministry of finance and Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) now work as the implementing agencies.
The official claimed periodicity and timeliness of Bangladesh external sector and monetary sector data already meet the criteria of SDDS, which means the central bank of Bangladesh is fully capable of working up to this standard.
An adviser is now working with the state-run BBS for the improvement of real-sector-related data, according to the official.
He also said a workshop for advanced GDDS countries in the Asia-Pacific region was already held in the capital, Dhaka, in the last week of April to push for standardisation of data dissemination under the general data-dissemination system.
The representatives of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Mongolia took part in the two-day workshop.
"If the BBS and the finance ministry start to produce data on quarterly and monthly bases, then there will be no obstacle to upgrading Bangladesh as SDDS country," SK Sur Chowdhury, deputy governor of the BB, said while speaking at the workshop, organised by the IMF.  
The IMF has specific guidelines on periodicity and timeliness of data dissemination for GDDS, SDDS and SDDS Plus subscriber countries. Some 113 IMF-member countries, including Bangladesh, are under GDDS, 63 SDDS and only 8 graded as SDDS Plus.
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