GDP growth to finally stand at 5.6pc

The country’s GDP growth will be around 5.6 per cent in the current fiscal year, the lowest in over a decade, says a renowned economist though Finance Minister AMA Muhith still looks optimistic about achieving ambitious 7.2 per cent target. “My observation is that the growth will definitely remain below 6 per cent. As per my estimate, it’ll be 5.6 per cent,” former finance adviser to a caretaker government Dr AB Mirza Azizul Islam said. However, the Bangladesh Bank (BB) forecasts that the GDP (gross domestic product) will stand at a range between 5.8 per cent and 6.1 per cent, which is also far below the Finance Ministry’s target. “Our forecast, given in the last monetary policy statement, still remains unchanged. BBS (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics) will ultimately tell us…we can only forecast. But we think the final figure will remain within the range between 5.8 and 6.1 per cent,” BB Chief Economist Dr Hassan Zaman said, according to UNB.