Industries sector registers 5.6pc growth in 7 months
Tuesday, 3 June 2008
Country's industries sector registered 5.60 per cent growth in the first seven months of the current fiscal (2007-08) compared to the corresponding period in the previous fiscal.
During the first half of the fiscal the sector was affected by sluggish investment and low export-oriented manufacturing activities, head of economic unit of Asian Development Bank (ADB) RK Khan told BSS Monday.
"But in the second half it rebounded with an upturn in the export-oriented manufacturing and effective measures taken by the government to restore business confidence," he said.
The sign of recovery in the manufacturing activities is supported by restored business confidence, increased import of industrial raw materials, rebound in exports of garments and increased private sector credit, Khan said.
According to ADB's recent quarterly economic update, in only January this year, the production of medium and large-scale industries rose sharply by 16.70 per cent against the corresponding period in 2007.
The output of small-scale manufacturing, which caters mostly to the domestic market, also expanded by 7.0 per cent in the first half of current fiscal over the corresponding period of the fiscal 2006- 07, said the outlook.
After witnessing a slowdown over several months, the business community and other stakeholders got relieved when readymade garments (RMG), the premier export industry of the country, sharply rebounded in the third quarter of current fiscal year (2007-08), Khan said.
The RMG sector, which makes up more than 75 per cent of the country's export basket, pulled up the overall export earnings growth to 12.40 per cent during July-March of the current fiscal.
The RMG sector could not be able to manage that much order before January 2007 due to political confrontation which had made a depression in the RMG export in July-to-September of the last year, Khan pointed out.
Improvements in compliance and labour relations, return of business confidence, increasing efficiency of Chittagong sea port and appreciation of currencies in major competing countries including India, China and Vietnam are believed to be contributing to rising RMG orders in Bangladesh, he said.
Another study, conducted by economist Selim Raihan, showed that the business confidence has improved during the first quarter of this year compared to the last quarter of the last year.
During the first half of the fiscal the sector was affected by sluggish investment and low export-oriented manufacturing activities, head of economic unit of Asian Development Bank (ADB) RK Khan told BSS Monday.
"But in the second half it rebounded with an upturn in the export-oriented manufacturing and effective measures taken by the government to restore business confidence," he said.
The sign of recovery in the manufacturing activities is supported by restored business confidence, increased import of industrial raw materials, rebound in exports of garments and increased private sector credit, Khan said.
According to ADB's recent quarterly economic update, in only January this year, the production of medium and large-scale industries rose sharply by 16.70 per cent against the corresponding period in 2007.
The output of small-scale manufacturing, which caters mostly to the domestic market, also expanded by 7.0 per cent in the first half of current fiscal over the corresponding period of the fiscal 2006- 07, said the outlook.
After witnessing a slowdown over several months, the business community and other stakeholders got relieved when readymade garments (RMG), the premier export industry of the country, sharply rebounded in the third quarter of current fiscal year (2007-08), Khan said.
The RMG sector, which makes up more than 75 per cent of the country's export basket, pulled up the overall export earnings growth to 12.40 per cent during July-March of the current fiscal.
The RMG sector could not be able to manage that much order before January 2007 due to political confrontation which had made a depression in the RMG export in July-to-September of the last year, Khan pointed out.
Improvements in compliance and labour relations, return of business confidence, increasing efficiency of Chittagong sea port and appreciation of currencies in major competing countries including India, China and Vietnam are believed to be contributing to rising RMG orders in Bangladesh, he said.
Another study, conducted by economist Selim Raihan, showed that the business confidence has improved during the first quarter of this year compared to the last quarter of the last year.