Strengthen debt management

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently stated that Bangladesh's debt-to-GDP ratio has reached around 41 per cent and recommended the formation of an independent Debt Management Office (DMO) to strengthen oversight of public debt and improve overall debt management within the government structure.
Although the development has sparked discussions among economists and policymakers, Bangladesh still remains within the "moderate debt" zone according to global standards.
Generally, countries with debt-to-GDP ratios below 30 per cent are considered to have low debt exposure, while ratios between 30 per cent and 70 per cent are categorised as moderate. A ratio between 70 per cent and 100 per cent is considered high, and anything above 100 per cent is treated as very high debt exposure.
From that perspective, Bangladesh's current position remains relatively manageable compared to many economies around the world. Several economically stronger countries, including Bahrain, Jordan, China, and Laos, currently fall into the high debt-to-GDP category. More interestingly, countries such as Japan, Lebanon, Singapore are positioned in the very high debt-to-GDP range.
However, the ADB's recommendation deserves serious attention because effective debt management is becoming increasingly important as Bangladesh moves toward post-LDC graduation and higher development ambitions. An independent Debt Management Office could help improve coordination between domestic and foreign borrowing, strengthen repayment planning, and ensure greater transparency in public debt operations.
At the same time, Bangladesh must also focus on protecting its external financial stability. A significant portion of the country's remittance inflows comes from Gulf nations. Recent economic and geopolitical uncertainties in the Gulf region could eventually affect overseas employment opportunities and remittance earnings if the situation deteriorates further. Therefore, Bangladesh should proactively explore new export destinations and diversify overseas labour markets by identifying new countries for migrant workers.
Reducing excessive dependence on a limited number of markets-both for exports and remittance inflows-will strengthen economic resilience in the long run. Public borrowing should also continue to focus on productive sectors such as infrastructure, energy, education, and export competitiveness so that economic growth can generate sustainable returns.
Bangladesh is still in a moderate debt position, but proactive policy measures today can prevent future fiscal stress.

Md. Zakaria
FAVP, CRM-CMSME Division
NCC Bank PLC, Head Office
zak.dufbs15@gmail.com