Finance Minister not too worried

Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali has said there is nothing to worry about downgrading the growth forecast for Bangladesh by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the current fiscal year.

He said he is satisfied with the recovery of Bangladesh's economy, reports UNB.

The finance minister said this in response to a question from a Bangladeshi journalist on the sideline of the World Bank-IMF spring meetings in Washington DC on Tuesday.

The finance minister said that he is not too worried about the GDP growth forecast by the IMF as the country has already started to recover from the crisis.

"Initiatives taken by the government for economic reforms are working," he said.

Even though people are slowly getting relief, those who see negatively are not happy, he added.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) again has revised downward the growth forecast of Bangladesh's economy to 5.7 per cent for the current fiscal year (FY 2023-24).

The IMF made the revised projection in its World Economic Outlook released April 16.

The IMF growth forecast highlighted different global and local challenges, including persistently high inflation, unemployment, lower remittance flow, and a fall in industrial investment target.

The global lender for the second time cut the economic growth forecast for Bangladesh. In October last year, it projected 6.0 per cent growth, cutting down its previous prediction from 6.5 per cent for the FY 2023-24.

The IMF growth forecast comes a week after the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Bangladesh's GDP will expand 6.1 per cent in FY 2023-24, riding on exports.

Early this month, the World Bank said Bangladesh will register subdued growth for reduced private consumption affected by high inflation.