Budget in challenging times

Formulating an annual budget has never been easy in Bangladesh, given the plethora of demands and paucity of resources. But 2026-2027 fiscal is perhaps the most challenging time for balancing the two sides of the economy embedded in the annual estimate. A brief resume of the backdrop of the challenges...

Bangladesh's FDI gamble

Bangladesh's budget for 2026-27, a historic Tk 9.38 trillion, arrived with fanfare and a striking new promise: anyone, citizen or expatriate, who successfully brings foreign direct investment into the country will receive a 1.5 per cent consultancy fee or commission as an incentive. The cabinet had already formalised this under...