Ahsan Habib

Climate budgeting in Bangladesh must become more knowledge-based and technically stronger to help the country access global climate financing more effectively, said Sharmind Neelormi, professor in the Department of Economics at Jahangirnagar University.

The government’s ambition to build a trillion-dollar economy by 2034 will remain out of reach without urgent reforms in banking, taxation, and business costs, as the country’s current economic structure is too weak to sustain the level of growth required, a leading economist said.

The move follows years of debate over the future of closed-end funds

Planning Division proposes Tk 3 lakh crore development budget for FY27

Tk 3 lakh crore borrowed during the interim government

Listed multinational companies (MNCs) in Bangladesh had another difficult year in 2025, with most failing to claw back profits eroded by inflation and shrinking consumer demand.

The government should require listed companies to hold at least one annual earnings call and publish financial reports on time to improve transparency and attract foreign investors, said Ruchir Desai, co-fund manager at Asia Frontier Capital, in an interview with The Daily Star.

Shoemaker Bata is strengthening its presence in Bangladesh, promising to “democratise” footwear by making quality, design and comfort accessible to all, not just a narrow segment of buyers, according to the group CEO.

As many factories scramble for diesel to keep generators running during load-shedding, production lines at Ha-Meem Group hum on without interruption.

The World Bank (WB) has described regulatory burdens in Bangladesh as a tax on time and investment, saying they are holding back investment compared with peer economies.

AB Bank has made a decisive strategic shift toward micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), moving away from its earlier concentration in large corporate lending, said Reazul Islam, acting managing director and CEO.

The US-Israel war on Iran is casting a long shadow over Bangladesh’s economy, threatening to slow growth, stoke inflation, deepen poverty, cut jobs, and raise debt burdens, according to the World Bank’s latest Bangladesh Development Update.

Twenty-nine shuttered companies post sharp gains after DSE names non-operational entities

The last fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25) was hard for listed companies. During the period, firms saw their profitability fall to the lowest level since post-Covid,  squeezed by inflation that outpaced sales growth, rising borrowing costs, political upheaval and limited public spending.

The country’s economic growth slowed in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025-26 as a sharp fall in industrial activity dragged down overall output, according to provisional data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

Bangladesh risks losing 30% of EU garment exports if it fails to reach mandated decarbonisation targets by 2030

Companies faced high inflation, political uncertainty and rising borrowing costs, while weak demand and supply disruptions hit sales and profits

The stock market’s performance depends on how well listed companies perform, but many firms disappointed shareholders in the last fiscal year, offering low dividends mainly due to weak sales and profits.

Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) fined individuals, intermediaries and firms a total of Tk 1,488 crore for their involvement in stock market manipulation during the interim government’s tenure. So far, the commission has received Tk 5.23 crore of the total fine amount.

Although the authorities say the foreign exchange rate is now fully market-determined, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has described the system as “incomplete”.