FY26 budget: Debt servicing costs, food subsidies to rise
The next budget may be slightly smaller than the current fiscal year’s, but non-development spending is expected to rise by over 5 percent due to higher debt servicing costs, food subsidies, and a special allocation for bank reforms.
5 May 2025
Meeting with IMF today to break deadlock
The government and the International Monetary Fund are set to meet again today for another round of negotiations over the release of the fourth and fifth tranches of a $4.7 billion loan programme.
4 May 2025
Aid allocation to be trimmed in next budget
The plan comes as $42.85b foreign funds remained unused at start of current FY
28 April 2025
IMF talks end without deal on next loan tranches
Led by Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, the Bangladesh delegation held a series of meetings with IMF representatives in Washington.
26 April 2025
Bangladesh-IMF talks to continue
The International Monetary Fund has no major disagreement with Bangladesh over reforms to the National Board of Revenue, one of the conditions set by the lender for the fourth and fifth instalments of the $4.7 billion loan.
25 April 2025
US wants Bangladesh’s work plan to reduce trade gap
The United States Trade Representative (USTR), the US government’s chief trade negotiation body, wants to see Bangladesh’s work plan on narrowing the bilateral trade gap before the Trump administration makes a call on reciprocal tariffs.
24 April 2025
Talks with IMF: Consensus likely on exchange rate, revenue issues
The fourth tranche of the instalment was deferred due to disagreements and now talks are going on to release two tranches at once.
23 April 2025
Poverty may worsen: World Bank
Bangladesh is confronting a potential rise in poverty and inequality as stubborn inflation, job losses and a slowing economy erode household welfare, according to a World Bank report.
23 April 2025
Govt raises salary of its outsourced manpower
The government has increased the monthly salary for outsourced manpower of state-owned and state-run organisations after around six years by Tk 570 to Tk 1,102 in several cities and categories.
21 April 2025
Rooppur payment: Govt to seek US sanction waiver
As much as $900 million has been on hold since 2022 in the central bank's escrow account
20 April 2025
Air pollution: Govt plans 24 roadside monitors in Dhaka and Ctg
The government is set to install roadside monitoring stations at 24 locations in Dhaka and Chattogram to curb air pollution caused by motorised vehicles, with technical and financial assistance from Japan.
19 April 2025
Govt follows taskforce report to set budgetary goals
The government’s revenue collection and spending targets for fiscal year (FY) 2025-26 have been set in line with the recommendations of a taskforce given the task of developing strategies to boost the economy, according to the finance ministry.
19 April 2025
Govt sets Tk 4.99 lakh crore target for NBR in FY26
The new target has raised eyebrows, given the underwhelming performance in revenue collection so far
16 April 2025
Govt settling for lower GDP growth target
The interim government may backtrack from its initial plan to set an ambitious GDP growth target of 6 percent for the next fiscal year amid the new economic reality and settle for 5.5 percent.
15 April 2025
Power prices not going up anytime soon
The subsidy allocation for the power sector is not going down anytime soon as the interim government does not plan to increase electricity prices on inflationary fears.
13 April 2025
ADB to increase lending by 67%
The Asian Development Bank is likely to increase its loan commitment to Bangladesh by 67 percent to $2 billion this year, up from $1.2 billion in 2024, and offer additional financing by partially canceling funds from long-delayed projects.
11 April 2025
Green shoots in economy
Bangladesh’s economy started showing signs of a turnaround in the second quarter of the fiscal year, official statistics show, although economists caution that Trump’s tariff measures are likely to slow down the momentum.
8 April 2025
Remittances ride formal channels to hit record $3.29b in March
Bangladesh received a record $3.29 billion in remittances in March -- the highest monthly figure to date -- marking a 65 percent year-on-year surge.
6 April 2025
Disaster risk funding inadequate
Bangladesh’s vulnerability to natural disasters has placed significant strain on its economy and financial resources, with about $5 billion needed in the short term for relief and early recovery, according to the International Monetary Fund.
5 April 2025
Next budget aims for 6% GDP growth
The interim government aims to balance macroeconomic stability, inflation control, and 6 percent GDP growth in the next fiscal year’s budget, when the 13th parliamentary election is expected.
2 April 2025