For years, local businesses have struggled with an invisible but formidable opponent: a web of outdated, inconsistent, confusing and burdensome regulations. Navigating this bureaucratic maze has often meant facing unpredictable delays, opaque procedures, and uneven enforcement.
There is no doubt that Bangladesh’s pharmaceutical industry has shown remarkable potential.
The World Bank recently urged Bangladesh to implement a comprehensive set of reforms to restore confidence in our financial system, which has been weakened by poor governance, political interference and related lending.
When we hear the phrase “conflict of interest,” many of us picture shady backroom political deals. But in truth, conflicts of interest are just as rampant in the world of business, especially in Bangladesh’s fast-growing economy, where family ties and personal connections often blur professional lines.
The path ahead is becoming clearer, and more complicated.
Moody’s recently downgraded the outlook for Bangladesh’s banking sector to negative due to increasing asset risks and worsening economic conditions.
The start-up ecosystem in Bangladesh is experiencing a period of exciting growth, driven largely by a youthful, entrepreneurial population eager to make their mark.
US President Donald Trump has done what he had long wanted to do – try to increase America’s revenue in every possible way.
Bangladesh Bank issued comprehensive guidelines for establishing digital banks in mid-June. This important decision has generated a lot of excitement among different groups, including major banks, non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) and innovative startups.
I became a management committee (mancom) member of an Australian bank quite early. My climbing to the top role in the local office of a leading USA-based bank was also relatively early. In those days, a CEO was kind of a CEO, no matter whether you drive change or not. Almost always the boss’s man and focusing on upward management.
Of course. Despite challenges around, we have many reasons to be optimistic about Bangladesh.
Capital flight, a growing concern for Bangladesh over the past few decades, refers to the outflow of financial assets from a country. While usual outflow may also be foreign direct investment, the problem arises when the fund transferred from a country does not have proper documentation of source and there is no intend of repatriation of the fund. This leads to loss of government revenue and depletion of foreign currency reserves.
According to a 2021 study of the International Organisation for Migration, there could be an estimated 2.4 million Bangladeshi diaspora members in the UK and the US alone. Therefore, it can be assumed that the total number of Bangladeshis living abroad is huge. Even if a small portion of them contribute their skills, expertise and capital back to Bangladesh, it could make a huge difference.
Sovereign credit ratings (SCR), determined based on a country’s willingness and ability to pay its principal and interest obligations on time, are qualitative indicators that determine a nation’s likelihood of default. Countries’ borrowing costs from international financial markets depend on their SCR. A better SCR means more favourable cost of borrowing and lower SCR means higher cost of borrowing.
The government is consistently failing to meet its tax collection targets. In 2022-23, its target fell short by Tk 44,728 crore. This phenomenon has been going on for the last 11 consecutive fiscal years. Clearly, our existing taxation system is not efficient enough, so something needs to change and change fast.
Non-performing loan (NPL) has been a concern for the banking sector in Bangladesh for quite some time. According to the World Bank, Bangladesh had the second-highest NPL ratio of 9.4 per cent in South Asia in 2022, right after Sri Lanka.
Banking has become relationship manager (RM)-driven in Bangladesh over the last three decades whether it is corporate, commercial, or retail banking. Large clients in corporate or wealth management segments demand very personalised or structured product support backed by world-class service.
Fiscal transparency can be defined as the wide availability and easy access of government financial information to encourage accountability and trust. It refers to the extent to which a government publishes and delivers accurate information about its financial activities and obligations.
