high economic growth awaits bangladesh

8/16/2019 High Economic Growth Awaits Bangladesh

1/23

High economic growth awaits Bangladesh ADB chief economist stresses the need to reduce logistic costs for businesses Suman Saha, back from the Philippines

The Asian Development Bank

predicts high economic growth

for Bangladesh because of the

country's continuing

improvements in political and business environment, said its

chief economist Shang-in

!ei"#!e are e$pecting better

days for the Bangladesh

economy as the country's e$ports are increasing due to a rebound in the global economy,% he

said"

&rowth of e$ports is e$pected to rise to ( percent, up from ) percent in the previous year,

according to ADB's latest *utlook +pdate eport"

mproved overseas sales will obviously elevate the economy as Bangladesh is pursuing an

e$port-led growth strategy, he told The Daily Star at the ADB head.uarters in the /hilippines

recently"The +S and 0uropean economies are gaining momentum in recent times, which will

help Bangladesh grab more e$port orders from those markets, he said"

The 1anila-based development partner has already made an upward revision to its

economic growth forecast for Bangladesh to 2"3 percent from 2") percent for the current

fiscal year"

All ma4or economic indicators of Bangladesh have been showing signs of improvement in the

past months, according to the ADB report"The report also pro4ected a current account

surplus, and inflation will remain within the government's target"

Bangladesh witnessed a slowdown in economic activities for more than a year on account of

the national elections held in anuary this year"0ven after the elections, businesses took time

to bounce back and regain confidence"/rivate sector credit growth went down to a (-year

low of 5"3 percent in 6ebruary" But things started taking a +-turn since then and the growth

rose to )"( percent in une"

#As economic reforms took effect and despite political disruption prior to the national

elections, growth and e$ports beat pro4ections,% according to the report"Bangladesh's e$ports


2/23

rose 7")8 percent year-on-year to 9)"8 billion in August, riding on the back of a rebound in

garment shipments"

0$port earnings increased almost ) percent year-on-year in the first two months of the fiscal

year to 98"3 billion, according to the 0$port /romotion Bureau"

The e$port target of 9((") billion for fiscal )53-8 is 5 percent higher than that of last

fiscal year's actual receipts"

Bangladesh:the second largest apparel e$porter after ;hina:should focus on reducing

logistic costs to increase overseas sales, said !ei, who took charge of the chief economist of

ADB in August"


3/23

State banks to cut deposit, lendingrates

The decision was taken to ease pressure of excess liquidity Rejaul Karim Byron

State-owned commercial banks have decided to cut interest rates for both deposit and

lending by 5"8 to percentage point to ease pressure of e$cess li.uidity"

The decision was taken at a meeting of the chief e$ecutives of the banks on Tuesday"

The move will reduce the banks' cost of fund, /radip umar Dutta, managing director of

Sonali Bank, told The Daily Star" The banks offer interest on deposit at between 3 percent

and "8 percent, which will now be capped at percent"

The highest rate of interest for lending is now 2 percent, which will be cut to 8 percent"

State banks used to offer as high as ( percent interest to attract deposits, but the rates were

gradually brought down to single digits over the past two years, another official of a state

bank said"The banks could afford e$pensive deposits earlier, but recuperating the e$penses

has become a problem due to a dull investment climate now, Dutta said"Though the deposit

rates have been lowered, those are still above the inflation rate, he said"

State banks are also going to cut lending rates to match the lower reward for deposits, and to

allow businesses to access cheaper funds, he said"Ct will help boost investment"C

The decision was taken by all state banks 4ointly to avoid unhealthy competition among

them, he said"The li.uidity-burdened banks are also closing some high-cost deposit schemes

on various e$cuses to deal with the crisis"A state bank recently ordered its branches to close

their Cdouble benefitC schemes if the clients did not have income ta$ certificates"

The total amount of e$cess li.uidity in the banking system stood at Tk 8,)33 crore by the

end of August, of which Tk 83,@22 crore was parked with four state banks, according to

Bangladesh Bank data"

Deposit growth at state banks is ( percent to 3 percent, against their average credit growth

of ( percent to 3 percent" The overall credit growth of the banking sector is around 3

percent now"

The average lending rate was )"@3 percent in uly, lower than ("2( percent in the same

month last year" The deposit rate was 7"7 percent, against @"2 percent a year ago, according

to BB data"


4/23

Tax collections gathering pace Star Business Report Ta$ receipts soared 8 percent year-on-year in the first two months of the fiscal year on the

back of increased collections from imports and income ta$"

The =ational Board of evenue logged in Tk 2,@28 crore during the uly-August period of

fiscal )53-8"

The amount though still missed the collection target for the period owing to less-than-

e$pected receipts from the value-added ta$ and supplementary duty categories"

Ta$men however said the shortfall is low and e$pect the gap to be bridged in the comingmonths"

;ollections at the import level rose 7 percent year-on-year during the period to Tk 8,@8)

crore on the back of a recovery in imports in August"

Both the openings and settlements of letters of credit


5/23

Power, infrastructure key to foreign

investment nalysts speak at seminar Star Business Report

Businesses yesterday urged the government to urgently address the gas, power and

infrastructure issues to attract more local and foreign direct investment"The call came at a

daylong seminar on investment opportunities at the capital's Sonargaon ?otel, organised by

the Board of nvestment and inaugurated by /rime 1inister Sheikh ?asina"The seminar was

attended by investors from home and abroad"

Asif brahim, chairman of B+


6/23

registration is not a problem"%;eat completed ac.uisition of )@ acres of land in Bhaluka in

1ymensingh and construction of the plant will start in *ctober"

;eat tied up with the local A han H ;ompany to produce tyres for Bangladeshi vehicles at

the 98) million Bhaluka plant"


7/23

Govt to form fund to meet expensesof big events

Rejaul Karim Byron

The government will form a permanent fund to meet e$penses of organising big national and

international events -- a move to avoid criticism for 'e$tortion' by the state"

The initial fund will be of Tk )5 crore, left over from an amount raised early this year from

the private sector for the ;; T)5 !orld ;up and an event where more than )"8 lakh people

sang the national anthem together"The decision to collect funds from corporate houses, including banks, had drawn huge

criticism"

6inance 1inister A1A 1uhith yesterday discussed the formation of the fund with ;ultural

Affairs 1inister Asadu>>aman =oor, State 1inister for Iouth and Sports Biren Sikder,

;abinet Secretary 1usharraf ?ossain Bhuiyan and other government officials"

A nine-member board headed by the finance minister will operate the fund"

&overnment officials are often compelled to approach the wealthy section of the society for

taking financial assistance to hold big national and international events, 1uhith told

reporters after the meeting"

Cnstead of repeatedly embarrassing a person, one should be approached once a year to raise

the fund,C he said" The meeting decided that the government will take grants from local and

international sources" Besides, different institutions may willingly contribute to the fund"

The money will be invested and the nine-member board will look into whether the fund is

being spent properly" Apart from representatives from different ministries, the private sector

including event management firms will be included in the board


8/23

Make FDI a top national priority Economists advise govt

Star Business Report

0conomists yesterday advised the government to find ways to bring in more foreign

investment and make it a top national priority"

#f we can make it a national priority, we will be able to bring in whatever amount we desire,%

amran Bakr, managing director of +nilever Bangladesh, said"

?e spoke at a round-table, #Stagnant nvest-mentF ways forward%, organised by /rothom Aloand 0astern Bank at the newspaper's office"

#Bringing in 6D has not been made a national priority" have sifted through various

government documents but haven't come across any specific target for 6D,% said SA Samad,

e$ecutive chairman of the Board of nvestment"

?e said the country does not have the ade.uate infrastructure to meet the demands of

prospective foreign investors, who #want everything right away%"

#nvestors are hard-nosed people" They do not act like traders -- they always think long-

term"%

The high corporate ta$, Samad said, is one of the ma4or deterrents in bringing in 6D"

#Besides, our ta$ structure is un-uniformed and unpredictable" As a result, they can't

estimate the long-term cost of a pro4ect"%

Salehuddin Ahmed, a former governor of Bangladesh Bank, said the lack of policy continuity

is a ma4or reason behind the slow flow of 6D to the country"

The lack of policy continuity is not only seen when governments change, it is also seen within

the tenure of a same government, he said"#Some regulatory bodies give one decision in the

morning only to change it in the evening -- this is unfortunate because investors have long-

term view"%Debapriya Bhatta-charya, distinguished fellow of the ;entre for /olicy Dialogue,

said the stagnation in investment began in )5-) and is still continuing"

#1any had thought that the investment situation would make a turnaround after the

elections but the situation has not improved in the last seven months,% he said, adding that

investment has gone down on both the domestic and foreign fronts"

?owever, the real foreign investment scenario would have been in a worse state, if the

telecom operators, most of which are foreign-owned, had not invested millions of dollars to

get (& licences, the economist said"1oney also flowed into the country to help banks

maintain capital reserves in line with BAS0< re.uirements, he said"


9/23

#But the worrying thing is that money is going out of the country as companies are

repatriating their profits" So, the real situation is not in favour of Bangladesh"%

6urthermore, the Bo, which is supposed to facilitate foreign investment into the country,

has now become an organisation that only provides work permitsJ they are unable to manage

gas and electricity service for investors"

The ;/D distinguished fellow went on to state that money would be diverted to other

countries if there is no investment opportunity here"

!hile a number of organisations such as the Bangladesh 0$port /rocessing Kones, Bo and

/ublic /rivate /artnership *ffice are working to woo in investment, the efforts are not being

coordinated"

#As a result, a problem has been created" =ow is the time to bring in reforms" But the

government is failing in that respect"%

Akbar Ali han, a former caretaker government adviser, said investors will go to any country

they find lucrative"But before talking about 6D, one should talk about domestic investment

as wellF if the amount of local investment is low, foreign investment will also be low" So, the

emphasis should also be given on local investment, he said"

brahim haled, a former deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, called for setting up

economic >ones as fast as possible to attract investors"

Another reason for the slowdown in investment is that a section of financiers who are not

aligned with either Awami a ftekhar, managing director of 0B


10/23

Optimistic outlook for garment exportsdespite slow start

Refayet Ullah Mirdha

Despite some unfavourable numbers in uly, Bangladesh's outlook on garment e$ports is bright this

year too, with high demand from western customers due to competitive prices, industry insiders

said"0$ports of woven garment declined by 3"3 percent to 9") billion in uly, and knitwear e$port

grew only by 3"() percent to 9"( billion, according to the 0$port /romotion Bureau"

Also, garment e$ports grew a tepid 5" percent last month from a year earlier, the smallest

increase in )( months, as foreign trade numbers indicate"

#1y prediction is that Bangladesh will perform very well in the current fiscal year as the demand for

the products is also still higher,% said 1ustafi>ur ahman, e$ecutive director of the ;entre for /olicy

Dialogue ;/DE, a research think-tank"

Bangladesh has targeted 9)2" billion in garment e$ports for fiscal )53-8"

#Despite some oddities in the sector, ma4or international retailers still have been increasing the

volume of work orders to Bangladesh due to competitive prices of the products,% he said"

After trending in step with total e$ports in past years, Bangladeshi shipments to the +S

underperformed total Bangladeshi apparel e$ports in @ of the last )) months"

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n fact, e$ports to America may fade this year, owing perhaps to weakness in +S apparel spending and

fallout from the ana /la>a building collapse last year"

?owever, regardless of the stalled shipments to America, Bangladeshi garment manufacturers remain

on track to e$pand their e$ports this year, in turn boosting imports of cotton and te$tiles to records to

feed the domestic industry" At this rate, full-year shipments may approach 9)2 billion"

http://j.mp/Kaspersky-Lab-Bangladesh/http://j.mp/Kaspersky-Lab-Bangladesh/


11/23

n effect, the outlook for Bangladeshi apparel e$ports this year continues to drive demand across the

global cotton and te$tile supply chain in )53-8"

Bangladesh e$ported garment products worth 9)3"8 billion in fiscal )5(-3, which is ("@2 percent

higher than in the previous fiscal year, despite a prolonged political crisis and two ma4or industrialdisasters including Ta>reen 6ashions fire and ana /la>a building collapse"

The retailers are still with Bangladesh, but the country needs to complete the unfinished works like

relocation of the factories and following the compliances set by the retailers, ;/D's ahman said"

The government and garment makers also need to look to the small and medium factories, so that the

garment sector performs well, he said" *therwise, the bigger groups will perform well as they have

bigger financial bases, he added"

The country will still be able to achieve the garment e$port target by the end of the year, said Ati.ulslam, president of Bangladesh &arment 1anufacturers and 0$porters Association, the garment

makers' platform"

But e$port growth will remain lower up to September due to after-effects of last year's political crisis,

slam said" #!e have to be very cautious as well, as the retailers are also looking for alternative

destinations"%

Among other problems, the steep appreciation of the local currency against the greenback is another

woe for the garment sector now, he said"


12/23

1. lakh !" accounts closed in #uly Sarwar !howdhury

Around "33 lakh B* accounts were closed in the first month of the fiscal year due mainly to

non-submission of renewal fees"

nvestors are re.uired to renew their B* beneficiary owner'sE account every une for a

certain fee"

The total number of B* accounts now stands at around )@ lakh, according to statistics

available from the ;entral Depository of Bangladesh


13/23

Price fluctuation of commoditiesleads to a rise in default loans$ !!study

Rejaul Karim Byron

/rice fluctuation of commodities in local and global markets was the reason why loan against

trust receipt


14/23

The study also found that bank branches often open


15/23

Potato exports treble Sohel Parvez /otato e$ports saw a .uantum leap in the recently concluded fiscal year, buoyed by higher

shipments to ussia amid a tight supply from /akistan and ndia to the global market,

e$porters said yesterday"

0$ports crossed the one-lakh-tonne mark for the first time in fiscal )5(-3, rising threefold

from only )@,32 tonnes in the previous year, according to the Department of Agricultural

0$tension DA0E"

0arnings also trebled to 9(("@) million in )5(-3 compared to the previous year, 0$port

/romotion Bureau data shows"

CThis is a milestone" !e want to perform better in the days to come" !e are trying to

consolidate in ussia, which is a big market for potato,C said Shaikh Abdul Luader, president

of Bangladesh /otato 0$porters Association, which recorded the total e$ports at 2,555

tonnes in the last fiscal year"

*f the .uantity, nearly )5,555 tonnes were e$ported to ussia, where Bangladeshi e$porters

en4oyed wider market opportunities due to a ban on /akistani potatoes over pest risks"

0$ports to other traditional markets such as 1alaysia, the 1iddle 0ast and Sri


16/23

6rustrated by sliding prices, farmers in many northern districts had staged protests and

dumped their produce on highways during the harvesting season, prompting the government

to e$plore opportunities for e$port" ;urrently e$porters get )5 percent cash incentives"

C


17/23

!anks return to profits Rejaul Karim Byron

*perating profits for most banks rose in the first half of the year due to the return of

normalcy on the political front after a turbulent year"

/rimary figures from 8 commercial banks yesterday showed that their profits between

anuary and une increased 5 percent year-on-year to Tk (,7( crore"

By and large, bankers credited the stable political scenario for the rise in profits"

#Although the profit has gone up, it was not up to our e$pectations,% said ?elal Ahmed

;howdhury, managing director of /ubali Bank"

?e said the import and e$port businesses went up and remittance flow also increased in

recent months, boosting the profit figures"

mports rose @"5@ percent as of April of the 4ust-concluded fiscal year" t went down by 8"25

percent during the same period of fiscal )5)-("

n the month of April alone, imports shot up )("37 percent, which was down by ( percent in

the same month last year" #!e hope the situation will improve in the ne$t si$ months" As a

result, the profits will also soar,% ;howdhury told The Daily Star"slami Bank Bangladesh,the largest private commercial bank, made the highest profit of Tk @(5 crore" The figure is a

decline of 3"7@ percent from the previous year"

#*ur deposits went up" ?owever, investment has not picked up at the same rate, causing the

profit to fall,% said a senior official of the bank"?e is however hopeful that profits would go

up in the ne$t half of the year to make up for the shortfall"1ost banks saw their profits

decline in )5( due to political unrest and an increase in default loans"


18/23

%ncomes from all sources should be

taxed n economist says "BR has to speed up reforms Star Business Report

nalysts attend a discussion on bud#et or#anised by the Policy Research $nstitute in association with %&$% in %haka yesterday' Photo( Star

The government should make all personal incomes, irrespective of their sources, ta$able to

collect more money from individual ta$payers in an effort to reach its ambitious revenue

target, an economist said yesterday"Sadi. Ahmed, vice chairman of /olicy esearch nstitute

/E, said no sectors should be given a blanket ta$ e$emption"Cf some concessions have to be made to motivate additional domestic and foreign

investment, the scope of those concessions should be limited in a way that does not

undermine ta$ collection"C?e said providing ta$ e$emption to any high-earning sectors, such

as garments, is also not the right policy"

The former !orld Bank official also urged the government to introduce a proper wealth ta$"

?e said the modernisation plan of the =ational Board of evenue has all the key ingredients

of making the agency modern, efficient and capable of meeting the challenging revenue

targets"CBut its implementation is slow and needs to be substantially speeded up"C

Ahmed spoke at a discussion on the budget for the new fiscal year" /, a think-tank,

organised the event in its office in the city in association with the + Department for

nternational Development D6DE"

At percent, Bangladesh has one of the lowest ta$-&D/ ratios in the region" n this

backdrop, the government has targeted to raise the ratio by 3 percent of &D/ in the ne$t five

years"CThe revenue potential of personal income ta$ alone is huge,C Ahmed said in a

presentation"At present, the top 5 percent of the population owns (8 percent of the national

income while personal income ta$es are a meagre "8 percent of &D/"

Ahmed said, this year's budget also aims to modernise the ta$ structure by increasing

reliance on a progressive income ta$ system"CThis is a positive note but there is a long way to

go" The income ta$ measures have to be broadened substantially with well articulated

income and property ta$ reform"C

Ahmed said the ta$ base needs to be broadened through stronger enforcement of ta$ laws,

along with efforts to further simplify ta$ filing and ta$ payments systems"

Siddi.ur ahman ;howdhury, a former finance secretary, said apart from the e$isting

ta$payers, there are many people who have ta$able income, but they have not been brought

under the ta$ net"C!e even have not been able to bring the black money in the mainstreameconomy" !e give some incentives and wait for voluntary actions from the black money


19/23

holders" Stringent measures should be taken about the issue"C

C!e also talk about decentralisation" But all decisions are taken by the head of a department

in a highly centralised system"C?e also criticised the government for its failure to use the

huge amount of foreign aid lying in the pipeline"

At present, about 9"3 billion in concessional aid commitment has been in the pipeline, said

Kahid ?ussain, lead economist of the !orld Bank in Dhaka"

?ussain also said Bangladesh needs to e$plain how the growth in a turbulent year was higher

relative to the growth in a normal year"

CThis storyline has to be clarified" *therwise, the !orld Bank will face this challenge in

September-*ctober when their &lobal 0conomic /rospects come out" They are going to ask

us about the estimate for fiscal )5(-3"C

Cf we tell them that the 6I)53 growth rate is 2") percent compared to 2"5 percent in

6I)5(, the ne$t .uestion naturally would be 'how do you e$plainP'C

CBecause we have also told the public that because of the 38 days of strikes and turbulence,

the &D/ loss was at least 9"3 billion" This estimate has been accepted in the budget speech

of the finance minister"C

?ussain said, this time the !orld Bank has disagreed not only on the magnitude but also on

the direction of the growth estimate"

?e said the credibility of the macroeconomic statistics is at stake" Cf you don't have credible

macroeconomic statistics, the macro-polices and macro-debates can't move forward

constructively"C?ussain said he is really worried as too many unapproved pro4ects have beenincluded in the annual development programme AD/E"

?e said, if the country can use )5 percent of the aid money in the pipeline then a large

fraction of the e$ternal financial target will be achieved in the current fiscal year"

The !B economist also agreed with /'s Sadi. Ahmed that decentralisation is the number

one structural reform agenda" CThrough decentralisation, we can signal the political will for

change, build capacity and solve the problem of aligning incentives with development

performance"C

The government will have to do something credible about decentralisation, ?ussain said"

Binayak Sen, research director of Bangladesh nstitute of Development Studies, said the

mplementation 1onitoring and 0valuation Division should be empowered to improve the

scenario of pro4ect implementation in terms of .uantity and .uality"

?e said the finance minister seems to be keen about giving more power to the upa>ila

parishads, but the political authority might not want it"

Kakir Ahmed han, another former finance secretary, criticised the huge allocation made

under the headline of the miscellaneous e$penditure"

Ct is huge" ?ow could the miscellaneous e$penditure be percent of the budgetPC he said"


20/23

Put a curb on state banks& lending n economist ad)ises these banks to focus on deposits Star Business Report

&rom left, nis Khan, !*+ of utual Trust Bank- bdul annan, state minister for finance- Rokia f.al Rahman, president of !!$- /aidi Sattar, chairman of PR$- and hsan 0 ansur, executi)e director of PR$,

attend a discussion on bud#et yesterday' Photo( Star

The government should curtail lending operations of state-owned banks and ask them to

focus only on deposit collection to save the troubled lenders, an economist said yesterday"

CThe banks should concentrate on deposit collection and invest the money in inter-bank

lending business,C said Ahsan ? 1ansur, e$ecutive director of /olicy esearch nstitute

/E"

CBailing out the bottomless basket will not work,C he said at a discussion on budget, at theoffice of 1etropolitan ;hamber of ;ommerce and ndustry in the capital"


21/23

will be difficult given the slower than targeted &D/ growth and weak ta$ administration"C

?e said the budget has made an effort to catalyse investment through higher spending on

infrastructure pro4ects such as highways and bridges, setting up special economic >ones and

power generation"

?owever, weaknesses in the financial sector due to ma4or governance problem in the state-

run banks and the growing loan loss provision across the banking sector have not got much

attention"

1ansur said the government should intensify efforts to accelerate disbursement of foreign

aid to contain pressure on domestic financing" The targeted borrowing from the domestic

sources is .uite high and can create tensions in the money market as happened in )5-)"

?e also urged the finance minister to revise up the allocation for key social and development

sectors such as health, education, food and social security"

AB 1ir>a A>i>ul slam, a former finance adviser to the caretaker government, said the

government would not be able to achieve its &D/ growth target of @ percent by )58 and 5

percent by )5) if it cannot raise investment-&D/ ratio by attracting private investment"

CThe budget has taken some positive steps in the areas of infrastructure and electricity to

revive private investment" But we will not get desired benefit if we can't address the delay in

pro4ect implementation, no matter what the allocation is"C

The country needs efficient administration and less corruption, and political stability to

restore the confidence of the private investors, slam said"

The e$pensive power and high interest rate are two other constraints that are putting privateinvestment at bay, he said"

1 Anis +d Dowla, a former president of 1;;, proposed closing the state-owned

enterprises, particularly the 4ute and te$tile mills, as the government does not have ade.uate

e$pertise and energy to run them"

?e also said the turnover ta$ is unrealistic and against the basic principle of income ta$"

CThrough this, you are ta$ing revenue, not the income"C

Adeeb ? han, senior partner of ahman ahman ?u., an audit firm, criticised the plan to

impose (5 percent ta$ on the super-rich"

CThis is controversial" nstead of e$panding the ta$ net, imposing a new rate will put more

pressure on honest ta$payers"C

?e also said, although the proposal to reduce the minimum ta$ on companies and firms on

their gross receipts to 5"( percent from 5"8 percent is a welcome move, the ta$ measure

actually goes against the normal practice of income ta$"

CThis is unfair and un4ust"C

1 Abdul 1annan, state minister for finance and planning, said the proposed budget has

waded into areas that were not touched by the governments in the past"

C!e have brought something for children, women, underprivileged groups, and even for


22/23

cancer patients" !e will allocate more for them if we can mobilise more resources,C he said"

The minister also backed suggestions of privatising the state-owned enterprises"

1annan also said the government is looking into the changes in land ta$ proposed in the

budget"

?abibullah = arim, an e$ecutive member of 1;;, said the registration fee of land should

be per katha-based fi$ed amount and area specific, instead of the percentage on the deed

value, as proposed in the budget"

Cf we can do so, we will be able to reduce black money in the economy, as people will feel

encouraged to mention the real price of the land in the deed,C he said"

okia Af>al ahman, president of 1;;, said the upcoming budget reflects the government's

planning for the ne$t five years, setting off a perception of stability and policy continuity"

CThis was much needed for the business community in Bangladesh and foreign investors to

bring back the confidence"C

She urged the government to cap its borrowing from the banking sector, as the pro4ected

borrowing will be significantly higher compared to that in the outgoing fiscal year"

The 1;; president said the government also needs to remain open to suggestions from the

business community in resolving issues that might stem from the implementation of the new

GAT law from the upcoming fiscal year"

C!e also urge the government to take appropriate measures for capacity building of the

administrative system to be able to implement the new budget"C

Kaidi Sattar, chairman of /, said protections provided to some sectors such as tyres, tubesand


23/23

'xports accelerate (pc in )ay Star Business Report

0$ports rose 7")) percent year-on-year to 9)"7) billion in 1ay, riding on higher clothing

sales"

#Buyers are regaining confidence in Bangladesh as the garment entrepreneurs have

undertaken many positive reforms in the sector after the ana /la>a collapse last April,% said

Abdus Salam 1urshedy, former president of Bangladesh &arment 1anufacturers and

0$porters Association"

The three inspection agencies -- Bangladesh +niversity of 0ngineering and Technology,

Accord and Alliance -- are working to improve workplace safety and compliance, which has

helped in regaining buyers' confidence on Bangladeshi clothing items, he added"

&arment e$ports between uly and 1ay stood at 9))"@ billion, up 3"@7 percent year-on-

year, according to the 0$port /romotion Bureau"

Total e$port earnings in the first months of the fiscal year stood at 9)7"(7 billion, an

increase of )"82 percent from a year ago"

1urshedy, also the president of the 0$porters' Association of Bangladesh, said the overall

e$port target of 9(5"85 billion set by the government for fiscal )5(-3 is likely to be

achieved"The e$port momentum though seems to have slowed somewhat last monthF 1ay's earnings

of 9)"7) billion missed the monthly target by 8"38 percent"

high economic growth awaits bangladesh

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