Bangladesh’s GPD growth is expected to cross 8 percent for the first time in the country’s history by the end of the current fiscal.
After analysing the data for the first eight months of the fiscal (Jul-Feb), Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) estimates a record economic growth of 8.13 percent at the end of 2018-19 fiscal.
It also expects the per capita income to increase to $1909, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal told a media call at the National Economic Council (NEC) on Tuesday (Mar 19).
Kamal said the investment ratio to GDP will stand at 31.57 percent --8.17 percent public and 23.40 percent private investment-- at the end of the current fiscal.
In 2017-18 fiscal, the investment ratio to GDP was 31.13 percent.
According to Kamal, the improvement in key sectors at macro level is behind the high GDP growth rate in the current fiscal.
The rising trend of export earnings as we as inward remittance, increased investment as well as the growing size of the manufacturing sector have been helping in achieving this “eye-catching” growth, he said.
According to the BBS provisional data, the growth of the agriculture sector in this year is going to reach 3.51 percent while the industry sector 13.02 percent and the services sector 6.50 percent.
Kamal said the total size of the GDP in the current fiscal will rise to over Tk 25.36 trillion from Tk 22.5 trillion recorded in the last fiscal.
The minister also expressed his optimism about attaining double-digit growth rate within the next four years.
Besides, the GNI will reach over Tk 26.5 trillion and the per capita GDP $1,827 in the current fiscal, he informed.