By: PramodKumar
THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said that around 0.2 per cent to 0.4 per cent of Bangladesh’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate may be lost due to Covid-19 outbreak.
According to the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2020, ADB’s flagship economic publication, Bangladesh is expected to grow by 7.8 per cent in Fiscal Year 2020.
The growth rate would be 8.0 per cent in FY2021, the report also suggests.
“Bangladesh economy continued to perform well despite the global economic slowdown. However, there exists a downward risk due to the COVID-19 global pandemic,” said ADB’s Country Director Manmohan Parkash.
The ADO 2020 also notes that low revenue mobilisation continues to be a key challenge for Bangladesh economy.
“The low revenue to GDP ratio in Bangladesh diminishes the country’s capacity to sustain high economic growth and reduce poverty,” says the report.
Revenues thus need to be raised significantly through comprehensive tax reforms, by expanding the tax base and making resource mobilisation more efficient to support much-needed public expenditure on infrastructure, health and social development, the report further adds.
But the dip in the trend might continue as long as the pandemic is prolonged, it said.
