Regional & International Economy

Energy prices have surged since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and, along with other commodities, are likely to remain at “historically high” levels through 2024, endangering economic growth, the World Bank warned Tuesday. “This amounts to the largest commodity shock we’ve experienced since the 1970s,” said Indermit Gill, the World …

The International Monetary Fund said on Saturday it held “fruitful technical discussions” with Sri Lanka on its loan request, while the World Bank said it was preparing an emergency aid package for the crisis-stricken country, Reuters reports. Sri Lanka, an island country of 22 million people, is struggling to pay …

As Bangladesh prepares to graduate into a developing country, its Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi has said his country is keen to clinch a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) or Free Trade Agreement (FTA) not only with India but also with Indonesia and Sri Lanka in a year. “We want to …

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal today informed that the budget of the upcoming fiscal year (FY23) would be placed in parliament on June 9. The minister said this in a press briefing after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee of Government Purchase (CCGP). The initial size of the budget is …

Bangladesh’s capacity to pay import bills has deteriorated at an alarming rate amid the fall of the country’s foreign exchange reserve in recent months against an unusual surge in imports. The country’s foreign exchange reserve exceeded $48 billion in August 2021, but the treasure dipped by nearly $4 billion to …

Gold prices jumped about 1 per cent to a more than one-month high on Monday as concerns over the economic fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war and surging inflation drove investors to the safe-haven asset. Spot gold was trading at $1,993.28 per ounce as of 0947 GMT, its highest level since …

Bangladesh has made a strong economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, but growth faces new headwinds as global commodity prices increase amid the uncertainty created by the war in Ukraine, says a new World Bank report. The report titled “Bangladesh Development Update – Recovery and Resilience Amid Global Uncertainty,” was …

S&P Global Ratings said Wednesday it could take months for Sri Lanka to restructure its foreign debt, a day after the country announced it would default on the $51 billion it has borrowed. It said it would likely assign Sri Lanka a “selective default” foreign currency rating after getting confirmation …

The Bangladesh Bank yesterday said that the New York County Supreme Court has not given any judgement in a case filed against the three prime accused in connection with the 2016 reserves heist. The three accused are Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), Lorenzo V Tan, who was president of RCBC …

Bangladesh is not at risk of the crisis that Sri Lanka is currently facing, but the country needs to be cautious and learn from the experiences of the island nation, said Hans Timmer, chief economist of the World Bank for South Asia. “The balance of payment crisis that we are …