Govt targets 7.5pc GDP growth in FY24

The government is targeting to attain a gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 7.5 per cent in the next fiscal year (FY24) since the country is expected to return to the higher growth trajectory.

"On the whole, we expect to return to higher growth trajectory and achieve a 7.5 per cent GDP growth in the coming fiscal year, by way of investing in the productive sectors and stimulating productivity and domestic demand," said finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.

Kamal said this while placing the proposed budget for FY24 at parliament on Thursday. To achieve the growth target, he said the government would gradually come out of the contractionary policy and invest in ongoing and new growth-inducing projects including the mega-projects.

For this purpose, he said the budget of the next fiscal year has set a higher target of raising the public investment to 6.3 percent of the GDP.

"At the same time, investment will continue to be facilitated in economic zones with an investment-friendly environment consisting of various facilities such as undisputed land, improved infrastructure, uninterrupted utilities, financial incentives and ease of doing business, etc," he added.

Kamal said development of logistics sector and reform of financial management will reduce time, cost and complexity in investment/business processing. As a result, private investment, which has decreased slightly in the current fiscal year, is expected to increase to 27.4 per cent of the GDP in the next fiscal year.

Mentionable, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has taken the initiative to publish National Income Accounts quarterly. This will make easier monitoring the dynamics of the components of GDP growth and make coordinated policies accordingly.

The finance minister said in April 2023, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected that the recovery process in the global context, especially in the countries important for Bangladesh's trade and remittances, has begun and will continue.

At the same time, he said the IMF's projection also revealed that global inflation will moderate as the food, fertilizer and fuel prices in the international market are returning to normal.

"Favorable changes in the global economy are making us hopeful. Simultaneously, the economic activities within the country have gathered momentum following the overall improvement of the Covid situation. Also, good yields are expected in the agriculture sector towards the end of the fiscal year," he added.