ADB predicts Bangladesh top GDP growth achiever in South Asia after coronavirus

Screen-grab taken from Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2020

Asian Development Bank (ADB) has placed Bangladesh on top of the list of South Asian nations as it predicted 7.8 per cent GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth for the country in 2020 fiscal amid coronavirus carnage across the world.

GDP growth is expected to moderate but remain strong at 7.8% in FY2020 as domestic demand is supported by continued healthy growth in workers’ remittances.
Asian Development Bank (ADB)

“GDP growth is expected to moderate but remain strong at 7.8% in FY2020 as domestic demand is supported by continued healthy growth in workers’ remittances. Private investment is expected to remain subdued,” said ADB in its report titled ‘Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2020: What Drives Innovation in Asia?’ published recently.

On average the South Asian region will gross 4.1 per cent GDP growth while India will make 4 per cent, Pakistan 2.6 per cent, Bhutan 5.2 per cent, Nepal 5.3 per cent, Sri Lanka 2.2 per cent, Afghanistan 3 per cent and Maldives -3 per cent.

Screen-grab taken from Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2020

ADB came up with this new forecast a day after the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) projected Bangladesh’s GDP growth 3.5 per cent in 2020 revising its earlier forecast of 7.7 per cent growth following the novel coronavirus outbreak across the globe.

The report reads that the economic activity of Bangladesh will ‘accelerate in the second half of the year with expanded government development spending, higher imports of liquefied natural gas and construction materials, favorable trends in power production, and the authorities pursuing policies to boost exports.’

If, it added, the political calmness continues helping to maintain consumer and investment confidence.

However, Bangladesh’s inflation will climb to 5.6 in 2020 FY from 5.5 last year.

Screen-grab taken from Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2020

ADB also assumed that Bangladesh’s ‘exports and imports will be depressed in FY2020 due to global economic slowdown, but will improve in FY2021’. Bangladesh Bank’s ‘monetary policy will be expansionary enough to support economic growth yet maintain price stability and the weather will be normal.’

It also said Bangladesh will resume it robust growth in 2021 fiscal with 8 per cent GDP growth.

It also said the growth in South Asia will decelerate to 4.1 per cent in 2020 and then recover to 6.0 per cent in 2021, largely tracking the trend in the dominant Indian economy.

“GDP performance … continues to accelerate in Bhutan both this year and next as a new 5-year plan strengthens government spending, and despite lower tourist arrivals.

Screen-grab taken from Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2020

“Maldives and Sri Lanka are less sheltered from global efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19, which are forecast to cause the tourism-dominated economy of Maldives to contract by 3.0 per cent in 2020 before surging back in 2021. Leaving aside external upheaval, growth in Pakistan will slow as agriculture stagnates.... Inflation in the subregion will soften to 4.1 per cent in 2020 as food inflation eases in India with improved agriculture.”