Govt Targets 7.5pc GDP Growth in FY2023-24

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

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"We will achieve 7.5 percent GDP growth in the coming fiscal year by 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 Jatiya Sangsad today.

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 mega-projects.

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

"At the same time, the 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 the development of the 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 percent of the GDP in the next fiscal year.

Mentionable, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has taken the initiative to publish the National Income Accounts quarterly. This will make it easier to monitor 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 food, fertilizer, and fuel prices in the international market return to normal.

"Favorable changes in the global economy are making us hopeful. Simultaneously, economic activities within the country have gained 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._BSS