Businesses are experiencing an uneven recovery from the pandemic-induced slowdown as larger firms are bouncing back strongly thanks to the easy access to the stimulus packages while the smaller ones are still mired in the crisis.
The large industrial and service sectors have made as much as 80-90 per cent recovery compared to the pre-pandemic level. It is only 30-40 per cent for small and medium enterprises.
Since March, the government has unveiled 21 stimulus packages involving more than Tk 120,000 crore, which is about 4.5 per cent of the GDP of Bangladesh and one of the largest in the world.
Businesses belonging to the large industrial and service sectors have managed loans smoothly, whereas small enterprises have been largely deprived.
Economy to remain strong in 2021 as recovery gathers pace
Sun Online Desk
1st January, 2021 03:32:52
Bangladesh’s economy is likely to continue to shine in the new year as the silver lining of an economic recovery is apparent now from a year-long topsy-turvy ride due to global Covid-19 pandemic in the outgoing 2020.
The world entered a fresh spell of economic recession triggered by an unprecedented global pandemic from the very outset of 2020, but Bangladesh somehow managed to bring its derailed economy back on track supported by timely steps and policies.
Like the rest of the world, Bangladesh also put in place two months’ lockdown from late March to May to avoid the spread of coronavirus, putting most economic activities nearly to a halt at that time.
Bangladesh Economy 2020: Rising from the rubble
The year 2020 began with a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the horizon. The novel coronavirus was spreading in Europe, the destination of over 60 percent exports from Bangladesh, after wreaking havoc in China, its largest trading partner.
Bangladesh felt the heat of a looming global crisis though the virus had not yet made its way into the country.
The bad news came a couple of months later. On March 8, the authorities confirmed the maiden case of Covid infection in the country. A week later, the first death from the virus was reported.
Soon, the country s economy, one of the shining stars in Asia, came almost to a halt as the government imposed countrywide lockdown to contain the spread of the virus.
Economists pin hope on vaccine rollout
Economists see a promising 2021 for Bangladesh because of the rollout of coronavirus vaccines globally and manageable impacts of the pandemic on the country, while sounding out alarms about the bumpy road the economy has to ride before full recovery takes place.
Bangladesh s hopes for a vaccine received a major boost on Wednesday after the UK approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Bangladesh is in line to receive the vaccines as early as in January. We are very optimistic about 2021. The pandemic will be handled through the import of vaccines, said Prof Shamsul Alam, a member of the planning commission.
Abdur Rahim Harmachi, Chief Economics Correspondent, bdnews24.com
Published: 30 Dec 2020 02:22 PM BdST
Updated: 30 Dec 2020 02:29 PM BdST
For Bangladesh, 2020 began with plenty of cause for optimism against the backdrop of political stability coupled with a burgeoning economy. But a deadly virus, almost unheard of before the start of the year, quickly intensified into a full-blown pandemic that upended daily life in unprecedented ways. );
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The coronavirus pandemic brought the economy to its knees even before the first quarter of the fiscal year ended with numerous shutdowns and job losses painting a grim short-term outlook.
Although there have since been signs of a recovery in the final quarter, a second wave of the outbreak, which has already been trampling the country’s most important markets such as the US and Europe, still poses a grave threat. Bangladesh, therefore, is set to ring in the New Year with many of the same concerns from 2020.