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.
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Factory activity in Bangladesh rose 4.39 per cent year-on-year in August as the economy embarked on a journey to recovery from the wreckage caused by the coronavirus pandemic, official data showed.
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