Investment climate in the country has remained stagnant, raising concerns about the country鈥檚 growth and job creation prospects, according to the Policy Research Institute (PRI).
At its 鈥楳onthly Macroeconomic Insights鈥� unveiled at a seminar in Banani, Dhaka on the day,聽 PRI highlighted that imports of capital machinery fell by 20鈥�25 per cent in FY25, while construction activity also slowed sharply鈥攃lear signals that new investments have stalled.
Private and overall investment remained largely flat or slightly declined in FY25. Meanwhile, public investment is projected to decline to 6.4 per cent of GDP in FY25, before rising to 7 per cent of GDP in FY26, according to the report.
Ashikur Rahman, PRI鈥檚 principal economist, Ashikur Rahman, Principal Economist at PRI, delivered the keynote presentation said, 鈥楾he challenging investment climate has been one of the most serious impediments to economic growth in Bangladesh in recent years.
He also said that without addressing deep-rooted constraints in energy supply, logistics, and political uncertainty, it will be difficult to unlock new investment opportunities. In this context, it is neither accurate nor sufficient to singularly attribute slower growth to a tight monetary stance.
The evidence suggests that unless structural bottlenecks in the real economy are tackled alongside financial policies, Bangladesh cannot meaningfully stimulate investment and sustain growth, he said.
Ahmad Ahsan, director of PRI said that political uncertainty has adversely affected investment and growth, underscoring the need to ensure stability through the upcoming election. He also drew attention to the rising unemployment crisis.
The central bank鈥檚 chief economist, Mohammad Akhtar Hossain, who attended as chief guest, said that the central bank was working to bring down our inflation rate from 9 per cent to 3-4 per cent.
