“Bangladesh, fortunately, is in a different position. You do not have high external debt. With the level of coverage of foreign reserves, even if it has declined, you still have several months to go,” Vinales said.
“Then I see that despite these recent upheavals the private sector is very determined to succeed and has a lot of vitality. Frankly, I think Bangladesh will be one of the stars in Asia in the medium term. has the potential to become,” he said.
Bangladesh’s economic landscape has shifted somewhat since Vinales’ last visit to Bangladesh in 2018, a year without due to the pandemic and the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war. The country’s GDP growth decelerated sharply to 3.45 per cent in the financial year 2019-20 from 7.88 per cent a year ago. Then growth accelerated in the next two years, reaching 7.25 per cent in the 2021-22 financial year.
Vinales predicted that Bangladesh’s growth rate over the next 5-7 years could be 7.5 percent or “slightly higher”, which is in line with the government’s projection. But for this to happen, things need to be done to strengthen the ease of doing business, economic governance and institutions, and the rule of law.
“Governance is something that is an issue in many countries across the board. For example, in the financial system, it is important to ensure that there is legal predictability. Legal stability is needed to ensure that both domestic and foreign investments Come,” he said.
He said Bangladesh has a “very significant opportunity” to leverage and benefit even more from the international diversification of global supply chains, given cost advantages, location advantages and the US-China trade tensions and wider geopolitical issues in the region. Thank you. “I think Bangladesh, if it can play its cards wisely, can be of great benefit.”
The country should continue to diversify the economy and export sources and build critical infrastructure, not only physical, but also digital. According to Vinales, in terms of building human capital, Bangladesh must address the short-term challenges of macroeconomic stabilization.
Asked to specify one area of the economy where governance is an issue that needs fixing, Vinales said: “I don’t want to go into the specifics of Bangladesh’s economy. I would just like to comment that we are in many other We know from experience across markets and countries that one of the pre-conditions for growth is to ensure that the rule of law is strong, institutions are strong across the board – both public institutions and private sector institutions, including the governance of important financial institutions. “
Vinales was hesitant to speak on Bangladesh’s banking system, which recently hit headlines due to reports of questionable lending, and took a question to Nasir Ejaz Bijoy – the man at Standard Chartered Bank in Dhaka.
Still, Vinales touched on the broader issue of governance. “There are always going to be problems in all banking systems. After you have had a period of some challenges, some of those challenges are reflected in the accounts and the balance sheets of the banks. So to improve asset quality, to clean up the balance sheets “Things can always be done to improve the capitalization of banks, to enhance governance. Again, it’s not for me to tell you what needs to be done. I can tell you what Standard Chartered is doing. And we What they are doing is to continue investing in Bangladesh.”
