Bi-weekly News Clippings (March 7-19, 2015)

Bangladesh a bright example of women's employment: study (The Daily Star, March 9, 2015)

MasterCard’s Index of Women’s Advancement which covers 16 countries in the Asia Pacific region, sees Bangladesh gain more than 80 points in overall employment. In the ‘female participation in the workforce’ sub-category, Bangladesh scored higher than Sri Lanka, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea. In the overall index however, Bangladesh came in second last ahead of India.

Unrest drags down housing sales (Financial Express, March 9, 2015)

The real estate sector and its backward linkages have been hit hard by the ongoing political turmoil, incurring losses of Tk. 17 billion (USD 220 million) during the period. More than 200 sub-sectors are making losses due to their inability to transport construction materials to the project sites. In addition, real estate sales have fallen by more than 60 percent.

Export diversification: the need for different eggs and baskets (The Daily Star, March 10, 2015)

Bangladeshi exports earnings comprise 20 percent of the GDP of which more than 80 percent can be attributed to readymade garments (RMG). In addition, with 4 million workers employed in the industry, high export concentration on RMG means that the economy is highly dependent on these exports. Because of its relatively small share of global exports, Bangladesh tends to be immune to shocks stemming from international financial crises. However, the country could stand to lose its comparative advantage over its competitors if its minimum wage levels are raised too much and it could lose market share to countries like Ethiopia due to lower minimum wages (nearly a third of Bangladesh’s) and zero duty benefits for their exports. It is thus imperative that the government considers other avenues for generating export revenue. 

Central packing house to boost vegetable exports (The Daily Star, March 12, 2015)

The government is in the process of constructing a central packing house in Shyampur,  in order to ensure safe and good-quality shipments of fruits and vegetables abroad. The government was under pressure to ensure pest-free exports and genuine phytosanitary certificates after warnings from a number of importing authorities – including the EU which has suspended the import of betel leaves till June 2015 for bacterial contamination.

Trade deficit widens after racing imports (The Daily Star, March 12, 2015)

As of the end of January, Bangladesh’s trade deficit had more than doubled to $5.72 billion from $2.79 billion a year ago. A 16.43 percent increase in imports during the period accounted for this substantial change. On a positive note however, the majority of the exports were that of capital machinery which could suggest that investment is finally picking up.

Study: Bangladesh to be 23rd largest economy by 2050 (Dhaka Tribune, March 16, 2015)

A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) projects that Bangladesh will move up 8 places to become the 23^rd largest economy by 2050. Along with the Philippines, Colombia, Egypt, Iran, the Netherlands, Pakistan and Thailand, Bangladesh is one of 8 newly emerging economies to be recognized for indicating signs of sustained rapid growth in the long term. This progress however is contingent on surviving and adapting to adverse shocks such as political revolutions and natural disasters.

Global demand drives home textile investment (The Financial Express, March 16, 2015)

Growing global demand for local home textile products has attracted heavy local investment in the sector. A relatively new entrant in the market, Bangladesh’s home textile industry is growing fast and produces better quality yarn than its competitor Pakistan, which enjoys the benefits of the European Union’s General Scheme of Preference (GSP) facility. However, Bangladesh has a long way to go if it is to compete with China, India, Pakistan and Turkey – traditional and reputed producers of home textiles – especially amid the lingering political turmoil, unfavorable currency changes and its relatively small scale of operations.

Growth of BD's software export slow due to inadequate forward linkage (The Financial Express, March 16, 2015)

Bangladesh’s software exports are currently well short of the FY2015 target of $1 billion due to inadequate forward linkage factors such as – lack of branding, inadequate support from diplomats, insufficient government funds for arranging export fairs, complex money transfer procedures in capital accounts according to AKM Fahim Mushroor, Former President of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS).

Britain raises minimum wage by 3pc (The Daily Star, March 18, 2015)

Britain raised its minimum wage for workers over 21 from £6.50 to £6.70 representing a 3 percent increase, the highest in real terms since 2008. However, the opposition Labour party opposed the move saying it fell short of the £7 minimum wage pledged by the government more than a year ago.

H&M to take aggressive buying approach for Bangladesh (Dhaka Tribune, March 19, 2015)

Global retailer H&M is planning to buy more readymade garments (RMG) from Bangladesh as part of a more aggressive approach. It hopes to play a facilitating role in helping Bangladesh achieve its RMG export target of $50 billion by 2021.