Unchecked growth not an option, say planners, while builders say it is hurting home buyers
As listed companies, especially those in the manufacturing sector, have reported falling profits in recent quarters, business leaders are now turning their attention to how best to navigate 2025 amid global uncertainty, domestic inflation and rising borrowing costs.
Although Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest exporter of readymade garments, it continues to struggle with major challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, cumbersome bureaucracy and murky regulations.
Eighteen years ago, a young man from Narayanganj landed in Melbourne with a suitcase full of ambition and just a few hundred dollars to his name. Today, that man – Md Shamim – owns 108 Subway outlets across Australia, ranking him among the franchise's largest global operators.
Bangladesh’s natural rubber industry, once a bright spot in the economy, is losing its lustre as slumping demand and volatile law and order in the greater Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) send prices tumbling.
Bangladesh, long regarded as a cost-competitive destination and once hailed as the next Asian tiger, is now grappling with mounting pressure as the cost of doing business is rising sharply across key sectors.
As the United States moves to impose reciprocal tariffs, concerns are mounting among Bangladeshi exporters, particularly in the footwear and pharmaceutical sectors, over potential implications for the country’s trade prospects.
Restoring confidence in Dhaka-Delhi ties will be the key objective of the meeting between Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bangkok today, diplomatic sources said.
The electronics and home appliance sector in Bangladesh is facing one of its most challenging periods in recent years due to inflation, currency devaluation and declining consumer spending on non-essential items.
Mongla port, the second largest seaport in Bangladesh, witnessed a sharp decline in container handling throughout the first seven months of the current fiscal year (FY), with growing economic constraints eroding business activities in the country.
If the macroeconomic stress does not ease soon, these small ventures, which contribute 32 percent of the country's GDP and employ 85 percent of the industrial workforce, face closure.
The business world often thrives on boldness, but in Syed Manzur Elahi, Bangladesh found something more: a quiet fortitude, a moral compass, and an entrepreneurial mind that always seeks to build.
Syed Manzur Elahi was one of Bangladesh’s most distinguished industrialists and entrepreneurs.
Bangladesh requires around 100,000 new apartments every year. Despite having the capacity to meet this demand, realtors can only supply 8 percent of the required units, leaving a substantial gap.
Although the interim government is focusing on reforms and new measures, corruption remains a major concern for businesses. Instead of waning, demands for undue payments by public officials have increased in some cases, said a top industrialist.
Bangladesh’s investment-to-GDP ratio declined by 0.25 percentage points to 30.70 percent in the fiscal year (FY) 2023-24, according to official data, signalling a potential slowdown in future economic growth.
Local air conditioner (AC) manufacturers in Bangladesh are pushing for “fair” government procurement policies, arguing that existing rules favour foreign brands despite local companies meeting global standards.
Over the last several years, Ahsan, a rickshaw puller in his 50s, has been eagerly waiting for relief from the high prices of food and other essentials. Days and months have passed, but his pursuit of a better living by escaping the curse of elevated inflation has remained a distant dream.
