IMF lowers GDP growth forecast to 4.4pc
The new projection is 1.3 percentage points lower from its previous forecast of 5.7 per cent
The IMF came up with the projection in its latest World Economic Outlook published on its website yesterday.
The lender's projection is much lower than the government's target of 8.2 per cent for the current fiscal year of 2020-21.
The IMF usually forecasts Bangladesh's GDP growth based on a calendar year. But it projected the economic output for the first time on the basis of the fiscal year.
The country's GDP growth may stand at 7.3 per cent in fiscal 2024-25, the IMF said.
The IMF was not the first lender that lowered Bangladesh's GDP growth forecast.
On Thursday, the World Bank said Bangladesh's economic growth would weaken to 1.6 per cent in the current fiscal year. Earlier in April, the Washington-based global lender had forecast that the growth would be between 2 and 3 per cent in the current fiscal year.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, however, said the World Bank's latest forecast about the growth of Bangladesh does not reflect the ongoing economic recovery.
"The GDP growth forecast made by the World Bank is inconsistent with the current economic revival in Bangladesh," he said.