Economy in snapshots

Foreign Exchange Reserve: Foreign currency reserves crossed $22 billion for the third time in five months, buoyed by the release of funds from development partners and a steady inflow of remittances. Forex reserves were $22.06 billion on December 13, 2014 as against of $18.05 billion in December 19, 2013. In the first 12 days of December, remittances were $558 million, the Asian Development Bank released $70 million and the UN released $36 million for peacekeepers.

FDI: Inflows of foreign direct investment into Bangladesh received $829.43 million during January-June period, down 11.10 percent Year-on-Year. The country's inflows of FDI, however, registered 24 percent year-on-year to $1.6 billion in 2013 although the country witnessed serious political unrest and an anti-business climate during the period. FDI inflows increased 13.75 percent to $1.29 billion in 2012, compared to the previous year, according to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Exports: The country grabbed $ 27.56 billion between January and November in 2014, up 4.51 percent year-on-year. Exports rebounded in the month of November, propelled by a pick-up in garment exports. In November, exports raked in $2.42 billion, up 9.5 percent year-on-year, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau. The figure also surpassed the monthly export target by 5.68 percent. Export receipts in October were $1.96 billion.

Disbursement of SME loan: Banks and non-bank financial institutions have disbursed Tk 72,062.24 crore in the first nine months of 2014, up 15.35 percent year-on-year. Currently, a third of the country's total loan disbursement goes to the SME sector, according to BB Governor Atiur Rahman. During 2010-2013, the country disbursed Tk 2.62 lakh crore to 18.35 lakh SME entrepreneurs, of which 90,000 women entrepreneurs received Tk 9,444 crore.

Inflation: Inflation continued its fall in November, coming down to 6.21 percent -- the lowest in 24 months. Food inflation was the biggest driver behind the drop in overall inflation last month, sliding to 6.44 percent from 7.16 percent in October, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data. In October 2012, inflation was 5.16 percent, which rose to 6.55 percent in November the same year. The government has set the inflation target at 6.5 percent, on average, for the current fiscal year.

Inward Remittance: The country received nearly $13.65 billion in remittances during the January-November period, up 8.16 percent year-on-year. Remittance in November rose 14.7 percent to $1.17 billion from the previous month on the back of legalisation of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia. November's receipts were over 10 percent higher than in the same month a year ago, according to data from Bangladesh Bank.

Default Loan : Loan defaults have swelled by Tk 16,708 crore in the first nine months of 2014, a development which has put the central bank in a state of great worry. “It is a matter of concern,” Atiur Rahman, Bangladesh Bank governor, has recently said at a meeting with chief executives of all banks. At the end of September, the total defaults stood at Tk 57,290 crore, which is 11.60 percent of the total outstanding loans, according to central bank statistics.On December 31, 2013, it was Tk 40,583 crore, which was 8.93 percent of the total outstanding loans at the time.