Recession to hit Bangladesh

The global financial crisis will certainly affect Bangladesh as the country is exposed to global economies, said Prof Mustafizur Rahman, executive director of Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).
Bangladesh is an economy worth $84 billion, with $21 billion imports and $14 billion exports. Any event in the global economy will certainly affect the country, said Rahman. He was speaking as the chief guest at a seminar styled "Global Financial Crisis: Are We Ready?" in Dhaka yesterday.
The Centre for Corporate Governance and Financial Studies, a research organisation run by Dhaka University (DU) faculty members, and the students of the Department of Finance of DU organised the seminar at the Business Faculty Auditorium on DU campus.
"The isolation the country presently enjoys from the global crisis will not offer comfort for long,” said Rahman. This is because the country is exposed to international markets, he said.
As a safeguard measure, the country should strengthen its institutions, as several countries, including the US, have undertaken steps to reform their institutions, Rahman told the seminar.
Prof Mahmood Osman Imam, chairman of the finance department, presided over the event.
He said Bangladesh fetched $700 million as foreign direct investment (FDI) last year, which is insignificant in terms of volume. Vietnam attracted $20 billion in FDI during this time, he added.
The global financial crisis is likely to affect remittance earning, Imam warned.
The finance department students presented a keynote paper on the theme of the seminar, while Syed Mahbubur Rahman, deputy managing director of BRAC Bank, also spoke.