Bangladesh, one of the cheapest places to manufacture goods in Asia, needs to diversify its export basket and improve easing of doing business ranking, said Devendra Joshi, director, equity strategist, ASEAN and Frontier Markets of HSBC.
“In terms of ease of doing business, Bangladesh still lags behind Vietnam but is making efforts to improve,” he said at a virtual interactive session with clients and stakeholders titled “Bangladesh Market Insights 2021: Consumption Propelling Growth” on Wednesday.
Joshi said Bangladesh has grown into one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies with a very exciting long-term demographic story.
“Bangladesh stock market deserves more attention as it holds opportunities for investors looking for diversification and ‘hidden gems’,” he said, noting that it is on a similar growth trajectory to Vietnam.
“In fact, its stock market is where this ASEAN nation was five years ago, and it is well placed to start closing the gap. Bangladesh’s economic growth exceeded 7 per cent for four years in a row pre-pandemic, while its population grows at a fast pace with around 165m Bangladeshis.
“We think the country is on the cusp of an industrial revolution as incomes rise and technology plays an ever-increasing role in the economy. Urbanisation, smaller households and more women at work are powerful consumption drivers that support high levels of growth,” Joshi added.
He also said, “Bangladesh has also a sound macro position and a robust external balance sheet –with low external debt and high FX reserve coverage. It’s foreign direct investments (FDI) remains low but is expected to improve as it moves up the value-added ladder fast”.
Speaking the programme, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Dr Ahmad Kaikaus said the economy is seeing continuous growth because of the entrepreneurship spirit of its people, strategic location, and support from the financial sector.
“We are energised to do better and showcase our success stories through increased public-private partnerships and reach Bangladesh’s competitiveness globally,” he said, expressing his heartiest thanks to HSBC for always being a trusted and optimistic partner of Bangladesh.
Mahbub ur Rahman, chief executive officer of HSBC Bangladesh said, “In its past 50 years, Bangladesh’s trajectory of economic growth has been a testament of the people’s insatiable desire and effort to do better. Continued digitalisation and up-gradation of technology, consistent rise in per capita income leading to incremental consumptions and demographic dividend have been opening up a world of opportunities for Bangladesh”
Jashim Uddin, president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Sandeep Uppal, Global Co-Head of International Subsidiary Banking, Commercial Banking of HSBC, spoke, among others.
