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Bangladesh requires strong institutions and real-time data driven policies to facilitate private sectors, attract foreign direct investments (FDIs), as well as secure business transformation after LDC graduation by 2026 to achieve high income status by 2041.
By leveraging real-time data and insights from the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a leading economic indicator, Bangladesh will be able to tackle future challenges effectively.
Gracing the event as the guest of honor, Acting British High Commissioner and Development Director to Bangladesh Matt Cannell made the remarks at the launching programme of PMI for Bangladesh on Monday.
The Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka (MCCI), in partnership with Policy Exchange Bangladesh (PEB), with support from the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), launched the PMI at MCCI’s Gulshan office in the capital.
Cannell acknowledged that as Bangladesh undergoes LDC-graduation, it must prepare for the forthcoming challenges that will arise. Before concluding, he assured of the UK’s continued support to Bangladesh’s development pursuits.
The PMI is a leading economic indicator which helps understand the economic health of a country. It provides insights into key economic sectors and captures early trends. The PMI data index is compiled from monthly surveys of private sector enterprises.
In his welcome remarks, MCCI President Kamran T Rahman said the PMI datasets had wide-ranging applications and could be used by various stakeholders. It had already been implemented in several nations.
He believed the PMI could play a key role in sustaining Bangladesh’s development trajectory.
PEB Chairman Dr M Masrur Reaz said, “The MCCI, PEB, and FCDO had come together to make robust data available regularly throughout the year. The PMI helps ensure proper resource allocation, helping policy formulation and taking participatory policy measures.
“As the PMI provided actionable and quantifiable insights about the economy, it was very useful for the stakeholders. I believe it would help make business easier. I am optimistic about the first PMI report getting published by April-May. Now, it is conducted as a pilot basis.”
Policy Exchange Bangladesh’s Market and Policy Advisory Senior Manager Hasnat Alam gave a brief presentation on the fundamentals and practicality of the PMI Programme.
The PMI covers major economic sectors including agriculture, construction, manufacturing and services – which are contributing the most in the country’s GDP. It also gives early indication of where the economy is headed, Alam stressed.
This index helps the private sector in staying ahead of official data and producing accurate nowcast and research through advance signals of key macroeconomic variables, as well as enhancing asset allocation approaches, and fine-tunes their business strategies.
The event was moderated by MCCI Secretary-General and CEO Farooq Ahmed.
