The World Bank has projected 6.8 percent GDP growth for Bangladesh, despite internal security challenges and sluggish global demand. The global lender posted the growth projections for the current financial year in its half-yearly report, Global Economic Pros-pects, on Wednesday. After being restricted to 6 percent growth for about a decade, Bangladesh's economy posted a 7.11 percent GDP growth in the 2015-16 fiscal. The government set a 7.2 percent growth target for 2016-17 fiscal.
Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith was confident that the growth would not slip below 7 percent. The World Bank did not fully agree with the government but has since somewhat moved away from its earlier skepticism. The Global Economic Prospects from June said Bangladesh would not achieve 6.3 percent growth in 2016-17.
The forecast in January was 5 percent points higher. The World Bank in the report said private expenditure and investment were both suffering due to sluggish foreign currency flow. It warned that weakening remittance and exports may lower economic growth to 6.5 percent in the fiscal 2017-18. Growth may suffer further if stabilizing measures are not taken for revenue, financial and corporate sectors, it said.