BDT 6.8 trillion (USD 74 bn) budget, aiming 7.5% GDP growth and 5.6% average inflation. The size of total budget is about 15.2% of FY23f GDP. Increasing subsidy by about 24% from BDT 668bn (USD 7bn) in FY22R to BDT 846 bn (USD 9 bn) in FY23f is an en...

Increased cost of importing LNG to be passed on. Since then the spot price of LNG in the international market increased by c245% (USD 2.37/MMBTU in July 2019 vs USD 8.14/MMBTU in May 2022) forcing the government to hike the tariff. 10-16% gas tariff ...

OPEC+ increased its output on 2 June but not by an amount that makes a meaningful dent in global supply. Should China demand growth snap back, in the event that Covid restrictions subside and policy stimulus come into effect, then oil prices could go...

The latest UN FAO World Food Price index (published on 3 June) declined slightly again from the March all-time high: down 0.6% in May, but up 23% yoy, and up 73% from the May 2020 trough. This is the second consecutive month of slight moderation. Veg...

Bangladesh’s first ETF is expected to be launched in September 2022, said the DSE Managing Director. Here are some details of it. This ETF will track DS30 – a free-float market cap weighted index composed of 30 Blue-chip shares. DS30 is rebalanced se...

Bangladesh FX rate stability has been a mainstay of its economic policy but recent depreciation, falling reserves and an unforgiving global backdrop evoke memories of the last large devaluation seen in 2011. There are causes for concern. Net food imp...