Bangladesh Bank projects 6.1% GDP growth for FY27, below govt's 6.5% target
The central bank has kept all key policy interest rates unchanged for the first half of FY27 as it continues efforts to bring inflation under control while supporting economic recovery.
Highlights
- The central bank leaves all key policy rates unchanged to curb inflation.
- FY26 provisional GDP growth stood at 4.14%, up from 3.49% a year earlier.
Bangladesh Bank has projected the country's economy to grow by 6.1% in FY27, lower than the government's 6.5% target set in the national budget, while keeping key policy interest rates unchanged in an effort to rein in inflation.
The forecast was unveiled in the central bank's Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) for the July-December period of FY27, released today (30 June).
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
According to provisional estimates by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the economy grew by 4.14% in FY26, recovering from 3.49% in the previous fiscal year.
The MPS said the government's fiscal strategy for FY27 combines growth-supportive measures with fiscal discipline, prioritising development spending alongside tax reforms, expenditure rationalisation, targeted subsidies and expanded social protection programmes.
"The new government has enacted growth-supportive but fiscally prudent expansion focused on development expenditure as its fiscal stance for FY27," the statement said.
Bangladesh Bank said the government has adopted a broader economic strategy aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and implementing structural reforms to create the foundation for investment-led growth.
As outlined in the FY27 budget, the first phase of the government's 3R Strategy - Recovery and Stabilisation, Restoration and Reconstruction for Acceleration - will focus over the next year on stabilising the economy and protecting vulnerable groups from the impact of economic shocks.
The strategy also prioritises strengthening social protection programmes, improving public service delivery, simplifying business procedures and enhancing coordination among public institutions.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Bank left all key policy rates unchanged. The policy repo rate remains at 10%, the Standing Lending Facility (SLF) rate at 11.5%, and the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) rate at 7.5%.
