bangladesh

The country is facing a myriad of difficulties as the war in the Middle East remains unresolved, with the IMF watching closely.

After February's election, Bangladesh’s economy is being shaken by the rise in prices of oil and gas, a potential fall in remittances, increased shipping costs and Trump's latest tariffs, as the war in the Middle East continues.

Weak exports, inflation and a lack of foreign investment continue to weigh on the Southeast Asian nation; remittances are one bright spot.

Loan defaults in Bangladeshi's banking sector have reached an all-time high of 35.7% of total disbursed loans, posing a severe threat to depositors; elections will take place in February 2026.

After a deluge of defaults, a new state-owned bank called United Islamic Bank is set to emerge out of the five banks, with the plan to privatise them over time.

Bangladeshi businesses and economists are pressing the government to defer the graduation from the UN’s least developed country (LDC) status. They argue the government needs to consider the impacts on exports, tariffs, loans and patents.

As they approved the Budget, cabinet members of the interim government scrapped the revenue raising provision on June 22 amid strong criticism.

The South Asian nation has agreed a more flexible exchange rate to help unlock $1.3bn of funds.

An April review by the IMF ended without an agreement, with June the next opportunity to meet the IMF's conditions and release two tranches of loans.