Economy

21 August 2025
Efforts by the government to grow Bangladesh's tax-to-gross domestic product ratio have not paid off, with the country's vast informal economy cited as one factor.
Feeling upbeat due to its relatively advantageous U.S. tariff position, the Bangladeshi government has set a goods export growth target of 16.5% for the fiscal year through June 30, 2026.
Trump tariffs

Bangladesh garment makers gain orders on new US tariff

Buyers shift from India and China, but risk of higher retail prices clouds outlook

20 August 2025
Economists warn that the spread of extortion in Bangladesh hurts the economy by disrupting supply chains, pushing up costs and keeping inflation high.
Crime

Bangladesh extortion crisis hits businesses and fuels inflation

Weak law and order sees various political groups turn to shakedowns

5 August 2025
Millions of Bangladeshi women and men work in factories making clothing for export: U.S. President Donald Trump's insistence on raising import tariffs has threatened to put the livelihoods of many of them in jeopardy. (Photo by Rajib Dhar)
Big in Asia

Bangladesh garment workers await end of Trump tariff tumult

Factories hit hard by rate uncertainty due to high dependence on US exports

2 August 2025
Bangladeshi business leaders and analysts expect Washington's proposed 35% tariff to severely affect the country's vital garment industry. 
Trump tariffs

Bangladesh's lack of leverage sees it brace for higher US tariffs

Limited trade leaves Dhaka with weak hand, risking competitiveness against Vietnam

10 July 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump released the first batch of letters on July 7 informing countries of the tariff rates their exports to the U.S. will face, starting Aug. 1.
Trump tariffs

Trump imposes 25% tariffs on Japan, South Korea, Malaysia

Myanmar and Laos see 40% rate, among slew of levies to take effect Aug. 1

8 July 2025
Women wait for checkups at a health care center on May 26 at a camp Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. (Photo by Valeria Mongelli)
Politics

US aid cuts leave Rohingya in Bangladesh vulnerable to hepatitis C

Groups struggle to meet refugee health care needs in face of shortfall

18 June 2025
In an exclusive interview with Nikkei, Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus took a resolute stance on his role in reforming his country and steering it to its next election: "Whatever it is you want to change, people resist." (Photo by Yuki Kohara) 
Big in Asia

Bangladesh's Yunus walks reform tightrope in eye of trade, domestic storms

Interim leader faces Trump tariffs, calls for early election, wage protests

7 June 2025
Garment workers at a factory in Bangladesh: The ready-made garments sector accounts for about 80% of the country's exports and provides employment to millions of people.
Trade war

Bangladesh clothes sector hit by trade barriers, internal turmoil

Double-digit growth threatened by strikes, U.S. duties and India tensions

30 May 2025
Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus speaks to Nikkei Asia in Tokyo on May 29. The leader intends to use money his predecessor either sent abroad or stashed away domestically to provide his nation with education and healthcare opportunities. (Photo by Yuki Kohara)
Interview

Bangladesh offers to buy more US cotton and oil, Yunus says

Government to use $12bn in Hasina cash to create sovereign wealth funds

29 May 2025
A female garment worker checks sewing quality at a factory in Gazipur, Bangladesh, on April 9, 2025.
Opinion

Bangladesh shows how Trump tariffs can derail developing economies

Decades-old formula for manufacturing-led prosperity loses its potency

14 May 2025
A money vendor counts notes at his stall in Dhaka.
Economy

Bangladesh enjoys remittance blessing amid post-Hasina woe

New government policies allow banks to reestablish trusted services

25 April 2025
Tensions between the governments of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, and Bangladeshi interim leader Muhammad Yunus are overshadowing the textile and clothing industry that powers Bangladesh's economy. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters)
International relations

Tensions mount as India revokes transshipment access for Bangladesh exports

New Delhi ends arrangement that allowed neighbor to send cargo via its airports

21 April 2025
Garment workers make clothing in the sewing section of a factory in Gazipur, Bangladesh, on April 9, 2025. 
Opinion

Why Bangladesh deserves a seat at ASEAN's table

Nation's post-crisis leadership offers a rare opportunity for Southeast Asia

20 April 2025
Fresh Bangladeshi taka bank notes being sold on the streets of Dhaka.
Economy

Bangladesh plans first budget reduction as IMF chases revenue

Dhaka deems ousted Hasina administration's inflated budgets 'not logical'

15 April 2025
Bangladesh apparel factories and workers began feeling the pitch after U.S. President Donald Trump announced "reciprocal" tariffs on April 2. (Photo by Yuji Kuronuma)
Trump tariffs

Trump tariffs hit Bangladesh apparel factories, threaten workers' jobs

Halted U.S. orders strain garment makers' operation costs

10 April 2025
The last summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) was in Colombo, Sri Lanka in March 2022 
International relations

Myanmar's troubled situation looms over Bay of Bengal regional summit

Impact of earthquake and civil war on connectivity plans expected to dominate talks

2 April 2025
Solar panels on roofs of residential buildings in Dhaka. Currently, only 6% of Bangladesh's energy supply comes from renewable sources. 
Energy

Bangladesh pushes green energy as summer power shortages loom

Dhaka woos foreign producers as it seeks a major boost in solar and wind investment

25 March 2025
Shoppers in Dhaka's food markets are relieved to see an end to skyrocketing prices, as the interim Bangladesh government implements new economic policies. But questions linger over whether early progress in the post-Sheikh Hasina era can be sustained. (Photo by Masum Billah)
Policy Asia

Bangladesh reins in inflation, but road to full recovery still rocky

Leader Yunus faces law and order issues, dwindling investment, calls for election road map

21 March 2025
Bangladesh Bank Gov. Ahsan H. Mansur expects the share of nonperforming loans to rise once the standards defining such loans are tightened in April. (Photos by Reuters) 
Finance

Bangladesh to tighten rules on defaults, prepares resolution act

IMF calls for bad debt disposal to gain stability in banking sector

12 March 2025
Bangladeshi police fire water cannons at protesting primary school teachers in Dhaka on Feb. 16. (Photo by Rajib Dhar)
Bangladesh turmoil

Bangladesh capital Dhaka turns into city of protest

Ouster of PM Hasina triggers zeal for street demonstrations in megacity

6 March 2025
Ashik Chowdhury is executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority. (Photo by Toru Takahashi)
Interview

Bangladesh to see FDI improve 'dramatically' from 2026, investment chief says

Ex-banker Ashik Chowdhury says reforms will improve environment for investors

2 March 2025
Half of ready-made garments produced in Bangladesh goes to European Union countries, according to an industry executive. 
Bangladesh turmoil

Crisis-hit Bangladesh braces for impact of U.N. economy upgrade

Business sector warns exiting least-developed country status amounts to 'suicide'

26 February 2025
The port of Chittagong: A direct maritime route connecting the Bangladeshi port with the port of of Karachi in Pakistan resumed operation in November last year.
International relations

Pakistan-Bangladesh ties warm after ex-PM Hasina's fall

Islamabad seeks to boost trade with Dhaka to $3bn as official exchanges grow

21 January 2025
A worker at a garments factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on June 12, 2024. 
Opinion

Bangladesh needs to stop relying on its garment sector

Over-reliance on one industry holds back a nation beset by weak governance

20 January 2025
Ready-made garment workers toil in a factory in Dhaka in June 2024. Bangladesh is "heading towards a socially alarming situation," one researcher said.
Economy

Garment factory closures cast dark shadow over Bangladesh economy

Lower GDP growth, plummeting demand and growing unemployment wreak havoc

15 January 2025
Tata Motors' Altroz Racer on display at the 2024 Bharat Mobility Global Expo in New Delhi.  
Your Week in Asia

China economy snapshot, India car show, ASEAN ministers meet

Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events

12 January 2025
Workers at a garment factory in Narayanganj, on the outskirts of Dhaka: Women from different parts of Bangladesh come to cities to work in the garment sector. (Sipa via AP Images)
Gender

Bangladesh's garment industry aims for equal male-female employment

Men demand more jobs in traditionally female dominant sector amid high unemployment

4 October 2024
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus arriving at Dhaka's Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Aug. 8. Yunus is leading a caretaker government after the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Bangladesh turmoil

Bangladesh eyes 'reset, reform, restart' after U.S. delegation visit

Washington pledges aid as caretaker government pushes toward elections

16 September 2024
An FBI team will visit Bangladesh again to further discuss methods of assistance to the South Asian nation. (Source photos by Getty Images)
Economy

Bangladesh seeks help from FBI, U.N. agency to recover laundered money

An estimated $100bn was siphoned abroad in past 15 years under Hasina regime

12 September 2024