Faster Project Implementation boosts Access to Finance

Faster implementation of projects is a key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs]. The Asia and the Pacific region is an evolving development story accounting for 60 percent of the human population and 35 percent of global gross domestic product [GDP]. Today the region accounts for over 60 percent of global growth but still has 1.4 billion people living on less than $2 per day. According to an UN estimate, the financing gap to achieve the SDGs is $2.5 trillion to $3 trillion per year in developing countries alone. An estimate shows that achieving the SDGs could open up $12 trillion of market opportunities; create 380 million new jobs; and action on climate change would result in savings of about $26 trillion by 2030. The Government has taken the SDG achievement target seriously and regional, multi-level cooperation are needed to achieve sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific. Bun Chanthy, vice minister of the commerce ministry of Cambodia, highlighted the growth target of the country and said Cambodia was working to be high middle income country in 2030 and high income country by 2050.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/faster-project-implementation-boosts-access-finance-experts-1839163

ADB maintains robust Growth Outlook for Bangladesh

Bangladesh is expected to grow robustly in 2019 and 2020 riding on domestic consumption and strong remittance earnings, said the Asian Development Bank yesterday as it kept the growth outlook for the country unchanged. In a supplement to its Asian Development Outlook 2019 Update. The ADB now expects gross domestic product [GDP] in the region to expand 5.2 percent in both 2019 and 2020, down from the September forecast of 5.4 percent for this year and 5.5 percent next year. According to the latest outlook, Bangladesh will post 8.1 percent GDP growth in 2019 and 8 percent in 2020, unchanged from its previous outlook published in September. On Tuesday, the Government released the final GDP figure for the last fiscal year. It showed that the economy grew 8.15 percent in 2018-19, the fastest in the Asia-Pacific region. The projection for the current fiscal year is 8.2 percent. The ADB said Bangladesh’s accommodative policy on credit to the private sector is expected to promote investment, and strong remittances, which surged by 20.5 percent in the first four months of the current fiscal year. India’s growth is now seen at a slower 5.1 percent in fiscal year 2019 as the foundering of a major nonbanking financial company in 2018 led to a rise in risk aversion in the financial sector and a credit crunch. Also, consumption was affected by slow job growth and rural distress aggravated by a poor harvest. Growth should pick up to 6.5 percent in fiscal year 2020 with supportive policies. In September, the ADB forecast India’s GDP to grow 6.5 percent in 2019 and 7.2 percent in 2020. Growth could accelerate, however, should the United States and China come to an agreement on trade, the report says. In September, the ADB forecast GDP growth of 6.2 percent in 2019 and 6 percent in 2020.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/chinese-investors-seek-long-term-stable-policies-1839145

BD Textile, RMG Companies to be introduced with ‘Serai’

Serai, a subsidiary of HSBC Group, vows to be a catalyst for textile and RMG industry of Bangladesh bringing it under digital era riding on trailblazing innovative products. Serai also offered Bangladeshi businesses to help expand trade globally. Textile and RMG segment is the single largest manufacturing industry in the world, employing millions of people. Serai believes there’s huge potential for this industry to benefit from digitisation. The sector is going through intense changes and there’s been a drive for transparency, which makes it the ideal starting point for Serai’s platform and we hope that Serai can be a catalyst for the industry to evolve into the digital era. The B2C world has radically changed thanks to technology. The B2B world unfortunately has been comparatively less impacted and remains too complex. For example, how companies find parties to interact and trade with hasn’t changed since the 1960s. Serai was established as a separate entity in December 2018 and is a registered company in Hong Kong, wholly-owned by HSBC. Serai now has the resources and backing of HSBC, but more importantly, it has the agility and flexibility of a start-up, and we have an incredible opportunity to kind of really change how companies build relationships and transact.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/stock-corporate/bd-textile-rmg-cos-to-be-introduced-with-serai-1576078741