Investment stalled due to political uncertainty: Planning Adviser

Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud has said that investments have stalled due to political uncertainty. He made the statement at a press conference on Monday, January 12, after a National Economic Council (NEC) meeting chaired by the Chief Adviser at the NEC conference room in Sher-e-Banglanagar.

Wahiduddin Mahmud said the economic slowdown is not solely due to the smaller size of the ADP (Annual Development Programme). The main issue, he noted, is that investments have stalled because of political uncertainty.

He added that if investments had increased, even a smaller ADP would not have caused major economic problems. Employment and production could have progressed at a normal pace.

Referring to remittance growth, the adviser said that a positive aspect for the economy is that remittance inflows have increased significantly. Much of this is going to rural areas, where the construction of houses, expansion of shops, services, and small businesses has accelerated, reducing poverty pressure in those regions.

He further noted that in areas with little remittance inflow, development projects have progressed slowly, and new projects were limited. Another important factor is that Bangladesh Bank has maintained relatively high interest rates throughout the period to control inflation, negatively affecting investment.