Staff Reporter :
Risks have arisen in the foreign loan repayment of Bangladesh, and they will intensify further in 2026, said Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya, a Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).
He further said that the country’s economy has been carrying on with four major deficits, with the country’s GDP growth seeming like a Boeing running with a single engine.
“It has not been possible to pay $5 billion on time in various areas, including fuel bills, profits of foreign companies, or debts of foreign airlines,” Dr. Debapriya remarked while speaking at a discussion on “Macroeconomic challenges and the way forward” at the Economic Reporters Forum (ERF) office in the capital on Tuesday.
“As a result, Bangladesh is no longer able to proudly carry on claiming that the country has never defaulted on paying its debts,” he said. “In fact, risks have arisen in repayment, and they will intensify further in 2026.”
Dr. Debapriya further elaborated, “There are four major deficits in the country’s economy. Its GDP growth is like a Boeing with one engine running. Growth comes from government investment, and private investment is not progressing.”
Investment in social sectors, including health and education, is not being increased due to a shortfall in a shortfall in revenue collection, he added.
Dr. Debapriya also said, “Bangladesh is in the swing of expectations and mistrust. There seems to be conflict among people in the country. They expect a lot but cannot trust the government to fulfil those expectations.”
“The way the accounts have been published for the last decade, there is a gap in the GDP estimates. As a result, the debt-to-GDP ratio has been shown to be low,” he added.
“The government is very sensitive about information disclosure. It is not good for the country.
As a state-owned institution, Bangladesh Bank is obliged to disclose information. Its reputation has been tarnished by imposing a ban on journalists’ entrance into it,” he added.
Regarding the low tax GDP ratio, he said, “Those who are supposed to be paying taxes are not doing so.
There is a lack of efficiency and corruption in the tax administration. People have fewer incentives to pay taxes because people do not get expected services in health, education, or public transport.”
