71% firms think Bangladesh’s economy is recovering: SANEM survey

Majority of the companies in the country think Bangladesh is on the path to economic recovery, shows a recent survey by the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM).

According to the findings, 71 percent of the 502 surveyed firms think that Bangladesh is on the path to economic recovery.

Sixteen percent consider it as a strong recovery, 40 percent think it as moderate recovery, while 15 percent perceive it as weak recovery.

Faster recovery is taking place in the pharmaceuticals, textile, and financial sectors, the survey found.

The report was released in a webinar jointly hosted by SANEM and The Asia Foundation on “COVID-19 and Business Confidence in Bangladesh: Findings From the 3rd Round of a Nationwide Firm-Level Survey.”

The improvement in business status in October-December 2020 compared to July-September 2020 was minimal. Compared to the status in the same quarter in 2019, the situation is still worse, said the report.

Effective implementation of stimulus packages is critically important and an assessment is urgently required on the stimulus packages implemented so far, the report added.

The findings showed that 69 percent of the surveyed firms have yet to receive any stimulus package due to lack of incentives for the industry, lengthy procedures, difficulty in bank-related services, and difficulty in getting access to information.

Some of the indicators, such as profitability, employment, and wage indicators have improved slightly compared to the past quarter, it showed.

“However, the business cost indicator worsened in this round of the survey. It shows a serious threat to the viability of the firms in the long run,” said the report.