29 May – 3 June, 2026

Finance Ministry projects 6.5% GDP growth for FY27 with inflation below 8% — vs multilateral forecasts of 4–4.7%. Budget day: 18 June.

India scraps 11% customs duty + AIDC on cotton imports effective 1 June–31 Oct 2026 to cut textile input costs — intensifying competition for Bangladesh's RMG sector.

Pre-budget projection eyes $51.4B gross reserves by end-FY27; current gross ~$34B. Hinges on 15% remittance growth and 8% export expansion.

RBI dollar sales to defend rupee — down 4% since Iran war. $7.5B weekly drop; gold holdings fell $4.5B. BD implication: India's import demand for BD goods may soften.

FAO Director-General at Rome Nutrition Week: fertiliser prices up 15–20%; Hormuz blockage risks cutting global food planting. Bangladesh: fertiliser cost shock already underway.

NBR mulling a specific VAT hike on MS rods in Finance Bill; sector demand already down one-third; industry warns "disastrous" timing amid slowdown.

US Cotton Trust Protocol identifies Bangladesh as priority market for traceable US cotton supply — potential sourcing partnership for RMG brands.

RFL Electronics gets preliminary BTRC approval to produce routers and VTDs under its Proton brand — Bangladesh's first conglomerate-scale telecom equipment play.

May 2026 remittance: $3.42B (+15.3% YoY). Six consecutive months above $3B. FY26 Jul–May cumulative: $32.75B, up 19% YoY. Eid surge noted.

Classified loans rise from 30.60% to 32.26% in Q1 2026 (Jan–Mar). 93.7% of NPLs in "Bad/Loss" category — practically unrecoverable. Banking sector CRAR negative.

Finance Division to charge 0.25% on all new sovereign guarantees for SOEs — aimed at curbing over-reliance and raising revenue. Existing Tk1.07 lakh crore in guarantees affected going forward.

Bangladesh Bank official confirmation: $32.75B remittance in Jul–May FY26, up 19% YoY. Islami Bank leads collection at $592M in May alone.

Column: banks must raise paid-up capital and provisioning; current shortfall Tk1.91 lakh crore against NPLs. BB already restricts dividends for undercapitalised banks.

Official Bangladesh Bank March data: defaulted loans at Tk5.88 lakh crore, up from Tk5.57 lakh crore in December. Rate up 8.13 percentage points year-on-year.

Weighted average retail rate rises from Tk9.11 to Tk10.63/kWh; bulk rate up 19.85%. Despite hike, BPDB still needs Tk41,000cr govt subsidy. BTMA: production costs up ~10%.

EPB data: May exports down 7% year-on-year. RMG weakness resumes after April one-off. Terry towel and linen down 14% in Jul–May. Iran war, US tariffs cited.

TBS analysis: even after hike, Tk41,000cr subsidy gap remains. Power generation ROI cut from 12% to 6%. BERC: "operational sustainability, not profitability" is the objective.

Daily Star confirms BB Q1 data: Tk5.88 lakh crore total NPLs at 32.26%. YoY increase of 8.13 percentage points. Tk551,555cr in terminal "Bad/Loss" bucket.

BTRC will auction EGSM 885–933 MHz band blocks after interference assessment; Block B (~5–10% interference area) seen as commercially attractive. Base price: Tk237cr/MHz.

Claude-maker Anthropic submits confidential SEC S-1 days after closing $65B Series H. Revenue run rate: $47B. No share count or price set yet. Fall debut possible.

USD/BDT interbank mid-rate stable at ~122.75–123. 12-month range: 120.27–123.46. Strong remittances and ADB budget support anchoring the rate.

Daily Star confirms: exports fell 7% in May vs April's +33%. RAPID chairman: "export growth is unlikely to improve significantly." Labour market already stressed for two years.

IMF Mission Chief Krznar confirms Bangladesh's request for a successor arrangement. Staff visit planned. Any deal requires "credible reform agenda" and Board approval.

CCGP clears: 2 G2G cargoes from SOCAR + 3 RFQ cargoes (BP Singapore + TotalEnergies UK) at Tk2,372cr total. Deliveries: late June–early July 2026.