Key View

• Chronic underfunding of public healthcare systems in Bangladesh is resulting in a relatively low standard of care.
• Poor public health outcomes combined with rising incomes will drive patients towards private healthcare.
• Increasing opportunities for private healthcare providers.

Gaps remain in Bangladesh’s public healthcare

Key View

• Bangladesh Bank (BB) announced an expansionary FY2020/21 (July-June) monetary policy at the end of July 2020 whereby the overnight repurchase (repo) rate will be cut to 4.75% from 5.25%, the reverse repo cut to 4.00%, from 4.75%, and the Bank Rate will be cut to 4.00% from 5.00%.
• We at Fitch Solutions expect BB to hold its policy

Key View

• Pharmaceutical export trajectory will remain positive in Bangladesh.
• The government aims to push for increased self-sufficiency in key pharmaceutical raw materials.
• Bangladesh’s domestic pharmaceutical industry is well-placed to attract foreign investment.

Increased government focus in Bangladesh to boost export of medicines.

Key View:

• Despite rising incomes, Bangladesh’s fish consumption (their main protein source) has declined relative to rice.
• This is because of the rapid inflation of the domestic fish price, causing local consumers to switch to cheaper alternatives.
• The reason for this inflation is the difference in the domestic and export prices of fish, as

Key View

• Bangladesh released it FY2020/21 (July–June) Budget on June 11, and similar to previous releases, we at Fitch Solutions forecast the government to miss its expenditure and revenue projections by a large margin.
• That said, the government has demonstrated its capability manage its finances around its deficit targets and accordingly we

Key View

• A growing demand for affordable housing due to an expanding population base, especially in Dhaka and Chittagong, will be the primary driver of growth of Bangladesh’s residential buildings sector.
• Bangladesh’s burgeoning garment sector, along with the government’s plans to establish 100 Special Economic Zones, will create

Key View

• NTT DoCoMo is the latest player to leave Bangladesh, joining Singtel and Dhabi Group.
• Excessive taxation remains a key hurdle for operators to achieve higher returns on their investments into spectrum and infrastructure.

Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo will sell its 6.3% stake in Bangladeshi operator Robi Axiata to Indian telco Bharti

Key View

• We at Fitch Solutions maintain our forecast for Bangladesh’s real GDP growth to slow to 7.8% in FY2019/20 (July – June) from 8.2% in FY2018/19.
• We expect the slowdown to be primarily driven by a deceleration in gross fixed capital formation growth and a smaller net exports contribution.
• However, headline growth is likely to receive