Bangladesh’s economy: Breaking free from the debt trap and tackling capital flight - Mustafizur Rahman - Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD)
Bangladesh’s economy: Breaking free from the debt trap and tackling capital flight - Mustafizur Rahman - Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD)
Source: Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD)
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DW NOTE
Bangladesh's external debt hit $100 billion in 2023 — double the 2016 level — while foreign reserves have fallen below three months of import cover. The CPD frames this as a crisis requiring "breaking free" from debt, but the real issue is whether Bangladesh can attract enough remittances and export earnings to service what it has already borrowed. Capital flight estimates run as high as $8 billion annually, much of it through trade misinvoicing. You cannot break free from a debt trap while the exit doors remain wide open.