Businessmen worry over middle income issue

Hasan Mahamud: Bangladesh has become a lower-middle income country (LMIC) now, meeting the World Bank`s requirements comfortably, according the WB`s recent announcement.

Government and the countrymen, however, congratulated the Bangladesh`s achievement but country`s businessmen and economists have some other opinions in the issue of being the lower-middle income country.

The ruling Awami League-led government termed this achievement was great news for all of us while the businessmen worried about the achievement.

The Business leaders opined, "After being the lower-middle income country, we may lose the facilities we were given in the business sector in previous."

Noted economist Dr AB Mirza M Azizul Islam said, "Being the lower middle income country, no changes will be occurred in the country`s soci-economic structure."

The former adviser to the caretaker government also told the risingbd.com correspondent, "Getting foreign aids would be so difficult for country`s development works in future."

Vice-President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Md. Shahidullah Azim, however, said,"The RMG sector may also lose quota facilities in Europe or other parts of the world."

Another noted economist Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed also opined, "We should take preparations so that the quota facilities in exports and imports would not be withdrawn in future."


Earlier, the WB report say, Bangladesh`s per capita income was $1,080 in 2014 in line with the World Bank`s gross national income (GNI) -- higher than the Washington-based lender`s set threshold of $1,045.

The World Bank in a posting on its website says it revises the income classification of the world`s economies every year on July 1 through calculation using the World Bank Atlas method.


The new World Bank figures show that Malawi has the world’s lowest reported GNI per capita at $250, while Monaco has the highest, at more than $100,000.

The global lender said, “People living in low-income countries continue to fall behind those in the upper per capita GNI brackets, while they earn and consume significantly less than much of the world’s population.”

WB Chief Economist and Senior Vice President Kaushik Basu said, “It is heartening to see that over the last one year itself four nations crossed over that critical line from the low-income to the lower-middle income category.”

The three other countries to improve their positions from low-income category to lower-middle income this year are Kenya, Myanmar, and Tajikistan.

Bangladesh`s per capita income rose to $1,314 in the fiscal year which ended on June 30, according to provisional figures of the government. It was $1,190 in 2013-14 and $1,154 in 2012-13.

At present, the WB recognises a country as a middle income nation if it achieves at least an average per capita income of $1,045 for three consecutive years.

The WB currently divides economies into four income groups: low, lower middle, upper middle and high.

risingbd/ DHAKA/ July 3, 2015/ Hasan/ Mahfuz