When emerging markets stop growing: Bangladesh and COVID-19

Bangladesh has come a long way in the past decade, achieving record growth that has averaged between 6-8% in the past five years. This has made Bangladesh something of a darling amongst foreign investors comfortable with frontier markets. However, the competence of its unique government, which is effectively styled after one sole leader – Sheikh Hasina (who will turn 73 this year) – is being tested by the COVID-19 crisis. Like many emerging economies in Asia, the country is reliant on just a few sectors, which has left it particularly vulnerable to COVID-19-related economic shocks, and this is beginning to result in some signs of social unrest due to mass layoffs of workers. Dane Chamorro is joined by Reema Bhattacharya, Control Risks Analyst for South Asia, to discuss the outlook for Bangladesh in the months and years ahead.