Dhaka: Bangladesh will achieve record 7.65 per cent GDP growth in the current fiscal year (2017-2018), which is higher than the budgetary target of 7.40 per cent.

Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal on Tuesday came up with the disclosure at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) held at the NEC conference room in the city with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair, reports the UNB.

‘The GDP growth will be 7.65 percent this fiscal year. It’s our initial estimate,’ the Planning Minister said while briefing reporters after the meeting.

The GDP growth rate was 7.28 percent in the last fiscal year (2016-2017) while 6.06 percent in 2013-2014, 6.55 percent in 2014-2015 and 7.11 percent in 2015-2016 financial year, he said.

The minister also informed the Ecnec meeting that the country’s per capita income now increased to US$ 1752 from US$ 1610.

He said the provisional estimate of GDP growth was made on the basis of three main sectors—agriculture, industry and services.

The services sector is making the highest contribution to the GDP growth which is 52.18 percent, according to the factsheet provided during the briefing.

The contribution of the industrial sector is 33.71 percent while that of agriculture is 14.10 percent.

In the last fiscal year, the contribution of the services sector to GDP was 53.85 percent while that of industry 32.42 percent and agriculture was 14.74 percent.

The growth rate in the agriculture sector is 3.06 percent while that in the industrial sector is 11.99 percent and in the services sectorit is 6.33 percent in 2017-2018 fiscal year.

The investment ratio to GDP has increased to 31.47 percent this fiscal year from 30.51 percent in the last fiscal year (2016-2017).

The private investment is 23.25 percent of GDP while the public investment is 8.22 percent. In the last fiscal year, the private investment was 23.10 percent against the public investment of 7.41 percent, as per the factsheet.

The Planning Minister said the GDP size has been increased to US$ 275 billion (Tk 2,238,498 crore) in the current fiscal year from US$ 249 billion (Tk1,975,815.4 crore) in 2016-2017 fiscal year.

In terms of GDP size, Bangladesh is now the 43rd largest economy in the world, which was 58th largest economy in 2010, he added.

Mustafa Kamal said, ‘If we can keep 23 countries behind in the next 23 years, we’ll have the 20th largest GDP in the world by 2041. The 20th largest GDP means we’re a developed nation.’

Noting that the overall situation of the country’s macro-economy is quite good, he said Bangladesh is doing well in remittance inflow, export and keeping inflation under control.

‘The condition of all the GDP-supportive components is good....we’ve achieved massive growth in the manufacturing sector,’ he said adding that there is worry only over climate-related issues.

‘It has been possible to gain the achievement due to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s dynamic leadership as she could involve the country’s people in the development process,’ the Planning Minister said.

Mentioning that the Planning Commission releases two estimates—provisional and final—over the GDP growth rate every year, he said the final estimate will be released after the fiscal year.