Strong external sector performance, driven by a historical surge in remittances and robust financial account inflows, enabled Bangladesh to achieve a record Balance of Payments overall surplus of $6.61 billion in FY26.
However, domestic business activity remained subdued due to high inflation, elevated borrowing costs, and structural constraints, according to the latest report released by the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce & Industry in Dhaka.
The report highlights that provisional real GDP growth ticked up to 4.14% in FY26, showing an increase from 3.49% in the previous fiscal year. Total GDP in current US dollar terms expanded by 9.77% to cross half a trillion dollars at $501.07 billion.
The balance of payments surplus jumped by 94.69% year-on-year from $3.39 billion in FY25. This dramatic gain occurred despite the current account deficit widening to $1.59 billion as the trade deficit expanded by 33.76% to $27.29 billion.
A soaring financial account surplus reaching $7.89 billion due to loans and multilateral financing successfully bridged the trade gap. A record remittance inflow of $35.59 billion served as the vital cushion for the economy, representing a 17.34% spike over FY25.
Saudi Arabia was the largest sender of remittances at $5.86 billion, followed by the United Kingdom at $5.08 billion and the United Arab Emirates at $4.59 billion. Supported by these inflows and central bank intervention, gross foreign exchange reserves strengthened to $32.93 billion by June 2026.
Despite the macroeconomic buffer from overseas, the real economy experienced deceleration across multiple sectors. The National Board of Revenue collected Tk415,473 crore, missing its revised target by 17.40% while still growing 12.03% year-on-year.
Looking ahead to FY27, the government has set a national budget outlay of Tk938,000 crore, aiming for a 6.50% GDP growth rate and targeting an inflation reduction to 7.5% as structural bottlenecks are addressed.
Why it matters
The MCCI report underscores how record remittance inflows and financial account surpluses sustained Bangladesh's external balance despite domestic inflationary and fiscal pressures in FY26.