Bangladesh secured its largest-ever European FDI with Danish AP Moller–Maersk investing USD 550 million in Chattogram’s Laldia Container Terminal. Additionally, Swiss MEDLOG will invest USD 40 million in the Pangaon Inland Container Terminal. The country also witnessed one of the highest NPL ratio in the world, reaching 35.73 per cent of all distributed loans as of September 2025. This high level signals severe financial distress and governance challenges in the banking sector (Bangladesh’s nonperforming loan ratio now highest in the world, 2025). Exports declined by 5.54 per cent year-on-year to USD 3.89 billion in November 2025, due to RMG order slowdown. On a cumulative basis, export performance remained weak during July–November FY2026, registering only a marginal year-on-year increase of 0.62 per cent. Bangladesh Bank granted the final license to Sammilito Islami Bank PLC on 30 November 2025. The bank was formed through the merger of five struggling Islamic banks as part of a broader banking sector reform programme, making it the largest state-owned Shariah-based bank in the country. Headline inflation continued to decline to 8.96 per cent in November 2025, driven by a slowdown in food prices, as food inflation fell to 8.56 per cent. However, the slow pace of decline in non-food inflation, combined with stagnant wage growth of 8.13 per cent, continues to weaken household purchasing power and reduce real incomes.
Authors: Muntaseer Kamal and Md. Imran Nazir
Senior Editor: Dr Fahmida Khatun
Publication Period: November 2025
