Asian Development Bank (ADB) Chief Economist Shang Jin-Wei has put Bangladesh’s potential to grow at 7.3%, above its current average of 6%. Despite its vast infrastructure needs, this makes Bangladesh one of the top 20 global performers in economic expansion. To continue this level of growth, it needs a reliable supply of power to reduce the cost of doing business. It can tap into its inexpensive supply of working-age labor and increase bilateral integration such as the electricity transmission between Bangladesh and India. Wei also highlighted that higher customs duty and discretionary exemption of customs duties could deprive the country of potential revenues.

ADB is working to promote regional cooperation in South Asia by lending assistance for road connectivity and energy cooperation. South Asia is one of the least integrated regions in the world and intra-regional trade accounts for less than 5% of total trade—but with the right connectivity in place, it has the potential to grow further. Wei notes that South Asia should embrace policies that promote trade and investment, lower tariffs, and remove non-tariff barriers.

Trade and cross-border investment in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) member countries is low given the physical proximity and size of the economy in comparison with East Asia and Southeast Asia. According to Wei, “SAARC has the potential to do better through participation in global value chains as well as linkages between countries with the same production chain and common world markets." He added that the region can grow further if it goes forward with integration measures and policy reforms.

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Better infrastructure, policies to fuel growth