Despite slow foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign aid, the country’s overall balance of payment (BoP) surplus reached $347million in the first six months of the current fiscal. The BoP was $201million deficit in the same period last year. The current account balance surplus marked a 132 percent rise during the July-December period in FY 2007 as it reached $579 million against $247million in the same period of FY 2006. Country’s export outweighed import in the first six months this fiscal.

FDI reached $250million in the same period this fiscal, registering a 31 percent drop, while the amount was $362million during the same period of the 200506 fiscal. Meantime, foreign aid also marked a 40 percent fall as fourteen out of 22 development partners did not disburse any aid to Bangladesh in the first half of the current fiscal year. Besides, there was no aid disbursement from a number of Aid Club donors due to political instability here and lack of reforms deemed necessary to curb corruption and improve governance.

Bangladesh received $294.76 million in foreign aid in July-December this fiscal, while it was $488.55 million in the corresponding period of last fiscal, according to the Economic Relations Division (ERD). The July-December exports fetched $6.22billion, growing at around 26 percent. The earning from exports in the same period last fiscal was $4.94billion. Imports in July-December this fiscal increased 20 percent to reach $7.44billion against $6.18billion in the same period of FY2006.