Inadequate infrastructure, a lack of confidence in the economy and a shortage of power and energy are major impediments to the country’s growth, said a leading chamber yesterday.

“These impediments must be removed to restore the confidence of the foreign investors as well as the country’s own business and the investor community,” said the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka (MCCI).

Bangladesh’s impressive growth and its journey towards a higher development trajectory have been globally admired, said the chamber in its review of the economic situation in Bangladesh for April-June of 2018.

As per the provisional estimate of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, gross domestic product growth in the just-concluded fiscal year was 7.65 percent, up from 7.28 percent in 2016-17.

“Although the economy is progressing well, the achievements remain below their true potential.”

In the fourth-quarter of last fiscal year, some risk factors such as power and gas shortage and weak infrastructure appeared as major obstacles to the expansion of economic activity as those disrupted industrial production and discouraged new investment.

There are other downside risks such as the poor implementation of public investment programmes, the growing requirement of subsidy payments by the state to different public sector agencies, including the state-owned banks, and growing income inequalities.

“The corruption-ridden banking sector is perhaps the biggest downside risk now, which will call for strict vigilance by the central bank and the finance ministry to bring discipline to the sector.”

The review said the overall economic situation is positive as indicated by steady improvements in the major economic trends.

There has been steady progress in agriculture sector, moderately good growth in industrial sector despite a crisis in the power sector, decline in inflation rate, macroeconomic stability, build-up of a comfortable foreign exchange reserve and good progress in achieving Sustainable Development Goals, it said.

All these boost people’s confidence in the country’s ability to attain accelerated economic growth and emerge as a middle-income country by the turn of the present decade, it added.