The Asian Development Bank is upscaling its loan portfolio in Bangladesh to nearly double this year, to keep pace with its economy that is going great guns now.

"This year, we're negotiating with the government to provide loans ranging from $1.8-$2 billion, which is almost double the last year's amount. That is because Bangladesh is a different country from the past," said Hun Kim, director general of the South Asia Department at the ADB.

“Bangladesh's economy is growing fast and I would say, Bangladesh is really an emerging economy if you look at its forex reserves,” he said.

Kim was speaking to the media on Sunday at the concluding day of the Bank's four-day 50th annual meet at Pacifico Yokohama Conference Centre in Japan. Deputy Director General for ADB's South Asia Department Diwesh N Sharan was also present.

"Last year, the ADB's assistance to Bangladesh amounted to $1.1 billion and there is going to be a big jump this year with $1.8 billion." This would be a record in aid commitment to Bangladesh, the DG said.

The ADB would inject $650 million in a single project on power transmission and distribution in Bangladesh alongside continuing its assistance in the railways and road connectivity.

"As far as we're concerned, Bangladesh is doing right in terms of economic policy and implementation because we're focusing more on manufacturing and export orientation. So that's why we want to improve your logistics domestically and also want to remove energy constraints," Kim said.

Bangladesh should continue its 7 percent GDP growth, potentially scaling it up to 8 percent in the near future, he added.

Kim said there is still a lot of work left in the power and energy sector in Bangladesh alongside boosting road connectivity.

He, however, noted that Bangladesh is rather weak in mobilising foreign direct investment (FDI) as the flow is very small to this country; it accounts for less than 1 percent of its total GDP size.

"If you look at East Asia's experiences, it was FDI which drew growth, brought new management skills and technologies. I would say we should knock the private sector and mobilise more FDI that is also applied to Nepal and Sri Lanka," Kim said, adding that the flow of FDI is very low in South Asia, except India.

The ADB South Asia DG said that Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have been the biggest beneficiaries of capital increase over the years and annual lending to Bangladesh used to be around $1 billion a year.

"But I believe it can easily go up to $2 billion. So, this year, we're almost approaching that level. Based on the project readiness, we can make that commitment." Kim said they see three major initiatives in Bangladesh. One is transport logistics and the second is energy security. "The government is working on that."

The last major initiative is to develop the manufacturing growth centre. "If these three things are combined and aligned, I think Bangladesh can continue 7-8 percent growth. I think Bangladesh is close to the East and East Asia's success model at this stage."

Kim stressed the need for stronger policy support and said the manufacturing industry would definitely help accelerate economic growth.

On the labour force potential in Bangladesh, he said upgrading manpower skills could be the ultimate challenge before the country.

"Bangladesh has a high-quality labour force and this is one new area where we're working with the government. We're working on a number of projects like technical education and IT," he said.

"In upgrading skills and building infrastructure, we can work together and the government is committed in this regard. I can see this government can build infrastructure, but the ultimate challenge is to upgrade people's skills."

Bangladesh joined the ADB in 1973. As of 2016, ADB's cumulative lending to Bangladesh stood at $18.3 billion for 269 loans, $252.4 million for 422 technical assistance projects, and $787.10 million for 35 grants. As of March 31, 2017, the ADB's projects under implementation for Bangladesh comprised 90 loans and grants amounting to $7.6 billion and 32 technical assistance projects amounting to $28.58 million.

In 2016, the ADB approved 10 projects for Bangladesh, with loans totalling $1.1 billion and technical assistance of $7.85 million

The largest global banks in London plan to move about 9,000 jobs to the continent in the next two years, public statements and information from sources shows, as the exodus of finance jobs starts to take shape.

Last week Standard Chartered and JPMorgan were the latest global banks to outline plans for their European operations after Brexit. They are among a growing number of lenders pushing ahead with plans to move operations from London.

Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein said in an interview on Friday that London's growth as a financial center could "stall" as a result of the upheaval caused by Brexit.

Thirteen major banks including Goldman Sachs, UBS, and Citigroup have given an indication of how they would bulk up their operations in Europe to secure market access to the European Union's single market when Britain leaves the bloc.

Talks with financial authorities in Europe have been underway for several months, but banks are increasingly firming up plans to move staff and operations.

"It's full speed ahead. We are in full motion with our contingency planning," said the head of investment banking at one global bank in London. "There's no waiting."

Although the moves would represent about 2 percent of London's finance jobs, Britain's tax revenues could be hit if it loses rich taxpayers working in financial services.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies - a think tank focused on budget issues - said in a report on Thursday the rest of the population will have to pay more if top earners move.

The exact number of jobs to leave will depend on the deal the British government strikes with the EU. Some politicians say bankers have exaggerated the threat to the economy from Brexit.

The plans of large banks such as Credit Suisse and Bank of America and many smaller banks are still unknown.

Frankfurt and Dublin are emerging as the biggest winners from the relocation plans. Six of the 13 banks favor opening a new office or moving the bulk their operations to Frankfurt. Three of the banks will look to expand in Dublin.

Deutsche Bank said on Apr. 26 up to 4,000 UK jobs could be moved to Frankfurt and other locations in the EU as a result of Brexit - the largest potential move of any bank.

JPMorgan last week announced plans to move hundreds of roles to three European cities in the next two years. This is still significantly lower than the 4,000 figure JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon first estimated before the vote.

Estimates for possible finance-related job losses from Brexit are on a broad range from 4,000 to 232,000, according to separate reports by Oliver Wyman and Ernst & Young. Banks are treading carefully, enacting two-stage contingency plans, to avoid losing nervous London-based staff as they work out how many jobs will have to eventually move.

China's Belt and Road Initiative should have a wider framework to provide more benefits to participating countries, said a noted economist yesterday.

The narrow framework of the BRI, which is also known as the One Belt One Road initiative, will not bring better results for the participating countries, said Rehman Sobhan, chairman of the Centre for Policy Dialogue, a private think tank.

For instance, the BRI should be stretched up to Afghanistan, as it was also part of the old Chinese silk route.

The economist was speaking at a conference on “Bangladesh-China Relations: One Belt and One Road Initiative”, organised by the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute at The Westin Hotel in Dhaka.

Regarding the importance of the BRI, Sobhan said given the rise of anti-globalisation, protectionism and isolation the Chinese initiative could serve the purpose of openness, cooperation and free trade among the participating countries.

“This is a typical model of sharing economy. This could help India to integrate further into the global value chain.”

Given the emergence of the new Asia-centric world order, this initiative can link the Asian countries, including Bangladesh, with the global value chain.

The new Asia-centric world order makes sense when the region's total reserves are considered, he said.

Of the total global reserve of $11.6 trillion, 70 percent is located in Asia -- with China alone accounting for $3 trillion. “So, huge resources are available with China. And the whole concept of BRI is not an imaginary one, it is realistic.”

Moreover, China is the prime mover in three important global initiatives: the BRICS Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and revival of the old silk route by putting in $40 billion.

“Bangladesh is in a very unique place -- it is in the middle of two major economic powers, China and India. So, this country has a big potential for further development.”

He said the country should be proud of the fact that it is constructing the Padma Bridge with its own resources. “But, the country could build more Padma Bridge under the BRI,” Sobhan added.

Ma Mingqiang, Chinese ambassador in Bangladesh, said the BRI has five important components: policy coordination, investment facilitation, financial integration, infrastructure connectivity and people-to-people contact.

“BRI is an initiative for all participants. It is inclusive, rather than exclusive. It is voluntary rather than compulsory. It is based on equality and mutual respect rather than discrimination. It is win-win for all.”

Over 100 countries and organisations have shown their interest on the initiative, with over 40 countries and international organisations having already signed the Belt and Road Cooperation Agreement with China.

By now the Chinese enterprises have developed 56 cooperation zones in more than 20 countries along the belt and road with total investment of $18.5 billion.

Over 1,000 Chinese companies have set up enterprises in the cooperative zones with combined outputs of $50.7 billion in a year. “It has been proven that the BRI is delivering the tangible benefits to the people,” Ma said. China and Bangladesh had signed the BRI cooperation documents during the Chinese president's visit last year.

Chinese companies and people are now extensively engaged in the development of Bangladesh, ranging from road and bridge, power and energy, manufacture and agriculture, he added.

Gowher Rizvi, international affairs advisor to the prime minister, said Bangladesh is extremely fortunate to have two fast developing countries as its neighbours.  “Our relation with China and India is not a zero-sum game. It is a positive game,” Rizvi said.

China has engaged as a major development partner for Bangladesh and the visit of Chinese president last year is a milestone in bilateral relationship between the two countries, he said.

The BRI forum would held in China in the next few days. Representatives from over 100 countries, including Bangladesh, would be participating at the event, where future development issues would be discussed. Farooq Sobhan, president of Bangladesh Enterprise Institute, chaired the meeting.