Taka's Quiet Triumph
In a Nutshell:
- The Bangladeshi Taka depreciated by only 0.59% against the US dollar between March 2025 and March 2026, making it the most stable currency in South Asia.
- The Indian Rupee lost 8.94% over the same period, the steepest decline among regional peers compared.[dhakatribune]
- Sri Lankan Rupee fell 5.11%, Philippine Peso 3.70%, and Indonesian Rupiah 2.67% against the dollar.
- Only the Cambodian Riel (-0.44%) outperformed the Taka, while the Chinese Yuan (+5.14%) and Pakistani Rupee (+0.39%) actually appreciated.
- Bangladesh Bank’s gross foreign exchange reserves (BPM6) rose to $31.60 billion by July 30, 2026, up $6.74 billion from $24.86 billion a year earlier.
- The interbank dollar rate stood at Tk123.81 on August 4, 2026, up marginally from Tk123.69 in late July, driven by import settlement demand.
- Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur, appointed Bangladesh Bank governor by the Yunus-led interim government on August 15, 2024, initiated the crawl-managed, market-based exchange rate transition and led the reserve-building reforms credited for this stability.
- Mansur was abruptly removed by the incoming BNP government under PM Tarique Rahman on February 25, 2026—just 18 months into his four-year term—and replaced by businessman Md Mostaqur Rahman, following protests by central bank officials.
- Mohiuddin Rubel of Bangladesh Apparel Voice praised the resulting predictability for RMG exporters but cautioned that FX stability alone cannot secure global market share without addressing gas/electricity shortages and port delays.
Why it matters
Bangladesh’s relative currency stability amid a region-wide dollar squeeze reflects the reform legacy of Ahsan H. Mansur’s tenure, whose crawl-managed exchange rate transition and reserve-rebuilding measures outlasted his abrupt political removal. This stability insulates import-dependent sectors from cost-push inflation while giving exporters predictable cost structures for competing globally. However, Mansur’s controversial ouster—executed via television announcement before formal notification, and accompanied by protests inside the central bank—raises questions about institutional continuity and whether reform-oriented technocratic governance can survive political transitions in Bangladesh.
What we think
Bangladesh Bank’s new leadership under Md Mostaqur Rahman, the first businessman ever appointed governor, must decide whether to preserve or unwind Mansur’s crawl-managed framework, since abrupt policy reversal risks unsettling the very stability that reassured RMG exporters and investors.